BOOKS FROM FINLANDThe Beggar and the Hare
by Tuomas Kyro
Tags:
Male author
Description:
Vatanescu, a young Romanian construction worker, wants a future for himself and a pair of football boots for his son. So off he goes to a cold, dark country to beg. He knows a little about Finland from the novels of Arto Paasilinna, but he has no idea what he is letting himself in for and soon he is kneeling on the asphalt in Helsinki. The wretchedness of living on the streets is lifted when he and his fellow beggars throw a sumptuous feast from the contents of a dumpster. However, their employer, the Russian human trafficker Jegor Kugar, profoundly disapproves of this bacchanal. A conflict ensues, as a result of which he ends up on the run, having to evade both international criminal organisations and the Finnish police. He strikes up with a fellow fugitive, a hare that has itself been sentenced to death.