Reviews

A Winter Book by Tove Jansson

mrs_bonaventure's review against another edition

4.0

This book has the sea in it...
For that alone it's worth reading.
Especially the story about the little girl and the iceberg.

ronjalex's review against another edition

emotional hopeful reflective relaxing sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

tobia's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful mysterious slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? N/A
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

2.0

I was not aware it’s a compilation of stories from multiple books and essays. I did not like it. I believe reading the entire books would have given me more joy.

mckenziesbookshelf's review against another edition

reflective relaxing slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.5

deannalovesbooks's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character

4.0

the_reading_wren's review against another edition

adventurous emotional reflective relaxing fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

A showcase of short stories by Tove Janssen, including those from her collection ‘The Sculptor’s Daughter’ and some about her older age. The addition of some of her correspondence I felt was out of place here, but it was only a small section of the book anyway. 

A lot of the introduction by Ali Smith didn’t make much sense to me until after I’d read the book, but that was probably just me.

The stories tthemselves are gems of insight, reflection and wisdom. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol

Minor: Alcoholism and Vomit

kathrinpassig's review against another edition

4.0

Alles sehr schöne Geschichten, und unter anderem ist ein Foto von Tove Jansson mit einem Eichhörnchen im Buch. Ich hatte nur diesmal den Eindruck, dass es ein bisschen zu oft darum geht, wie blöd die anderen Menschen sind. Ich habe schon mehrere andere Erwachsenenbücher von ihr gelesen, da ist es mir nicht so aufgefallen. Aber ob das an mir lag oder an den Büchern, kann ich nicht mehr sagen.

nickymaund's review against another edition

Really tried with this one - got about half way and then had to give up. As it’s not a review book, I’m hap put to DNF this one!

sassylk's review against another edition

funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted relaxing fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

this was a lovely collection of short stories from a writer i absolutely want to read more of! i sadly can’t find my old moomin books but i’m so grateful i can read Jansson’s writing for adults as it is so joyous and insightful, with so much care and attention placed on each line. my favourite story was the squirrel and i also loved me and the boat, snow and messages. Jansson has this way of conjuring up the ordinary and making it entirely philosophical and wonderful and daring, and it would have been hard not to enjoy this collection. she is tongue-in-cheek but also innocent and self-aware but never too knowing, making the collection a joy to read! 

6ykmapk's review against another edition

4.0

What a delight was to read this short story collection. A simple beauty.