The Summer Book

Description

The Summer Books is a fresh, vivid and magical novel about seemingly endless summers of discovery. An elderly artist and her six year old granddaughter while away the summer together, on a tiny island in the Gulf of Finland, their solitude disturbed only by migrating birds, sudden storms and an occasional passing boat. Gradually, the two learn to adjust to each other's fears, foibles and yearnings for independence, and a fierce yet understated love emerges - one that engulfs not only the summer inhabitants, but the very island itself. Tove Jansson writes with a special toughness, and with a quiet, dry sense of humour, about a small girl and her grandmother, who as kindred spirits share the long days together.

The writer and artist Tove Jansson (1914-2001) is a Scandinavian national treasure: she has a museum dedicated to her work in her native Finland, and the Moomin characters adorn everything from mugs to schoolbags. Elsewhere, Moomin stories have been published in 35 languages.

This slim, wise masterpiece... is both unsentimental and heart-melting, and I read it every year. -- Elizabeth Gilbert, author of Eat, Pray, Love * Guardian * It is like looking through clear water and seeing, suddenly, the depth ... Jansson was a writer who knew the proper magnitudes of our small worlds. -- Ali Smith The Summer Book's limpid style belies a deep psychological subtlety...Rereading it now, it feels like a survival guide. -- Melissa Harrison Tove Jansson was a genius. This is a marvellous, beautiful, wise novel, which is also very funny. -- Philip Pullman This is a wonderful, life-affirming, spirited book. Reading it was a tonic. -- Chris Stewart (author, Driving Over Lemons) It's hard to describe the astonishing achievement of Jansson's artistry . . . a perfection of the small, quiet read. -- Ali Smith * Guardian, Book of the Week * The Summer Book is a marvellously uplifting read, full of gentle humour and wisdom. -- Justine Picardie * Daily Telegraph * Eccentric, funny, wise, full of joys and small adventures. This is a book for life. -- Esther Freud A marvellous book.... The prose is sublime: plain, but not oppressively so. * Independent on Sunday * Few books since Robinson Crusoe have evoked the joys of island living so powerfully as this Finnish novella. -- Jonathan Heawood * Observer * A wonderful novel to devour in the sunshine . . . full of charm and character. -- Benedicte Page * the Independent * An odd but beautiful novel which blends humour and poetry with detailed observation of tiny things. -- Georgia Metcalfe * Daily Mail * Every so often, a book is published that captures something in us. . . . The Summer Book is one of those. -- Rachel Simhon * The Daily Telegraph *