The Summer Book by Tove Jansson

Happy summer solstice! ☀ What better book to read on the longest day of the year than the aptly title The Summer Book by Tove Jansson? The Summer Book can be read in one sitting, but I read it slowly over the course of six months, one chapter at a time. Whichever way you choose to read this novella, it will give you a sense of peace and is the perfect book to read on a starry summer night or while relaxing in a hammock. Or perhaps while staying in a cottage on a tiny Finnish island.

 

Sophia and her grandmother spend their summers on a tiny island in the Gulf of Finland. Though they are very different and sometimes it's impossible to understand one another, a deep love runs between them and through the island. Grandmother has lived her life; now she is a part of Sophia's, and what she lacks in softness she makes up in a quiet, unsentimental kind of wisdom. Sophia learns to love and grow on the island, throughout all the adventures and sunlit days. She and her grandmother row out to other islands for a picnic, but meet with a storm. They get an absolutely unloveable cat, and yet Sophia cannot imagine any other cat replacing it. They build a miniature Venice in the enchanted wood, and carve boats from bark. Sophia tries to camp outside, but the noises of the island seem so much closer and more frightening there. She and her grandmother speak of things dark and grim, and of simple matters of life; but throughout it all the island is always there.

This book is written in twenty-two vignettes, little stories that seem without real plot, and yet an undercurrent of truth runs throughout each story. In this book, life is simply that: life, meant to be lived and contemplated, and made one's own. I can't really describe this book in my own words; those words are meant to be Tove Jansson's, as she is the only one who could write a novel that is somehow so simple and complex. Within each word lives the turbulent waters of the sea, smooth rocks warmed by sunlight, enchanted forests and deadly storms. This book is written by the author who created the beloved world of the Moomins, and it has the same quiet wisdom to it that marks Jansson's style. 

The Summer Book isn't technically a kids' book, but I think it's perfect for all ages. One of the main characters is a six-year-old girl, and though it might be a bit slow or complex for younger kids, there's nothing that makes it "adults-only."

Make sure to check in on my Middle Grade Summer Books list this June! I've added a few new titles, all of which are perfectly lovely summer reads.