Love of Fat Men

by Helen Dunmore | Literature & Fiction |
ISBN: 014024882x Global Overview for this book
Registered by harmaja of Helsinki, Uusimaa / Nyland Finland on 5/2/2004
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3 journalers for this copy...
Journal Entry 1 by harmaja from Helsinki, Uusimaa / Nyland Finland on Sunday, May 2, 2004
Short stories. Doesn't have an ISBN for some strange reason (and yet is not an old book, published in 1997). Haven't read, willing to try.

Journal Entry 2 by harmaja from Helsinki, Uusimaa / Nyland Finland on Monday, May 10, 2004
This was truly a strange book! I picked it up for 10 cents from a flea market, and little did I realize that the setting of half the stories, that "harsh, wintedbound world", is in fact my home country. Yes, every second story takes place in Finland, and the rest all over Northern Europe. All the "Finnish" stories have the same main character, Ulli - not a very Finnish name, by the way - who fights to cut loose from her dysfunctional family.

The stories are short, and usually without a twist, almost nothing but sketches. Once I missed the twist on account of being Finnish myself, and only later realized there was one. How the hell is sun setting shortly after one gets up in the morning supposed to be surprising?

I can't help wondering about the author's connection with Finland. Her characters eat Panda liqourice, sip mesimarja drinks and send gifts back home to Tampere - so far very authentic. Some of the characters are properly called Jorma, Jussi, Maija-Liisa or Matti, but some have funny quasi-Finnish names such as Ulli, Timmo, Annina or Païvi. And the author's great fascination with the cold, a mix between terror and awe, does not reflect the Finnish attitude towards winter very well. It doesn't have to, I suppose: she's entitled to her own ideas about winter and cold, we Finns don't have a monopoly on them. It's just impossible for me not to notice, which facets of "Finnishness" she has in my opinion captured accurately, and which not. (The drunks were excellently depicted!)

At first I didn't like this book much, I was just reading it out of curiosity, but it got better towards the end. I found the portrait of Ulli's cold, sneering, hostile mother especially convincing, for reasons of my very own. Dysfunctional families are such treat to read about.

There was a lot of eating going on in these stories, and all in all food seemed to play an important symbolic part in the narrative. I'm afraid I didn't get all the symbolism behind indulging in eating and refraining from food at the first reading, although it certainly has to do with food being used to manipulate people. A lot of the women in the stories ate next to nothing - perhaps because it was expected of them - and almost all the men pampered themselves with food - perhaps because it was all right for them. I'll have to think of this more closely, if I decide to read these stories again.

I recommend this book to the Finns, at least, and why not for the others as well.

(By the way, a google search on Helen Dunmore shows that she has taught in Finland for two years.)


Journal Entry 3 by paulainen from Kuopio, Pohjois-Savo / Norra Savolax Finland on Tuesday, May 11, 2004
i received the book from harmaja who warmly recommended it during a bc-meeting and i can't help feeling a bit curious. reading will take place in a short period of time.

18.4.04
okay, long story short. i did not like the book that much. in my humble opinion it was slightly boring, normal and way too ordinary. i think that it is possible for one to make dull things into fascinating ones but the author of this very book fails to do it. or maybe the book tries to be artistic one but is unable to rise to the required level because of us, the plain finns. i do although have to give her credit for her effort but reading this very book was close to sheer agony from time to time.

for the time being the book will remain in my possession until i move back to helsinki if nobody is interested; inquiries regarding this book are always more than welcome.

Journal Entry 4 by SaraFamosa from Tampere, Pirkanmaa / Birkaland Finland on Friday, July 30, 2004
I got this book from Paulainen but I won't be reading it any time soon... unfortunately it's last in line at the moment. However, I'll let you know more later... =)

I finished it today and I didn't like it much. Well, you can read what the previous readers have thought about it and that pretty much is the way I felt about the book too. I'll set this one free today...

Released on Wednesday, August 25, 2004 at Anttila in Tampere, Pirkanmaa Finland.

I took this book to Anttila about half an hour ago. I left it to the brochure stand (next to City-magazine-stand) next to the entrance door. The door nearer to Satakunnankatu...

Jätin Anttilan Satakunnankadun puoleiseen ovensuuhun esitetelineeseen, joka on City-lehti telineen vieressä.

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