Petits suicides entre amis - A charming mass suicide

*** As I was writing this entry, I saw a young woman reading this very same novel in a bus in Aix-en-Provence. It just felt so good to see someone else reading one of my favorite authors! If she ever comes around here, this entry is for her! ***

He who never read a novel by Arto Paasilinna…is just very unfortunate. Not that I would make round eyes to someone who hasn’t read one of my most beloved writers. But some of them actually manage to make you smile at every sentence, and eagerly turn every page, looking forward to what’s next. That is exactly what happened to me when I first read Paasilinna. First, the author himself doesn’t come from a conventional background. He worked as a lumberjack, then was a journalist and finally “ended up” being a very successful writer in Finland, and then worldwide. However, out of his numerous novels (a sentence carefully written in such a way that it hides the fact that I don’t have in mind, just right now, how many novels he actually wrote. My memory hints at 40 ish. Wikipedia says 35 to this day), only a handful (13) has been translated into French. Although every year, the official translator gives to French audience a new gem of the Paasilinna’s collection of sarcastic, yet idealistic tales.

When you pass through the shelves of a bookshop and spot one entitled “Little suicides between friends”, it’s almost impossible, especially when you are well acquainted with the subject, not to pay attention to it and end up buying it. That is what happened when I came across this intriguing Paasilinna novel. As I had loved the first novel I read of him, it didn’t take me long to decide whether I’d give a go to such a depressing book. I was well inspired to do so, as to this day, it was one of the funniest books I’ve ever read. With his usual wit, Paasilinna describes the adventures of a bunch of suicidal people across Europe…The opening scene, an anthology, presents two of the protagonists. As they both want to hang themselves in a grange, they both notice one another’s presence and, of course, that ruins their initial plan. However, resourceful people as they are, they decide to not let this encounter change any of their deadly projects. As they noticed they weren’t all alone in their suicidal views, they decide to gather all the people interested in committing the gesture that will put their life to an end. But as they launch their successful association and are joined by dozens of people, nothing goes according to plan. People, once together, actually enjoy their time with each other, and the association has to deplore a lot of defections. How it will end, I will not tell, but you’d sure embark for a very funny journey with this group of depressed people.