Customer Reviews

The Summer Book

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The Summer Book is magic. The relationship between the little girl and her grandmother is exceptional; their world is enchanted and rich.
I was sent The Summer Book as a present and found it so engaging I immediately bought more and have sent them to friends.
I think this book has great power.

Tove Jansson's "the summer book" is a masterpiece in it's simplicity and sparse writing. One can almost feel the sand, ocean and
vegetation in this superbly crafted volume. An elderly grandmother and her six year old granddaughter spend the summer on a tiny
island in the Gulf of Finland (the baltic). Their interactions are refreshing in the desriptions in as much as neither appears
to be trying for a particularly overly refined relationship except in it's honesty. Joy, anger and fear abounds in this absolutely
lovely book, as well as singularly well described nature snapshots on a daily basis. For the reader looking for a complex storyline
and characters this is not the book. The simply crafted and almost seared structure of this book makes it pure pleasure to read.
For sure a five star rating in this readers opinion. A companion book by the same author "The winter book" is also worth reading
but more fragmented and not quite as pointed in it's structure.