Reviewed by nannah on
Last book Moominpappa decided he wanted to live in a lighthouse on a (near-)deserted island, so he packed up his family and left without so much of a notice to any of their friends.
Well this book covers what basically happens to the rest of Moominvalley while they're gone. Apparently their friends and acquaintances all want to visit the Moomins, only to discover they're nowhere to be found. Instead of going home disappointed, they all just decide to live in the Moominhouse. Among this group is a Fillyjonk, a Hemulen, a little creature called Toft (which I hear is Tove Jansson's self-insert character), Mymble's daughter, and Snufkin, who comes back to Moominvalley to find 5 bars of music that escapes him.
Don't get me wrong, the book still isn't as cheery as say, book 1-3 or anything, but it's definitely a change from book 8! I loved seeing how this contrasting bunch of characters were thrown together and managed to ... "get along", in a way. It's also eye-opening to know how the characters we already know (Mymble's daughter and Snufkin) really thought about the Moomins, since we actually get to read chapters in their PoVs.
All in all, it's a very interesting and fun book to read, especially given the grim and melancholy book that preceded it.
Reading updates
- Started reading
- 13 May, 2019: Finished reading
- 13 May, 2019: Reviewed