The Forest of Hanged Foxes (Hirtettyjen kettujen metsä)
Dark, macabre humour from Arto Paasilinna, the much-loved Kurt Vonnegut of the North.
Three small-time crooks grow tired of living in poverty and decide to steal a pretty hefty amount of gold. Unfortunately, things don’t quite go to plan and two of them end up getting caught.
Although they’re locked up in prison, the crooks remain unusually calm, comforted by the knowledge that their friend is keeping their gold safe and will share it with them upon their release. The problem is that Oiva Juntunen fancies the gold for himself. He becomes increasingly anxious as his friends’ release day approaches. Faced with the prospect of two tough guys coming to collect their dues, Juntunen decides to make a run for it.
Filled with dark, macabre humour, Paasilinna seamlessly combines an action-packed narrative with strong characters and humorous, yet deep, philosophical musings in this situational comedy.
The Forest of Hanged Foxes was adapted for TV film in Finland in 1986 (dir. Jouko Suikkari).
“The author concocts situational comedy highlighted by dead- pan, sometimes black humour, the kind familiar in the American Middle West.”
– The New York Times
Prizes and Nominations
1995: Lecture Jeunesse Prize (France)
Title: The Forest of Hanged Foxes (Hirtettyjen kettujen metsä)
Published: 1982
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