I haven't managed any trips recently, but this week, inspired by J.K. Rowling's new book, I began rereading "Harry Potter"--which is like a little vacation to childhood. "Harry Potter" then made me think back to other fun adventure stories from my elementary school years like the adorable (but probably not PETA approved) movie, "The Adventures of Milo and Otis." Remember Milo and Otis?
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| Chocolate bunny holding a sign that reads "on strike." From the 2008 strikes in Strasbourg France. |
A book I read recently, "The Year of the Hare," is a similarly whimsical adventure story about animals (OK, an animal and a man) aimed at an older audience. Written by Arto Paasilinna, "The Year of the Hare," was republished for an American audience at the end of 2010. It's a lovely book about a journalist, Vatanen, who quits his job and leaves his wife to nurse an injured hare back to health while they travel Finland. Though the premise is simple and the book a quick read, Paasilinna manages to to fill the few pages with many insights, intelligent metaphor, and adventure.
Pico Iyer wrote an amusing and characteristically sapient review of "The Year of the Hare" in December of 2010:
"Which of us has not entertained that deliciously seditious notion: to do a Gauguin? To slip away for a while from everything that sounds so important—a steady job, a settled home, a regular salary—and go off in search of adventure, restoration, fun?...When Mr. Paasilinna's novel appears in this country for the first time next month, it might just prove the perfect way into the actual Year of the Hare, which begins, according to many an Eastern calendar, in January."What adventure or travel stories/books have you been reading?
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