The Summer Book: A Novel
Paperback Published on: 29/05/2003
Price: £10.99
Bookseller Reviews
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The Summer Book
A beautifully told and wonderfully atmospheric story about a summer. A woman and her granddaughter share a summer on a wild Scandinavian island and learn a... READ MORE
Exquisite
An exquisitely crafted, gentle novel from the creator of the Moomins.
Sophia and her Grandmother spend the summer together on a Finnish island. I think... READ MORE
A very sweet story
Sophie, her grandmother and Sophie dad life on a small remote island in the gulf of Finland. Dad goes if catching fish so the other two get to know each ot... READ MORE
Synopsis
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 Jansson captured 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.
Publisher information
- Publisher: Sort of Books
- ISBN: 9780954221713
- Number of pages: 192
- Dimensions: 196 x 128 x 34 mm
- Weight: 185g
- Languages: English
Customer Reviews
View allThe Summer Book
I loved this book. It is the perfect summer read, light, captivating, enchanting and brilliantly written. We get to know Sophie and her grandmother through... READ MORE
A sweet Tale
A heart warming, sweet tale depicting long lost summers on an Island in Finland. The central theme is the poignant relationship between a grandmother and a... READ MORE
Good insight into the idiosyncrasies of island life
This is the first book I have read by Tove Jansson, better known as the creator of the Moomins.
The Summer Book is the tale of an elderly woman and her gr... READ MORE
An Interesting Read Which Is Fairly Good But Not Great
This was quite a pleasant read - a little meandering perhaps and also contemplative to an extent (not that the latter is a bad thing, of course). There are... READ MORE
The Summer Book
Two years ago I sailed past the setting for Tove’s magically relaxed summer story. Her writing depicts this part of the Baltic perfectly and the novel shou... READ MORE
Sublime
This is Tove Jansson's most loved work of adult fiction apparently, and I can see why; it’s sublime. Gorgeous little tales of a young girl, Sophia, and her... READ MORE
In 22 short chapters, Tove Jansson paints a world of ‘magic’ forests, silent steps and cries, driftwood and seaweed, summer winds and evening light.
‘’One time in April, there was a full moon, and the sea was covered with ice. Sophia woke up and remembered that they had gone back to the island and that ... READ MORE
Linked short stories, unified by two protagonists and one little island
Any reader expecting a narrative through line in The Summer Book, or a sense of the characters' movement in time, will be disappointed. It's not to say tha... READ MORE
Between The Covers - Series 6 Book
This is a simply stunning book!
So of course I knew all about this book, the world had told me how good it was but I confess that I had not been inclined t... READ MORE