Read and discuss Scandinavian literature in translation as part of our Nordic Book Club, now online! Each month we select a novel from some of the best Nordic literary voices. On November 8, we’ll be discussing The Rabbit Factor by Antti Tuomainen, out now in translation from the Finnish by David Hackston.

In this tense and warmly funny thriller, insurance mathematician Henri’s carefully ordered life is set into upheaval when he loses his job and inherits an adventure park from his brother – its peculiar employees and troubling financial problems included. As Henri begins to investigate the park’s financial theories, he discovers that it originates from loans taken it out from criminals, including some very dangerous men eager to get their money back.

Meanwhile, an encounter with the erratic and lively artist Laura leads to a relationship that further complicates Henri’s life. As their relationship deepens amid extreme lengths taken by his criminal pursuers, Henri finds himself facing situations that don’t fall within his orderly lifestyle — whether on financial spreadsheets or within the heart.

Soon to be a major motion picture starring Steve Carell, The Rabbit Factor is a triumph of a dark thriller, its tension matched only by its ability to make us rejoice in the beauty and random nature of life.