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Secret Passages in a Hillside Town
Secret Passages in a Hillside Town | Pasi Ilmari Jääskeläinen
10 posts | 8 read | 9 to read
An atmospheric love story with a twist by the author of The Rabbit Back Literature Society In a small hillside town, Olli Suominen - publisher and discontented husband - is constantly losing umbrellas. He has also joined a film club. And Greta, an old flame, has added him on Facebook. As his life becomes more and more entangled with Greta's, and his wife and son are dragged into the aftermath of this teenage romance, Olli is forced to make a choice. But does he really want to know what the secret passages are? Can he be sure that Greta is who she seems to be? And what actually happened on that summer's day long ago? Tense, atmospheric and often very funny, Secret Passages in a Hillside Town is a magical Finnish story from the author of the acclaimed The Rabbit Back Literature Society. Pasi Ilmari Jääskeläinen, born in 1966, is one of Finland's best-kept secrets. A novelist and short-story writer, he is well known for his fantasy and sci-fi narratives and has twice won the Kuvastaja Fantasy Prize given by Finland's Tolkien Society and four times won the Atorox Award for Fantasy. He teaches Finnish language and literature and is the father of three sons. Pushkin Press also publishes The Rabbit Back Literature Society.
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jmtrivera
Secret Passages in a Hillside Town | Pasi Ilmari Jääskeläinen
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Pickpick

I saw a few of the secrets coming, though that did not diminish my enjoyment. It starts slowly w/Olli's midlife crisis, but soon it becomes clearer that he'll be forced to confront something buried from his childhood. The story picks up in pacing & interest as Ollie becomes drawn further into the mysterious game. The theme of cinematic living is reflected through the plot. At the same time, there's an underlying tone of darkness in this falsity.

mhillis I enjoyed reading this too! Thanks for the recommendation 5y
jmtrivera @mhillis Glad you enjoyed! 5y
19 likes2 comments
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EclecticReaders
Secret Passages in a Hillside Town | Pasi Ilmari Jääskeläinen
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Are you living the cinematic life? Susan and Jeannette discuss Secret Passages in a Hillside Town, the role of magic vs. reality, and what's up with all the disappearing umbrellas? Listen at eclecticreaders.fireside.fm/80 or in your favorite podcast app under Eclectic Readers and let us know your thoughts!

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Merethebookgal
Secret Passages in a Hillside Town | Pasi Ilmari Jääskeläinen
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Mehso-so

I knew after reading his first book translated into English to expect something weird, and boy was I right! 😂 There‘s so much going on in this book: self identity/self discovery, books within books, old movies, weird dreams, childhood trauma, midlife crises, two different endings, so many lost umbrellas, and pears, and probably stuff I‘ve forgotten. I enjoyed discussing aspects of the book with my book club, but I didn‘t love the book itself.

emtobiasz Was Rabbit Back the other book you read? How was it? 5y
Merethebookgal @emtobiasz Yes! It was super weird but I really enjoyed it! I think I read it in 2016 and it was one of my favorite reads of the year. 5y
56 likes2 comments
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jmtrivera
Secret Passages in a Hillside Town | Pasi Ilmari Jääskeläinen
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240 pages to go before book club tomorrow... It's fine, right?

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EclecticReaders
Secret Passages in a Hillside Town | Pasi Ilmari Jääskeläinen
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If it‘s anything like his first book translated into English, it‘s sure to be an interesting (and probably weird) read!

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Rambo_Reads
Secret Passages in a Hillside Town | Pasi Ilmari Jääskeläinen
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Pickpick

This was incredibly weird reading but I liked it 🙂

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Tanner
Secret Passages in a Hillside Town | Pasi Ilmari Jääskeläinen
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Late night reading with the Mikey-Cat.

31 likes1 stack add
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McGonagall
Secret Passages in a Hillside Town | Pasi Ilmari Jääskeläinen
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I‘m really liking this cover. #netgalley #arc

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Liberty
Secret Passages in a Hillside Town | Pasi Ilmari Jääskeläinen
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Afternoon reading: I‘m so excited, I can‘t even handle it! I loved The Rabbit Back Literature Society so much. ♥ï¸

Merethebookgal Yaaas! I can‘t wait to read this one! Rabbit Back was amazing, so I have pretty high hopes for this one. 7y
sumaiyya.books I‘m currently reading this! Haven‘t read Rabbit Back but will most likely add it to my list â™¥ï¸ 7y
Jess I cannot wait to get my hands on this one. Loved Rabbit Back. Thanks so much for the heads up! 7y
129 likes5 stack adds3 comments
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EclecticReaders
Secret Passages in a Hillside Town | Pasi Ilmari Jääskeläinen
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The author of one of our favorite Eclectic Readers picks from 2016 (The Rabbit Back Literature Society) has had a 2nd Book translated into English and it‘s out now! #EclecticReaders

TaraNewman I loved Rabbitback and I can't wait to read this one! 7y
54 likes3 stack adds1 comment