Tove Jansson

"This brief novel tells the story of Sophia, a six-year-old girl awakening to existence, and Sophia's grandmother, nearing the end of hers, as they spend the summer on a tiny unspoiled island in the Gulf of Finland." -- Publisher's description.

The Summer Book

An elderly artist and her six-year-old grand-daughter while away a summer together on a tiny island in the gulf of Finland. As the two learn to adjust to each other's fears, whims and yearnings, a fierce yet understated love emerges - one that encompasses not only the summer inhabitants but the very island itself.Written in a clear, unsentimental style, full of brusque humour, and wisdom, The Summer Book is a profoundly life-affirming story.Tove Janssoncaptured much of her own life and spirit in the book, which was her favourite of her adult novels. This new edition, with a Foreword by Esther Freud, sees the return of a European literary gem - fresh, authentic and deeply humane.

figments of one's sanity

I can’t describe things any more. I can’t find the words, or maybe it’s just that I’m not trying hard enough. It was such a long time ago. No one here was even born. And unless I tell it because I want to, it’s as if it never happened; it gets closed off and then it’s lost.

ella

Smell is important. It reminds a person of all the things he's been through; it is a sheath of memories and security.

Sometimes people never saw things clearly until it was too late and they no longer had the strength to start again. Or else they forgot their idea along the way and didn't even realize that they had forgotten. 

I.. finally finished the book. While it seems like everyone enjoys reading this one, I don't think it's for me. 

Initially, I was drawn by the grandmother and granddaughter dynamic but for the life of me and as I continued reading, I just couldn't get past the fact at how Sophia, the granddaughter, was rude and annoying to her grandmother in almost every single chapter. The grandmother, on the other hand, was an alright character and I did enjoy some of her witty and sarcastic remarks at some point. Their dynamic (including the-just-pretend-i-am-not-even-here-dad character) felt all over the place and I ended up skimming mostly through the lines. However, I do appreciate the way Jansson wrote about their surroundings that it felt atmospheric almost. 

Perhaps I dove into the book too quickly with high hopes that its final verdict was a bit of a let down. It was still a nice read of nostalgia induced, hence the three stars from me. 

I.. finally finished the book. While it seems like everyone enjoys reading this one, I don't think it's for me. 

Initially, I was drawn by the grandmother and granddaughter dynamic but for the life of me and as I continued reading, I just couldn't get past the fact at how Sophia, the granddaughter, was rude and annoying to her grandmother in almost every single chapter. The grandmother, on the other hand, was an alright character and I did enjoy some of her witty and sarcastic remarks at some point. Their dynamic (including the-just-pretend-i-am-not-even-here-dad character) felt all over the place and I ended up skimming mostly through the lines. However, I do appreciate the way Jansson wrote about their surroundings that it felt atmospheric almost. 

Perhaps I dove into the book too quickly with high hopes that its final verdict was a bit of a let down. It was still a nice read of nostalgia induced, hence the three stars from me. 

I bought this in NYC dont know why. I saw it was really simple and i felt like i needed that. As soon as I started reading I understood that the book was exactly what I was expecting and what I needed. It has become one of my favs ever. Me ha encantado!!!! 

Julen Hernandez

So simple and so beautiful, and one of my favorites books of all time 

Jacque

This book builds whimsy and prettiness with each new vignette

Clay Carey

Gelaine Trinidad

Lila R E

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

Anna Concannon 

charisa

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.

heleen de boever

Nick Gracilla

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.

Amy Thibodeau

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.

Neil Murray

juno

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

Laura Gill

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. 

Liv Rockwell

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.

Michael Chen

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.

Erifili G

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.

In The Summer Book Tove Jansson distills the essence of the summer—its sunlight and storms—into twenty-two crystalline vignettes. This brief novel tells the story of Sophia, a six-year-old girl awakening to existence, and Sophia’s grandmother, nearing the end of hers, as they spend the summer on a tiny unspoiled island in the Gulf of Finland. The grandmother is unsentimental and wise, if a little cranky; Sophia is impetuous and volatile, but she tends to her grandmother with the care of a new parent. Together they amble over coastline and forest in easy companionship, build boats from bark, create a miniature Venice, write a fanciful study of local bugs. They discuss things that matter to young and old alike: life, death, the nature of God and of love. “On an island,” thinks the grandmother, “everything is complete.” In The Summer Book, Jansson creates her own complete world, full of the varied joys and sorrows of life. Tove Jansson, whose Moomintroll comic strip and books brought her international acclaim, lived for much of her life on an island like the one described in The Summer Book, and the work can be enjoyed as her closely observed journal of the sounds, sights, and feel of a summer spent in intimate contact with the natural world.

The Summer Book

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