The Summer Book
I’ve added one of my favorite, favorite books EVER, The Summer Book by Tove Jansson, to the sidebar of recommended books. It seems appropriate for the season, and a new edition (featuring the same lovely translation as the original English edition) has just been released by New York Review Books Classics. After the break, some praise for this unique, beautiful piece of fiction. I read this while in Finland, on our bittersweet last couple of days, looking out over the sea, and it was one of the great reading experiences of my life.
“Tove Jansson was a genius. This is a marvelous, beautiful, wise novel, which is also very funny.†–Philip Pullman
“A wise, joyous book…it unfolds the knowledge and the beauty of the two lives it embraces–old wisdom and young discover, intertwining like vines.†–Rex Reed
“The Summer Book manages to make you feel good as well as wise, without having to make too much effort…[it] says so much that we want to hear in such an accessible form, without ever really saying anything at all.†–The Independent (London)
“Few books since Robinson Crusoe have evoked the joys of island living so powerfully as this Finnish novella.” –The Observer, PAPERBACK OF THE WEEK
“The Summer Book is a marvellously uplifting read, full of gentle humour and wisdom.” –Daily Telegraph (London)
“A marvellous book…The prose is sublime: plain, but not oppressively so.” –Independent on Sunday (London)
“A…beautiful novel which blends humour and poetry with detailed observation of tiny things.” –Daily Mail (London)
“It’s hard to describe the astonishing achievement of Jansson’s artistry…a perfection of the small, quiet read.” –The Guardian, (London) BOOK OF THE WEEK
“A wonderful novel to devour in the sunshine…full of charm and character.” –The Independent, 50 BEST BOOKS FOR SUMMER
“Every so often, a book is published that captures something in us…The Summer Book is one of those.” –Daily Telegraph
June 15, 2008 at 1:50 pm
He wrote the Moomin comics? Wow. I just placed an order for this book, since it seems to be the sort of book I’d enjoy. Thanks for making me aware of it, Jeff.
June 15, 2008 at 6:05 pm
She, actually, Tove Jansson was female.
I have a first edition of The Summer Book, one of the treasured books in my personal library.
June 15, 2008 at 6:09 pm
D’oh! Thanks for the correction!
June 15, 2008 at 7:19 pm
Anne–I should have guessed you would have that one!
Not just Moomin comics but some amazing Moomin books. And I also want to try her other novels for adults.
Jeff
June 15, 2008 at 8:23 pm
Jeff, I have you to thank for alerting me to the Moomin comics. I gave the first two volumes to a friend for his 60th birthday back in April – they were a hit.
June 16, 2008 at 8:19 am
I am a huge fan of Tove Jansson. I particularly love her Moomintroll books, which have a huge emotional and philosophical range, all the way from charming eccentricity to melancholic introspection. I also love the Moomin comics, which are like an alternate Moomin-verse to the books, with the same characters but very different stories.
All the quotes you give here for THE SUMMER BOOK are appropriate, Jeff, particularly those referring to her wisdom, humour and simplicity. It is a wonder what she was able to evoke with very sparse, straightforward prose.
I was very lucky that my parents loved the Moomintroll books, and for my seventh birthday my mother made all the puppets for, and staged a puppet show of, MOOMINLAND MIDWINTER. Sadly, all the puppets were much later eaten by mice and silverfish. All save the Groke, which was fitting. Even as a puppet, she was too cold to be eaten.
June 16, 2008 at 11:01 am
I love this book. Back when, I tracked down an OOP copy for myself, and just recently recommended it to a friend. I was pleased to see that NYRB was bringing it back into print. How great are those guys?
Doesn’t Jansson also have a Winter Book? Jeff, have you read that?
June 16, 2008 at 11:12 am
garth, what a great story!
james, seriously, a winter book?
June 16, 2008 at 5:02 pm
It’s true. Now that I actually do some research–that is, some Googling–I see that it was originally called Meddelande, which means “message,” and it’s a 1998 compilation of short stories from the previous thirty years. I guess the English title was intended to trick us into thinking it was what I was hoping it was, some kind of companion novel to The Summer Book.