This book isn't meant to be taken seriously. It's a comedy, and as that it has succeeded. The story was funny, and at times bizzare, but it didn't necessarily make me a Paasilinna fan.
It talks about Aulis, a man in his forties, married to his wife Lisa, and owner of a tugboat. Those are the two things in his life he is most proud of. He is totally content in his life, until one day, when his wife anaunces she wants to get a divorce. From there, his life takes a dive, and in a strange turn of event, he meets a pedicurist, named Irene, and gets involved in a strange group of people, who at some point want to kill him.
It is quite funny, and the book definitly has that Northern Europe vibe to it.