The Summer Book

This book builds whimsy and prettiness with each new vignette

3.5/5 goodbye summer 2022 ~

i read this a while ago now but it's stayed with me since as one of my favourite books. i loved the moomin series growing up and for that reason there's something so familiar and comforting about tove jansson's writing. would recommend if you enjoy the 'nothing happens' genre in books/film, a really lovely, light read that reminds you of summer :)

This isn’t a novel in the traditional sense, instead the reader is treated to little vinegar of the summer life of Sophia, her grandma and Sophia’s Papa. Beautifully evocative and atmospheric. I’m looking forward to reading The Winter Book now

cute! and very slow LOL but honestly, sometimes slow literature is much needed. this is more of a collection of vignettes than a streamlined novel, but we breeze through so many lovely scenes of summer wonder, further enlivened by a quirky bond between young and old. in short, pls i want to go to scandinavia so bad.

Charming.

If you're seeking a mental break from the heat this summer, pick up The Summer Book, a set of interlocking short stories of a family summering on a remote island in the Gulf of Finland. It focuses on the relationship between a young girl and her grandmother, both wildly curious, exploratory, and working through the death of the family matriarch. It's a quick read, but made full by everything it doesn't say. Humor, exploration, mortality, and loss are somehow weaved into every page. A must.

Weird, quiet little book that reminded my of summers at the cabin with my own grandmother. There's an undercurrent of nostalgia and sadness that's beautiful and feels almost exactly like the end of summer.

Beautiful

(3.5) charming, a little weird and lovely immersive writing, i could see the setting so clearly!!

This captured the whole of my heart, I was mesmerised by the characters, their relationship and the land. A book you can come back to again and again.

My mother handed this to me upon my return home. It was one of two in her hands, of which she said "Here you go". She always reads a variety of books, and found this one to be a good summer read for me for a few reasons. One of which is my love of Jonna Jinton (I am sure) the other probably something to do with my old soul. The writing style speaks to the story's native language and original time written. I loved the distinct voice. What I found more diverting were Sophie and the Grandmother's foils to display the differences between youth and age. In each character there were moments to admire and those to reflect upon. Read for its distinct voice. Savor for its reflection upon humanity.

A few quotes, just because: 7: …you can’t depend on people who just let things happen. 10: Are you sure the door is closed?…It’s always open; you can sleep quite easy. 103: Sophia resorted to the simplest means of flight available in cases of great distress: she fell asleep. 167: …her grandmother answered that it was a good idea to do things before you forgot that they had to be done.

When you finish this book, you feel as though you've been suddenly woken up from the most peaceful dream, or come back from a holiday. Everything was salvaged, some by the right hands and some by the wrong, but nothing was simply lost. This is the first book I read by Tove Jansson, and I definitely see what it is that makes her such a unique and admired author. She creates scenes that perfectly immerse the reader into the nostalgic, unpredictable life on the island, while simultaneously making it clear that we remain outsiders, only getting a short and sweet glimpse into the family's life. An island can be dreadful for someone from outside. Everything is complete, and everyone has his obstinate, sure and self-sufficient place. Within their shores, everything functions according to rituals that are hard as rock from repetition, and at the same time they amble through their days as whimsically and casually as if the world ended at the horizon. Through her smooth and descriptive writing, however, Jansson does not make us, the outsiders, feel like the island is a dreadful and unknown presence. Rather, we become pleasantly embraced by the short vignettes that The Summer Book is composed of, peacefully observing the unique moments that each vignette presents. This book does not need a solid, continuous plot, because it is more of a memory, and Jansson seems to be one of the few authors who could achieve that while captivating the reader. To the final landscape of our old age, as summer fades. This is a fine moment. Silence settles around us, each of us wanders his own way, and yet we all meet by the sea in the peaceful sunset.

I adored this book. Calm and wise and endlessly exquisite.