A review by lelia_t
The Summer Book by Tove Jansson

4.0

This is a beautiful book. In the intro, Kathryn Davis writes, “on the one hand you could say nothing happens.” I love books where nothing happens, because of course life is what is happening, as Sophia and her grandmother deal with being young, being old and being afraid. Sophia is a sensitive child whose mother has died. Grandmother’s health is failing. In seemingly unconnected vignettes, the grandmother makes space for Sophia’s anger and fear about death, pain and suffering - these timeless experiences that we all try to sort out and make sense of. The grandmother can create safety for a while - she has a marvelous Tom Bombadil moment in which, “The moonlight rested on her hat and her shoulders as she watched over fate and the island. There was not the least doubt but that she would find what they needed to avert misfortune and death.” But of course there’s no permanent refuge from misfortune and death and the grandmother harbors no illusions about her ability to completely protect Sophia, allowing Sophia to find her own courage in facing up to life’s hard realities.