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jennifer_mangieri 's review for:
Moominvalley in November
by Tove Jansson
I had never heard of Tove Jansson or the Moomin children's books before my friend Jeanne introduced me to this one. She loaned me this at a time when I was experiencing some mild anxiety & she thought the gentle fantasy world depicted here would be good for me. In the end I resolved my anxieties before I read the book, so I hung onto it until this month, feeling it would be appropriate to read it in November!
I don't see it as bleak or dark as some reviewers have called it. Is it a children's book? I'm not sure. I think for a certain type of child, certainly. But it is equally good as an adult book. It has an elegiac, autumnal tone. It's about a small group of fantasy "people" including a fillyjonk, a hemulin, and a toft, who separately journey to the home of Moominmamma and Moominpapa, hoping to see these kindly friends & experience some rejuvenation & rest. But the Moomins have gone away, & each member of the group decides to stay for a while anyway. The story shows how this disparate group of strangers learn to get along with one another & how they become better people as a result. Beyond that, there really is no plot. It's rather lovely.
I don't see it as bleak or dark as some reviewers have called it. Is it a children's book? I'm not sure. I think for a certain type of child, certainly. But it is equally good as an adult book. It has an elegiac, autumnal tone. It's about a small group of fantasy "people" including a fillyjonk, a hemulin, and a toft, who separately journey to the home of Moominmamma and Moominpapa, hoping to see these kindly friends & experience some rejuvenation & rest. But the Moomins have gone away, & each member of the group decides to stay for a while anyway. The story shows how this disparate group of strangers learn to get along with one another & how they become better people as a result. Beyond that, there really is no plot. It's rather lovely.