The Howling Miller (Ulvova mylläri)

A fable of freedom and the Finnish backwoods featuring Huttunen, an eccentric outsider swimming against the societal current.

Gunnar Huttunen is troubled man. He fought against the Russians in World War II and watched his wife burn to death. Now, having bought a dilapidated mill on the Kemijoki River, he’s determined to start a new life in Lapland.

There’s just one problem: Huttunen howls at night and there’s nothing he can do about it. The local villagers are scared; they’re closed-minded at the best of times and now they’re determined to run Huttunen out of town.

The Howling Miller is a dark fairytale of community, conformity and our place in the world.

The Howling Miller was adapted for film in France in 2017 (dir. Yann Le Quellec) and Finland in 1982 (dir. Jaakko Pakkas- virta). It has also been adapted for stage and performed at the Quantum Theatre at Frick Park Environmental Centre in Pitts- burgh.

“The Howling Miller has the feel of an ominous Hansel and Gretel-style bedtime story—part myth, part fable and part novel—a form that has a funny way of bypassing the head and directly affecting the animal instincts.”

– The LA Times

“The narrative, with its episodic chapters and fablelike tone, follows Huttunen’s interactions with an amused eye . . . Paasilinna describes the frenetic inner workings of his characters’ minds with an expert touch . . . It is Paasilinna’s gift in this gem of a novel to wring humour from the most desperate circumstances.” 

— The New York Times

“There is much to like here—wit, pathos and just enough of the extraordinary to transform the novel into a kind of modern fable.”

– Kirkus blog

Title: The Howling Miller (Ulvova mylläri)
Published: 1981

Buy: