sirinrob Posted January 24, 2010 Share Posted January 24, 2010 (edited) This is a selection of prose written by Tove Jansson for adults. The earlier stories centre round a young girl and her view of the world around her, and occupy almost half the book. The young girl is independent, strong minded and prone to getting indignant. These are followed by one story when she is an adolescent, the remaining stories as a fully grown woman. The same independence of spirit, strength of mind and irascibility as in the earlier stories is present. The very last piece in the book is an extract from 'Taking Leave' and concerns Tove and her husband's leave taking of an island in the Gulf of Finland, that they have lived for many summers, but now due to old age can no longer cope with. Each of the stories is written in a lean, precise style which conveys a whole range of emotion. Many of the stories involving the young girl are full of humour. I feel I obtained an insight into Tove as a person, as there is a semi-autobiographical feel to many of the pieces. If you have not read Tove Jansson before or only read some of the Moomkin books, then this is an excellent introduction to her work for adults. The novel , 'The True Deceiver', is available and is on my soon to be bought list. Edited January 24, 2010 by sirinrob Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.