Thumbs up for The Summer Book by Tove Jansson. Literature.
A slim novel composed of vignettes about six-year-old Sophia and her elderly grandmother, all set on the island on which they summer. It is wise but not sweet. I am going to go about this review sideways and say that, in a possibly singular event, the foreword, by Kathryn Davis, beautifully expresses why it is such a great work. “There is nothing sentimental about this world….” though it is full of the vividness of the natural world. “It is like nothing, nor does it leave you whole.” Yes, that.
“Sophia would prefer a lemonade,” Grandmother said, and thought: We’ve got to teach her some manners. We’ve made a mistake. She has to spend more time with people she doesn’t like, before it’s too late.
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