Product Description

The Summer Book 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.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #4284 in Books
• Published on: 2003-05-29
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 160 pages

Review
"'The Summer Book is a marvellously uplifting read, full of gentle humour and wisdom.' Justine Picardie, Daily Telegraph 'A marvellous book.... The prose is sublime.' Murrough O'Brien, Independent on Sunday 'It's hard to describe the astonishing achievement of Jansson's artistry... a perfection of the small, quiet read.' The Guardian, BOOK OF THE WEEK 'Jansson was a genius, a woman of profound wisdom and great artistry, and this is a book to treasure.' Philip Pullman 'Every so often, a book is published that captures something in us.... The Summer Book is one of those.' Rachel Simhon, The Daily Telegraph"

Daily Telegraph, 24 May 2003 Justine Picardie (extract)
"The Summer Book is a marvellously uplifting read, full of gentle humour and wisdom.

Independent on Sunday, 11 May 2003, Murrough O’Brien (extract)
"A marvellous book…. The prose is sublime: plain, but not oppressively so.

Customer Reviews

Small, but perfectly formed
Beautifully-written, 'The Summer Book' focuses upon the relationship between a little girl, Sophia and her wilful, yet wise grandmother as they spend the summer together on a remote Finnish island.

Based on Jansson's own family experiences and love of nature, the stories are deceptively simplistic. The author manages to cram a huge amount of ideas, observations and description into a relatively short space without being sentimental or over-descriptive. The characters are excellent. The grandmother and Sophia are feisty individuals who enjoy questioning the world and their conversations can be at times, both hilarious and touching.

This edition has also been produced with real care. Esther Freud's foreword is probably one of the most fascinating that I have read in a long time(she visits the island and meets the 'grown-up' Sophia) and the inclusion of photographs of the island and Jansson's family only adds to the slightly sad beauty of the novel.

For me, it sums up what great literature should be. It's an easy and enjoyable book to read, but you leave with the impression of having touched on some huge ideas. I'm looking forward to reading it many times over in the future.

Charming, beautiful, philosophical...
I rejoice that this short work has come into print again, though it's rather sad that it took the author's recent death to prompt the publishers into action. I'd read an extract in a guide to the top 100 books of the twentieth century and was surprised and disappointed not to be able to get my hands on the full edition.

Jansson has an inate understanding of the wisdom and skewed world-view of children, and manages to capture the fragile - and ephemeral - friendship which can exist between the very old and the very young. There is a freshness about her style which never teeters into whimsy. A rare achievement indeed.

Outstanding short novel.

“The Summer Book” is episodic, detailing events from long summers spent on a remote Island off the coast of Finland, and concentrating on the rapport between the recently motherless six-year old Sophia and her Grandmother. Although short, the book covers a lot of ground – a clear and lucid observation of the natural history of the Island and the surrounding sea, reflections on aging and the end of life and, above all, a sharply drawn portrait of the relationship between young and old.

I didn’t feel the book was particularly well served either by the introduction or by the presentation but that shouldn’t put anyone off.

This excellent book tells its tale shorn of sentimentality and platitude. The prose style (I suppose that’s also a nod in the direction of the translation) is simple and elegant. It left me wanting to tone down my enthusiasm in case I put my friends and relatives off reading it.