Tove Jansson (1914–2001)

#ReadAroundTheWorld. #Finland

This is a series of short stories that form a memoir of Finnish author Tove Jansson’s growing up in Helsinki in the 1920s. This is her first book for adults and is a sweet, at times nostalgic, look at her childhood as the daughter of a sculptor and an artist.

Jansson captures beautifully the child’s perspective, including the mystery and wonder of life, mixed with the innocent wisdom of childhood. Jansson was part of the Finnish minority of Swedish speakers and her writing also reveals aspects of the culture and traditions. Her writing is magical, understated, luminous and exquisite. Her books are definitely worth exploring.… (more)

I read this entire book in one sitting, in the waiting room at the oral surgeon for my oldest kid (wisdom teeth) and it was perfection. (The book. Not the waiting room.) An absolute delight. Everything I wanted and then some.

Do you want thoughts on how to fill a day, how to live a life, how to balance the creative and emotional needs of two people who have been life partners for decades? Do you want depctiions of the kind of relationship where you can have a circular argument about unresolved issues from years ago that goes nowhere, but also understand each other so well that you can silently arrange to salve unexpressed disappointments for the other? Do you want women who take their art, their careers, their legacies seriously? Do you want boats and islands and attics that connect the artist lofts and homes of the two? Do you want a series of vignettes that depicts a relationship that closely resembles the author's own? All depicted with a hand so light and matter of fact that it almost hides how skilled it all is?

This might be my new favorite Tove Jansson. It was so wonderful. I am still reeling.… (more)