Happy Days Of The Grump by Tuomas Kyrö

The Grump in the title of this book may well be an 82 year old Finnish man but the sentiments expressed through the book just as easily apply to a 40-something British Woman.

It is such a real feeling book that it is hard, in places, to reconcile the fact that is a work of fiction.  The Grump expresses thoughts that we have all had pass through our heads.  Mainly along he lines of how much better things were when we were young.  How the world was a brighter place, time moved much more slowly and out lives were led at a leisurely pace.  Now the world runs ahead of us clippity-clop and we struggle to keep pace; losing along the way that social niceties that make us a society.

Billed as a Dark Comedy I found it to be a much more straightforward comedy - what that says about my current mental state or general sense of disillusionment with the world in it's current state I cannot accurately quantify.  I certainly did feel both myself and my husband reflected back at me through the pages of this book.

It is hard going in places and this is due to decidedly Finnish cultural references that mean little to someone who has not so much visited the country.  The translation also seems at a loss to translate that cultures unique words and grammatical structures in to British English.  This is not a bad thing but worth mentioning.

The Grump dwells, as we all must, on the impending visit from the Grim Reaper and all this may mean for his family so he sets about setting his affairs in order, building a coffin, writing a will and visiting the Minister to plan his funeral.  Once this is done he can get back to living life at his pace and not the pace of those around him.  In many sections of the book it is unclear if The Grump is articulating his musings on a situation or his remembrances of the past or if he is actually having a dialogue with someone.  I suspect he is having an internal dialogue but out loud - something I have been guilty of on many an occassion.

Not a light read as the word Comedy would suggest but not one that leaves you wondering why you bothered.  A sturdy tale told within a slim volume.

I RECEIVED A FREE COPY OF THIS BOOK FROM READERS FIRST IN EXCHANGE FOR AN HONEST REVIEW.

**Review originally published September 18th, 2017**