Kuokkamummo

Kuokkamummo #1

by Marko Hautala

Lue tämä, ja ensi yönä et nuku

Muistakaa: kukaan ei puhu! Syrjäisen lähiön nuoret kokoontuvat pommisuojaan peloteltavaksi Kuokkamummolla. Onko kyse pelkästä leikistä?

Onko tämä muka tieteellisen tutkimuksen aihe? Saila kiinnostuu lapsuusseudustaan, siellä elää yhä sama, hänellekin tuttu julma perinne, johon lapset painostavat toisiaan osallistumaan. Muistot kotiseudusta ja teinirakkaudesta vaivaavat yhä myös aikuista Samuel Autiota, hän ei saa niistä otetta. Jos Kuokkamummo on pelkkää kaupunkilegendaa, miksi ihmisiä katoaa jäljettömiin? Entä mitä tapahtuu autiossa, kielletyssä kartanossa merenrannalla? Heikkohermoinen lukija ei haluakaan tietää.

Marko Hautala on Suomen Stephen King, joka kirjoittaa kananlihalle nostattavaa aavemaista, otteessaan pitävää kauhua. Hän on saanut Kalevi Jäntin ja Tiiliskivi-palkinnon, ja hänen romaanejaan on käännetty saksaksi ja italiaksi.

Genres: Horror, Fiction, Finnish Literature, Mystery, Audiobook, Suspense, Folklore

328 pages, Hardcover

First published August 1, 2014

About the author

Marko Hautala’s unique blend of psychological horror and realism has attracted readers of all genres, earning him a reputation as the Finnish Stephen King. His first novel The Self-Illuminated Ones (Itsevalaisevat, 2008) received the Tiiliskivi Prize, and in 2010 Hautala received the Kalevi Jäntti Literary Prize for Young Authors for Shrouds (Käärinliinat, 2009). He was also nominated for the Young Aleksis Kivi Prize in 2013 for Seeing Eyes (Unikoira, 2012).

Hautala's literary sensibility was formed at an early age by horror novels and later on by his experiences working as a nurse at a mental institute in the early 1990's. The Black Tongue (Kuokkamummo, 2015) is Hautala's first novel to appear in English.

Reviews

[Mauoijenn · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a weird book. Chilling with great descriptions. I definitely was creeped out. Love stories that make you think. If you like folklore and legend then this book is for you.

[Greg at 2 Book Lovers Reviews · Rating 5 out of 5]

This may seem odd, but I have been keeping my eye out for a Finnish author for a while now. I have had some fantastic stories from Swedish, Danish (mmm…I love danishes), and Icelandic authors. I don’t know if it is something about their long winters, but they write some incredibly dark stories that I connect with. So, when I saw Marko Hautala billed as “the Finnish Stephen King”, I knew I had to read The Black Tongue.

While I am always a bit skeptical when an author is compared to one of the greats, I went into The Black Tongue with an open mind. This story exceeded my expectations. I was immediately shocked and drawn into the small town of Suvikyla, Finland. I was completely unaware of the legend of Granny Hatchet, but before the first chapter, I knew more than I could have ever needed to know about her.

The Black Tongue revolves around three individuals: Sagal, Samuel and Maisa. Each of them has had their lives forever changed by Granny Hatchet. The story moves back and forth through time with each of their interwoven stories. Marko Hautala did a marvelous job of slowly building a connection between each one. As the story moved forward, the myth of Granny Hatchet became more real, and the horror of each character’s story was revealed.

Marko Hautala has an impressive catalogue of books, The Black Tongue being the first to have been translated into English. I truly hope that more of his books are translated in the near future. I was utterly pulled into this story and shocked at how it all came together. This is definitely an author to keep an eye on.


*I received a copy of the book from the publisher (via NetGalley) in exchange for an honest review.

[Kristīne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Atsevišķā Somijas daļā bērnus biedē ar baisu vecmāmiņu, kura izcērt huligāniem sirdi ar cirvi, tad aprok to zemē, līdz tā sapūst pavisam melna, un tad to apēd. Te arī Melnās mēle.

Ne līdz galam sapratu Granny Hatchett noslēpumu, bet lasāmais bija gana bailīgs un autors savu arodu prot.

[Icy_Space_Cobwebs Join the Penguin Resistance! · Rating 5 out of 5]

REVIEW: THE BLACK TONGUE by Marko Hautala

Reading THE BLACK TONGUE reminded me more of the unabridged Grimms' fairy tales than it did horror per se. Like Grimms', the villain [in this case villainess] is really awful, but her evil is almost more a force of Nature than a deliberate intent--almost, not completely. Granny Hatchet seems something unavoidable, an implacability. Herein lies the other comparison to the Grimm Brothers: the moral lesson. Don't go out at night. Don't leave the city confines. Don't walk in the woods or on the beach, especially at night. Leave tribute--and never, ever, mock Granny Hatchet.

[Titus Hjelm · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ensinnäkin, en tiennyt, että suomenkielistä kauhukirjallisuutta (joitain novelleja lukuunottamatta) on edes olemassa. Jo siksi tämä oli iloinen yllätys. Ja kirja on hyvin kirjoitettu--paljon paremmin kuin monet angloamerikkalaisista tusinakauhuista. Se tempaisee mukaansa. Bonuksena 80-luvun hevarinuori, joka myöhemmin väitteli uskontotieteestä tuntee olevansa kirjan miljöössä kuin kotonaan. :)

Hautala on siis kyvykäs, mutta Stephen King-vertaus ontuu. King rakentaa yhteisöjä. Hänen kirjoissaan saattaa mennä 100 sivua ilman viitettäkään tunnistettavaan "kauhuun". Kuokkamummossa taas jokainen kohtaus on viritetty pitämään yllä kauhua, välillä jopa pelottelumaisesti. Tässä mielessä Hautala on lähempänä vaikkapa James Herbertiä kuin Kingiä tai John Ajvide Lindqvistiä. Yhteisöäkin kyllä rakennetaan, mutta ohuesti ja helposti tunnistettavien luokka-ja etnisten erojen varaan. Usein Kuokkamummo vaikuttaa enemmän elokuvakäsikirjoitukselta kuin kirjalta, mikä tekee siitä sujuvan ja kauhullaan painostavan, mutta pinnallisen.

Joka tapauksessa hieno uusi tuttavuus ja varmasti tutustun seuraavaankin Hautalan teokseen.

[Emilie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Legenda kuokkamummosta on karmivan outo ja älyttömän pelottava, mutta myös niin tajuttoman koukuttava! Teksti oli välillä karua ja puhe rumaa, mikä ei yleensä ole minun makuuni, mutta tällä kertaa se toi kirjan miljööseen sopivaa autentisuutta. Kirjasta jäi pyörimään kymmeniä kysymyksiä päähäni ja jos jossain törmään Hautalaan, istutan hänet kyllä piinapenkkiin. Tämän kirjan rinnalle kaipaisi lukupiiriä, jossa voisi keskustella omista teorioista... Huikea lukukokemus!

[Tiina Susanna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Aika karmaiseva.
Lisäselvittelyitä tehdessäni osa on jopa tositaustaisia..

[Andy Weston · Rating 3 out of 5]

Set in northern Finland and based around the folklore of a small community that fears the legend of a witch, this interested me, not least as I am currently in the area.

However, the horror element ended up of the least interest, and turned into a rather confusing set of events that built up to a thriller like ending that really didn't work.

As more of a social commentary though, it does hold the interest. As young adults, Maisa Riipinen and Samuel Autio return to the place of their adolescence. Whereas Maisa's is Sámi and her family has ways lived in the area, Samuel is the child of one of the Somali refugee families that moved to the town when he was an infant.

The legend of Granny Hatchett terrified them as children, a sort of dark Grimm fairy tale of an old woman who kills children and disposes of various parts of their bodies in different ways. It was the sort of tale told by parents to their children to hurry them home on time.

Samuel arrives back in town for his father's funeral, amd Maisa for research on a project she is working on; but at the same time, a young girl disappears, and the community believes there may be more to the Granny Hatchett legend than they thought.


Its a question of the author trying to do too much in trying to deliver as a horror thriller and a more contemporary piece of social interaction. The fast-pace action of the former takes over and inevitably spoils what had been a interesting story of immigrants trying to adapt to a culture very different than their own.

[Anu Korpinen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kolme ja puoli tähteä. Ei hyytänyt ihan samalla tavalla kuin Kuiskaava tyttö, mutta kyllähän tarina oli mielenkiintoinen ja imi mukaansa.

[Lotta · Rating 2 out of 5]

Tää lähti niin hyvin liikkeelle mut viimeiset 60 sivua oli pahempaa myötähäpeäfestiä kuin se kohta twilightissa missä Jacob ottaa vaatteensa pois daddy Swanin edessä

[Martha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley for the review copy!

The Black Tongue is a weird book. While Goodreads lists it as "horror/suspense/mystery", and it does have elements similar to the Nordic crime novels I so love, it doesn't fit neatly into a genre box. It has some elements of horror, and at times feels similar to the unreality of Night Film (an excellent book, by the way) or the TV show Fringe. In a way I think a good subgenre for this book would be "disquiet", because many pieces of the book are not so out-and-out horrifying as they are deeply unsettling.

This is largely due to Hautala's gift for invoking a sense of atmosphere. You can smell the sea and envision the creepy old house where Maisa experiences her terror. The story jumps around through three different time periods and multiple characters, but the underlying sense that something is not quite right is pervasive, running like a wrong thread through the background of these POVs. It's a very tightly written novel that's very hard to put down. As I read it I constantly thought of what a dark, dramatic movie it would make, with some excellent cinematography and lighting to bring out the creepier scenes in the book.

What lessened my enjoyment of this book was the simple fact that it ended with very little resolution for the characters, and to be honest, I'm not entirely sure what the story was supposed to mean. It begins with an urban legend--Granny Hatchet, the boogeyman of this small Finnish town by the sea--but spools off in other directions, teasing with other elements that may or may not tie into the legend.

I suppose you could say that Granny, like the legend of the Loch Ness Monster (referenced in the book), is created as a way to scare the local residents into silence. Or perhaps she's the result of rumors and gossip surrounding a mentally ill old woman, and after so many years she's just a convenient cover that someone else is using for their own purposes.

Or perhaps Hautala is trying to say something else entirely: his story has echoes of the Brothers Grimm--famous for imparting moral lessons through their stories--and perhaps here the moral behind Granny Hatchet is: don't ask questions, don't seek answers, just keep your head down and follow the established routine. The older generation is trying to prevent too much change in the younger generation, even as they fail: communism falls out of fashion, leaving people like Samuel's dad without a crutch, and new floods of immigrants to the country bring with them new ways and new ideas.

But these are all just ideas, because honestly, I'm not really sure what to make of the book. On top of the diverging story lines, it's not always clear if the characters involved are entirely mentally present, or if they're experiencing psychological breakdowns that lead to hallucinations, paranoia and other disconnects from reality. Is it possible Granny Hatchet really exists, and the novel is a sort of magical realism turned dark? Or are the characters taking the urban legend a little too far?

Overall, this was a great book, very dark and spooky--I just wish it had a more conclusive ending. I know sometimes art is supposed to provoke questions, not provide answers, and this book definitely gets stuck in your head for days on end. Maybe later on I'll have an epiphany and decode the message within. In the meantime, I still enjoyed it, even if it felt a little murky at times; but if you enjoy a more clear-cut horror story, you'll probably be left frustrated at the end as you try to decipher what it all means.

[Angie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I truly loved this book. The Amazon reviews were less than stellar but I bought the book before I even noticed that, just based on the description. I am so glad I did.

The Black Tongue is about the tale of Granny Hatchet, who kills children, as well as the lives of those affected by this tale. It has multiple interweaving story lines told over the span of a couple decades, and follows a few characters closely, as well as a couple others peripherally. It's deeply creepy, and so dark. The language is beautiful.

If you like dark fairy tales, and you like horror, this book might be for you. If you like and are intrigued by the darker side of life, then I 100% recommend this. If you are put off by violence or crude language or sexuality, this book might not be for you (and this may be the source of some of the poor reviews).

The structure was a little odd. There are multiple story lines and I did have to remind myself occasionally where different story lines left off. It wasn't too hard to follow, but wasn't the easiest either. I would also caution you away from this book if you like your stories wrapped up with a neat little bow and everything explained perfectly; you won't get that here (nor, in my opinion, does the story require it).

This book was so creepy and the ending honestly left me with chills. Highly recommend for my fellow lovers of dark fairy tales. This was an excellent read!

[Elisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received a free copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you, Amazon Publishing!
This book is hard to describe. It's horror, psychological suspense and social chronicle all rolled into one. It's not an easy read; the language is very poetic, with many detours into the minds, memories, nightmares and fears of the characters. At first, it's hard to figure out how the stories mesh with each other, but eventually it all makes sense. It took me a while to get into the plot but, once things got moving, I couldn't put it down. Urban legends, grown-up fairy tales, bullies and a Somali girl trying to find her place in Finland are combined with passages so horribly scary that they made my skin crawl. This is a book worth reading.

[Annie · Rating 3 out of 5]

It’s been a long time since I’ve read an out-and-out horror story. I picked up Marko Hautala’s The Black Tongue because it was set in Finland and, according to the description, was about a folk story that might be truer than any one wants it to be. That part turned out to be true, but The Black Tongue ended up being much weirder and scarier than I was expecting...

Read the rest of my review at A Bookish Type. I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley for review consideration.

[Annika Ahvensalmi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hautalan paras, ehdottomasti!

[Kat · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very different read and not at all quite what I was expecting I requested th book because I love all Scandi noir and this sure lived up to expectations. a difficult book to describe or fit into particular genre I would say its a book that you just need to read with no misconception's as to what to expect. Good writing and a good plot I thoroughly I enjoyed it.
My thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me the ARC.

[Veera · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cittarin alepokkarien seasta lähti matkaan, en tiennyt tästä kirjasta tai kirjailijasta etukäteen mitään.

En ole aikoihin nauttinut lukemisesta näin paljon. On ollut lukublokkia ja nyt teki mieli vaan lukea ihan pienimmässäkin raossa ja työpäivän minitauoilla. Ensimmäinen kirja jota ylipäätään kannoin töissä mukana. Pakko antaa viisi tähteä, kiitos tälle tarinalle, sain lukuintoni takaisin!

[Matti · Rating 4 out of 5]

Elementtejä oli aika paljon, ja välillä pelkäsin, että kaikki selitetään puhki, mutta kokonaiskuva jäikin oikein kiinnostavalla tavalla hämäräksi. Oikein hyvä!

[Christine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Every society has its own version of the boogieman – a story to tell naughty children in order to scare them into behaving. Granny Hatchet is only an urban legend told to frighten the teenagers of Suvikyla, Finland. Or is it?

Granny Hatchet, as her name would suggest, carries a hatchet with her wherever she goes. She follows children who are out alone. Her hatchet never fails to strike between the shoulder blades. She removes their heart, buries it in her garden until it rots and turns black. Then, and only then, she eats the heart and thereby consumes their soul.

Maisa Riipinen grew up in Suvikyla among the row houses and amidst the refugees who lived there and, she is familiar with the legend of Granny Hatchet, more familiar than she cares to remember. As a student working on her dissertation about Urban Legends she dares to go back to discover if Granny Hatchet is still a story being told in the dark basement of the townhouse complex. As Maisa is daring to walk down memory lane Samuel Autio has also come back to his hometown to arrange his father’s funeral. Samuel and Maisa had known each other as children and share a secret that neither wants to reveal. Will it come out now that they are both back home as adults?

The first part of this book drew me in. I was sitting at the edge of my seat enthralled with the gruesomeness of the Granny Hatchet story as it was being told to the children of the town. I gasped when one of the girls left the secret circle and it became clear she had a secret of own. Each mysterious footfall she heard had me holding me breath. And then … well … I’m not really sure. Jump to Samuel coming home and finding a strange movie playing in his father’s abandoned apartment, the playing of which changed the telling of the story into flashbacks told by both Samuel and Maisa. Flashbacks that left Granny Hatchet in the literary dust never, really, to be properly revisited again.

At that point the book began to seem a little disjointed. The story began to jump all over the place, introducing us to an alcoholic, pedophilic hermit, a strange keeper of the marsh, Samuel’s American girlfriend and her crazy, actor father none of whom had anything to do with Granny Hatchet. Then we are told about some strange sea serpent-like creature hidden in the basement of an old mansion located on an island no one is allowed to visit.

Wait a minute! What happened?

Judging from the beginning of this book it could have been a really scary read that would have kept me up well into the night to finish it, but the narration lost its way and never really got back on track. I finished it, and it was not all horrible – there were goose bumpy moments – but overall I thought it could have been better had the author stuck with his original premise and given me the creepy urban legend story promised in the book blurb.

The only saving grace ... and the reason for my 3 star rating ... is there is a twist at the end that did have me letting out an involuntary gasp because I did not see it coming. It made it worthwhile to get to the last few pages. And the writing, for lack of a better word, was atmospheric. Mr. Hautala can certainly write prose that makes you feel the mist and hear the crunch of dry leaves. At least there was that.

* I received this ebook at no charge via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review *

[Ashley · Rating 4 out of 5]

BLUF: This is a worthwhile read, but contains some odd (but infrequent) sexual content.

**I was provided a copy of this book from netgalley.com in exchange for an honest review**

Plot: The Black Tongue surrounds a neighborhood’s urban legend. The story is intertwined around a few different individuals. We follow a young girl who is being introduced to the legend for the first time, an older woman who remembers the story from her childhood and decides to return to her hometown to write about the legend, and an older man (grew up with the woman) who returns to the neighborhood after the death of his father and reminisces on his childhood.

Pre-warning!: The first chapter is told from a teen’s point of view and IS NOT reflective on how the book is written. Please, trudge through it – it’s worth it.

Let’s start with the good…: I can’t tell you how good of a job the translator did against the original, but the story here flowed as if it was originally written in English, with the obvious exceptions of Finnish names. I didn’t struggle to read through the translation at all.

It’s interesting to see how everything ties together. At first, it really makes no sense on why we are following these different people, but it becomes much more complex as the story continues. I adore the story for this.

Another plus is that this book scared me. I’ll admit, I am a wimp, but I haven’t read a book that scared me in a while. This one did it. I slept with the light on for a couple nights.

…and then the bad: Awkward, awkward sexual moments. I’m not a fan of sexual moments anyways, but the ones in this book were exceptional strange.

Oh, and here is the stuff that doesn’t matter, but I’m going to tell you about anyways: The translator changed a few names to be English, but not the majority. I can only assume it is because, at one point, the book refers to Samuel being named after the Bible. It would have made more sense to change all or change none, IMO.

[Kamila · Rating 4 out of 5]

Suspenseful and well-written, The Black Tongue is a thoughtful coming-of-age story set in a small town on the coast of Finland. Hautala deftly moves between past and present, exploring the intersection between characters' lives and myth and reality. We follow Samuel as a grown man returning to his childhood home after his father's death and as a teen falling in love for the first time with a headstrong girl who draws him deeper into the tale of Granny Hatchet; and we meet Maisa, a researcher interested in local lore who knew Samuel growing up. It has certain elements of a horror or thriller novel, but the language is also quite lyrical, the characters are complex and believable, and the creepy scenes are largely psychological and not explicitly violent. It's a genre-bending "literary horror" or "literary thriller" work, which contributed to my enjoyment. I like it when authors tell their story the way it needs to be told, regardless of the marketing categories the publishing industry uses!

Full disclosure: I worked as a copy editor on this project.

[Paromjit · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a book that harks back to malevolant folktales and myths within the horror genre. It involves missing children, past and present, a fearsome Granny Hatchet who kills, and a villa which is shrouded in mystery and which locals avoid at all costs. It is easy to read and draws in the reader with dexterity. The story is set in Finland and focuses on a handful of characters in a disjointed episodic manner going back and forth in time. There is a conclusion of sorts at the end, but even then I was left with this feeling of dissatisfaction. I did enjoy reading the book but felt overall that it was a little incoherent in its whole. Nevertheless, I would recommend it for the well created atmosphere of tension and suspense. I received a free ebook copy from netgalley.com for a honest review

[Jennifer · Rating 1 out of 5]

"The Black Tongue" has earned the dubious distinction of being the worst book I've read so far this year, and quite possibly the worst book I've read in my life.

The premise sounded promising; an urban legend that isn't actually a legend. But instead of focusing on the creepy legend, the author instead bounced between the 1980's and the current day, filling his chapters with unnecessary sex and masturbation scenes and confusing sidebars that did nothing to further the story.

This book had poorly developed characters and no discernible plot, conclusion or motivation. It was confusing, poorly-written and ridiculously boring.

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm not sure if this is strangely written because it's a translation from Finnish or if it's just strange. It gets high marks for creepiness and terror, low marks for making sense or offering any explanation at all for its weirdness. The story jumps through time and between narrators with little regard for a coherent timeline which was frustrating. It managed to pull off little snippets of sheer horror but with no resolution or elucidation it had no meaning and was ultimately unsatisfying.

[Susanna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Luin tän nyt jo toiseen kertaan. Ensin suunnilleen puolesta välistä loppuun, jotta voisin aloittaa Mustan kielen paremmin muistikuvin. Kuitenkin kävi niin, että kun pääsin loppuun, piti aloittaa ihan alusta. Ajattelin että luen siihen noin puoleen väliin, mutta jotenkin tän monimutkaisuus vei siihen, että luin lopun vielä toiseen kertaan. (Eli jo kolmanteen kertaan kokonaisuudessaan.) Erikoinen kirja. Kymmenen vuoden takainen neljä tähteä saa nousta nyt viiteen tähteen.

[Mikko Saari · Rating 4 out of 5]

No jopas oli synkkää tavaraa. Nousee kyllä Hautalan parhaimmistoon, minun mielestäni, sen verran tuikeita aineksia tässä yhdisteltiin tyylikkäällä tavalla. Pelottavia juttuja, ja hyvää taustaviritystä ja langanpätkiä kiinnostaviin suuntiin.

[Reetta Saine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pitkästä aikaa kirja, joka oikeasti pelotti - etenkin, kun sen luki loppuun keskellä yötä kerrostaloasunnossa, jossa on turvaketjut ja kurkistusreikä :).

Jokaisella paikkakunnalla lienee oma kuokkamummo-tarinansa, mikä helpottaa vinkkausta.

[Juha Viitanen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lähdin lukemaan Marko Hautalan Kuokkamummo -romaania (2014) siitä syystä, että sain kirjastosta juuri lainaan varaamani Hautalan uutuuden Musta kieli ja siitäpä kerrottiinkin, että se on itsenäinen jatko-osa Kuokkamummo-romaanille. Päätin kuitenkin lukaista Kuokkamummon ensin.

Juonenkuvaus - sen verran kun siitä on syytä kertoa - selviää kirjan takakannesta ja taitaa olla täällä Goodreadsissakin tiivistelmä, joten en juonesta tähän kirjoita nyt sen kummempaa.

Stephen Kingistä on sanottu, että hän osaa aloittaa tarinansa mukaansatempaavasti ja sitten saattaa monesti lässähtää. Kauhukirjailija Hautalan (jota Kingiin on luonnollisesti verrattu) kohdalla on ainakin tämän Kuokkamummo-romaanin kohdalla toisinpäin. Alku ei oikein sen kummemmin saanut innostumaan (joskaan se ei huonokaan ollut, paitsi ihan ensimmäinen luku ja senkin huonouden syy selvisi myöhemmin), mutta tarinan edetessä sivuja käänsikin sitten jo kiihtyvään tahtiin.

Romaanissa liikutaan sujuvasti kahdessa aikatasossa: päähenkilöiden lapsuudessa ja aikuisuudessa. Kutkuttavasti asioita jätetään hieman auki ja lopussa kerrotaan sellaista, mikä aiheuttaa kysymyksiä, mutta vastauksia ei nyt saada. Hieman yliluonnollisen puolellekin tässä poiketaan - vai poiketaanko? - mutta ei minusta häiritsevästi.

Arvid-koira ja Julia -kohtaus on kyllä hyvin kirjoitettu (en spoilaa tässä kertomalla sen enempää). Järkyttävä ja surullinen ja realistinen samaan aikaan.

Hautalaa olen aiemminkin lukenut ja nyt siis tämän jälkeen uutuusromaani työnalle. Tälle arvioksi 3,4/5.

[Salla Hiltunen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mielenkiintoinen, ilmeisesti aitoa vaasalaista urbaanilegendaa hyödyntävä kauhuromaani.

Hautala on taitava rakentamaan omituista, painostavaa tunnelmaa. Tässä sitä kuitenkin välillä latistaa runsas ihmissuhdesoopa. Harmillisesti myös itse Kuokkamummo jää vähän sivuosaan.

Kirja on vetävästi kirjoitettu, ja luin sen yhden päivän ainana. Kirjassa on mielestäni vahva aloitus, melko tylsistyttävä keskikohta ja ihan ok loppupuoli. Olisi ollut kiinnostavaa kuulla mytologiasta vähän enemmän, mutta toisaalta oli ihan toimiva ratkaisu pitää meno niin mystisenä. Jatko-osa paljastanee myös jotain lisää.

[Riikka · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kun kuulin tästä romaanista ensimmäisen kerran, ajattelin heti, että se pitää lukea. Valitettavasti kirja oli kuitenkin pieni pettymys. Palapelimaisesti rakennettu tarina perustuu urbaanilegendaan mummosta, joka tappaa ihmisiä. Tarinassa on hetkensä, mutta ne ovat pikemminkin ällöttäviä kuin pelottavia, vaikka kirjaa kauhugenreen onkin luokiteltu. Omaan makuuni kirjassa oli ihan liikaa ”sälää”, pieniä yksityiskohtia, jotka vaikuttivat merkityksellisiltä mutta joilla ei lopulta ollut mitään merkitystä tarinan kannalta.