The Summer Book: A Novel (New York Review Books Classics)

by Tove Jansson

Celebrating 50 years of Tove Jansson's classic, bestselling novel

Featured in the BBC 2 Between the Covers Bookclub Special (Eurovision series 2023)

'Distils the essence of summer' Robert Macfarlane
'Magical, life-affirming' Elizabeth Gilbert

The Worldwide Classic about a tiny island and larger love.

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. With a foreword by Esther Freud and an afterword by Sophia Jansson (on whom the child 'Sophia' is based) who returns to the island during the pandemic at the point of becoming a grandmother herself.

Includes a 15pp epilogue by Tove's niece Sophia Jansson - the inspiration for 'Sophia' - on a personal and moving return to the island.

'Eccentric, funny, wise, full of joys and small adventures. This is a book for life.' Esther Freud

'Tove Jansson was a genius. This is a marvellous, beautiful, wise novel, which is also very funny.' Philip Pullman

• ISBN10: 0954221710
• ISBN13: 9780954221713
• Publish Date: 29 May 2003 (first published 1 January 1975)
• Publish Status: Active
• Out of Print: 9 February 2021
• Publish Country: GB
• Imprint: Sort of Books
• Edition: Main
• Format: Paperback (B-Format (198x129 mm))
• Pages: 192
• Language: English

Reviews

[nannah]

“On the one hand, you could say nothing happens, there is no plot, and on the other hand that everything in the book is driven by a single event, so fleetly mentioned as to be almost occult: ‘Sophia woke up and remembered that they had come back to the island and that she had a bed to herself because her mother was dead.’”
Kathryn Davis

What a lovely little book! I’m so glad I read this before summer was truly over; it truly captures summer’s feelings and little adventures. Sophia, her grandmother, and her father stay on a tiny island in a gulf of Finland for the summer. The book mostly explores the relationship between Sophia and her grandmother: their warm love, their fights, and everything in between that can occur when in a rather isolated place. Like Kathryn Davis said in the introduction, it could be argued that nothing actually happens, but so much is said, too.

I think I’ll be reading this over again many times on warm summer nights -- especially as I get older.

[brokentune]

A person can find anything if he takes the time, that is, if he can afford to look. And while he’s looking, he’s free, and he finds things he never expected.

This book is brilliant. It’s the story of 6-year-old Sophia and her grandmother and the summer they spend together on an island – they go exploring, they play and cheat at cards, they pick their new neighbour’s lock. Sophia and her gran are absolutely fab.

Every chapter is a different short story, full of warmth and allegorical depth.

I think I will need to read Jansson’s other books, too.

“It’s funny about love,” Sophia said. “The more you love someone, the less he likes you back.”
“That’s very true,” Grandmother observed. “And so what do you do?”
“You go on loving,” said Sophia threateningly. “You love harder and harder.”
Her grandmother sighed and said nothing.

[jamiereadthis]

10 stars? 20? The best book I’ve read all summer.