About the Author

The writer and artist Tove Jansson (1914-2001) is a Scandinavian national treasure: she has a museum dedicated to her work in her native Finland, and the Moomin characters adorn everything from mugs to schoolbags. Elsewhere, Moomin stories have been published in 35 languages.

Reviews

This slim, wise masterpiece... is both unsentimental and heart-melting, and I read it every year. -- Elizabeth Gilbert, author of Eat, Pray, Love * Guardian *
It is like looking through clear water and seeing, suddenly, the depth ... Jansson was a writer who knew the proper magnitudes of our small worlds. -- Ali Smith
The Summer Book's limpid style belies a deep psychological subtlety...Rereading it now, it feels like a survival guide. -- Melissa Harrison
Tove Jansson was a genius. This is a marvellous, beautiful, wise novel, which is also very funny. -- Philip Pullman
This is a wonderful, life-affirming, spirited book. Reading it was a tonic. -- Chris Stewart (author, Driving Over Lemons)
It's hard to describe the astonishing achievement of Jansson's artistry . . . a perfection of the small, quiet read. -- Ali Smith * Guardian, Book of the Week *
The Summer Book is a marvellously uplifting read, full of gentle humour and wisdom. -- Justine Picardie * Daily Telegraph *
Eccentric, funny, wise, full of joys and small adventures. This is a book for life. -- Esther Freud
A marvellous book.... The prose is sublime: plain, but not oppressively so. * Independent on Sunday *
Few books since Robinson Crusoe have evoked the joys of island living so powerfully as this Finnish novella. -- Jonathan Heawood * Observer *
A wonderful novel to devour in the sunshine . . . full of charm and character. -- Benedicte Page * the Independent *
An odd but beautiful novel which blends humour and poetry with detailed observation of tiny things. -- Georgia Metcalfe * Daily Mail *
Every so often, a book is published that captures something in us. . . . The Summer Book is one of those. -- Rachel Simhon * The Daily Telegraph *