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A review by mat_tobin
The Memoirs of Moominpappa by Tove Jansson
5.0
An ill, bedridden Moominpappa must find something to do to stave off the boredom so when Moominmamma suggests he write down his life history he seizes the opportunity and puts pen to paper. He may be the designated Patriarch of the house now but it wasn't always this way. Moominpappa began his life as a orphaned baby deposited outside a home for foundlings and this is his story.
Frustrated by the restrictive control of the Hemulen in charge at the home, a very young Moominpappa escapes and heads off into the wild world. Fortunately, he meets up and makes friends with the amiable and deeply knowledgeable Hodgkins. Noticing that both had the same spirit of adventure within them, they agree to set off in order to discover the world together along with Hodgkins' nephew, Muddler and their friend, Joxter.
All four set upon a series of adventures each tale of which is then read aloud in the present and to Moomintroll, Sniff and Snufkin (the children of these adventurers). I loved the fact that this is the book in which we meet Little My and Mymble (the latter of which was, amongst Tove's friends a codeword for making love). The memoirs close, as they open, on a stormy night in which Moominmamma is plucked from the raging sea (a wonderful image in both words and picture).
Memoirs (or Exploits depending on your version) was one of the most redrafted of all of Jansson's stories. The last moomin saga to be penned during the 40s, the autobiographical element was inspired by a similarly structured autobiography by Tove's favourite artist and sculptor, Benvenuto Cellini. In his own work, written in the 16th century, he reflected on how when one reaches the age of 40, one is old enough to write about your life and the adventures within. So the seed is sown for Moominpappa's own memoirs; a series of stories in which genre and viewpoint are interchangeable and memories are aplomb with fantasy and questionable authenticity.
Interestingly, it was Tove who always wanted the title to be Memoirs, but the publishers thought the term too sophisticated for the young audience and chose Exploits instead since it alluded to that sense of adventure: in time she would get her way. As a burgeoning writing of prose, Jansson enjoyed the idea that as Moominpappa wrote, he began to find his writerly identity; this mirrored her own journey through the process.
Frustrated by the restrictive control of the Hemulen in charge at the home, a very young Moominpappa escapes and heads off into the wild world. Fortunately, he meets up and makes friends with the amiable and deeply knowledgeable Hodgkins. Noticing that both had the same spirit of adventure within them, they agree to set off in order to discover the world together along with Hodgkins' nephew, Muddler and their friend, Joxter.
All four set upon a series of adventures each tale of which is then read aloud in the present and to Moomintroll, Sniff and Snufkin (the children of these adventurers). I loved the fact that this is the book in which we meet Little My and Mymble (the latter of which was, amongst Tove's friends a codeword for making love). The memoirs close, as they open, on a stormy night in which Moominmamma is plucked from the raging sea (a wonderful image in both words and picture).
Memoirs (or Exploits depending on your version) was one of the most redrafted of all of Jansson's stories. The last moomin saga to be penned during the 40s, the autobiographical element was inspired by a similarly structured autobiography by Tove's favourite artist and sculptor, Benvenuto Cellini. In his own work, written in the 16th century, he reflected on how when one reaches the age of 40, one is old enough to write about your life and the adventures within. So the seed is sown for Moominpappa's own memoirs; a series of stories in which genre and viewpoint are interchangeable and memories are aplomb with fantasy and questionable authenticity.
Interestingly, it was Tove who always wanted the title to be Memoirs, but the publishers thought the term too sophisticated for the young audience and chose Exploits instead since it alluded to that sense of adventure: in time she would get her way. As a burgeoning writing of prose, Jansson enjoyed the idea that as Moominpappa wrote, he began to find his writerly identity; this mirrored her own journey through the process.