Reviews with content warning for Death of parent - The Summer Book

Reviews tagging 'Death of parent'

The Summer Book by Tove Jansson

14 reviews

anni_swanilda's review against another edition

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relaxing medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

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elizlizabeth's review against another edition

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lighthearted relaxing fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Loveable characters? Yes

4.5

Lovely collection of short, slice of life stories. I felt very at peace reading them, albeit a little melancholy.
This is my second read of this after some years. Will definitely be reading again in the future as I feel you get something different out of it everytime.

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thewordsdevourer's review against another edition

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funny relaxing slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

1.75

this...was not for me. while the summer book features an idyllic island setting mainly focused ona grandmother and granddaughter duo, i find it surprisingly tedious bc of its plotless and aimless wanderings, despite some funny and wise moments, and honestly dont rly get the rave reviews.

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booitsnathalie's review against another edition

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reflective sad slow-paced

3.0

A charming and reserved collection of vignettes wherein very little happens but everyone comes out a bit wiser. I have been a huge fan of Jansson's Moomin series for years and didn't realize until the introduction that this was also written by her (was looking for summer books and, well...). Her voice is very similar to her comics and still a delight, though I feel like something is lost without her illustrations. She has a way of describing the world like a depressed and cerebral child, whichs works amazing when paired with the silly Moomin designs but here just creates a sense of absence. In a way it's fitting for the themes of death, growing old, bodies wearing down, but feels more an accident of form than an intentional tone.

Was not quite the carefree summer getaway I was looking for, but I'm beginning to notice that most media centered around summer is almost by necessity a meditation on the passage of time and the implacable sadness that follows.

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