Reviews - Sommarboken | The StoryGraph

3.39k reviews for:

Sommarboken

Tove Jansson

4.0 AVERAGE

elundh's review

4.5

emotional funny hopeful reflective relaxing sad slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

emilyfitz's review against another edition

inspiring lighthearted reflective relaxing fast-paced

ioq's review against another edition

4.75

reflective medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

bniko's review against another edition

5.0

always special to find a book that describes childhood in such an accurate, curious way

midnightlotus's review against another edition

4.5

adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective 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

A beautiful, pondering and wise novel. Full of the beauties of Nature and the intricate relationships between generations as they explore life, it's purpose and it's charms. Tove's writings as usual brings to life the environment and characters in this short but sweet reflection on life.

aedod's review against another edition

5.0

adventurous emotional hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted reflective relaxing sad slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

What a delight of a read! I read it in a single sitting. Intricately detailed with a beautiful slowness, this book reads like a childhood. It evokes the nostalgia we feel for our elders and the relationships we had with them when we were little - before they decline mentally and physically - and the magic of a tiny capsule which is the whole world we inhabit in childhood and old age. A small island is enough: enough to notice the many changes and patterns within.

The literary merit within the short pages cannot be understated as well. The summer is told through a series of vignettes, each distinct but all entwined. One of my favorite vignettes is "Of Angleworms And Others", which encompassed the relationship between Grandmother and Sophia perfectly.

This is a book about grieving, the passage of time, religion, small things, big things, our place in the world, and our relationships with each other.

I read the foreword last, and learned that the piece written as a reflection on the author's own mother's death. That brings the poetry of this book to a whole new level for me. Absolute art.