July 2024
The Summer Book by Tove Jansson
First and foremost I'd like to shine a light on the translator of this book Thomas Teal. I don't know a word of Swedish, which is why I feel very grateful to have been given the opportunity to experience this book in English. Translating is an artform. It takes real skill to not only translate the words, but also the atmosphere of a book. I believe that Teal accomplished that beautifully.
This book was my companion in the last few weeks of July. Often taking it with me in the early hours of the morning to the shore where the soundtrack of the North Sea played for me in the background. With some imagination I could easily pretend it was actually the Baltic Sea though. Which is where this book takes place.
A young girl named Sophia and her grandmother spend their time having adventures, conversations and arguments on a small island in the Gulf of Finland. Together they build a miniature Venice, 'visit' their new neighbour, contemplate life and death, write a book about worms and so much more. Each chapter could be a little standalone story. A memory told simply, with a loving reverence for the land on which it takes place. Often through a humourous lense, yet profound each time.
I loved how occasionally serious and introspective Sophia can be and how mischievous Grandmother truly is. It allows them to treat each other as equals which creates the most interesting of dialogues between them. Sophia's father is also on the island, often working diligently in the background and sometimes, attempting to grow flowers. It's their own little haven. A world within the world where the elements determine the rules.
Just as Jansson and her family have revisited their beloved island every year, I will definitely be revisiting this book in summers to come. And it will forever remind me of this July.
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