The Summer Book by Tove Jansson 🇫🇮/ 🇸🇪

A discussion of Jansson’s marvelous vignettes across a summer.

Recommended if you like:
Anniversaries by Uwe Johnson
The Tempest by Shakespeare
Tree of Life by Terrence Malick

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[travelthroughstories]

Great review of a fantastic book, Jack. The quote by the grandmother is heartbreaking - that one has really stuck with me as well. Their relationship is one of my favorites in literature. I also picked up the connections to The Tempest - the way they play with and shape the island with their imagination as if it's their stage is so similar to Prospero and Miranda... Thanks for the reminder that I need to read more Jansson!

[jenniseicol]

Thoroughly enjoyed your review of a book I loved reading a few years ago. Thank you for bringing back happy reading memories!

[flannerymonaghan-morris]

Stumbled upon this book at a bookshop. I’d heard about it before, and started to read it and fell in love with it.

It will be adapted into a movie soon (in English), with Glenn Close as the grandma and Anders Danielsen Lie as the dad. It’s being made with the full permission of the Jansson family (in fact I think the granddaughter is writing the script), and for the director, it’s a passion project. It is supposed to film sometime next summer, I believe. I cannot wait for it.

I also cannot wait to see which newcomer they will cast as Sophia.

[Shellyish]

While listening to you, I pulled out my own Tove Jansson (Moomin) and now I’m excited to read it. The Summer Books sounds sweet and profound in its own way.
I like the idea of reading a vignette each night to your daughters. Hope the school year is wrapping up seamlessly for you.

Cheers, Shelly

[SpringboardThought]

Ohh this does sound great. I knew this usually makes top NYRB lists people recommend but wasn’t sure what all it was. Love the illustrations too. Fantastic review, as usual.