The Year of the Hare

By Arto Paasilinna

The internationally bestselling and award-winning The Year of the Hare in which a man – with the help of a hare – realises what’s important in life is widely considered Arto Paasilinna’s best work and a Finnish literary classic. The novel celebrates its 50th Anniversary since publication in 2025 and will be reissued in a special anniversary edition by WSOY.

Journalist Vatanen is burned out and sick of the city. One summer evening he accidently hits a young hare on a country road. He tends to the hare’s leg, befriends the creature, and gradually sheds his former life.

The incident becomes a life-changing experience for Vatanen, who decides to quit his job, leave his wife, and sell his possessions to travel Finland with his new-found friend. Their adventures lead them to forest fires, pagan sacrifices, and killer bears before they settle down in a cosy cabin in the wilds of Lapland.

The Year of the Hare is a wildly entertaining mix of fable, farce, mid-life crisis, and travel book. It’s a tale of freedom, commitment, and survival that has been charming readers around the world for decades and is also credited with having inspired Jonas Jonasson’s The 100-Year Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window. 

The Year of the Hare was adapted for film in France in 2006 (dir. Marc Rivière) and Finland in 1977 (dir. Risto Jarva). It has also been adapted for stage. The UNESCO Collection of Representative Works classified it as a masterpiece of world literature.

Publishing information

Awards & nominations

About the author

Arto Paasilinna (1942-2018) worked as a lumberjack and journalist before becoming a full-time writer. He published thirty-five novels and twelve non-fiction works during his lifetime, cementing his authorship as one full of creative vision, humour, and uplifting portrayals of man’s relationship with nature. One of Finland’s most well-known writers, his works have been translated into over 40 languages and have sold over 8 million copies worldwide.