{"product_id":"the-summer-book","title":"The Summer Book by Tove Jansson","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eIn \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Summer Book\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cspan\u003e Tove Jansson distills the essence of the summer—its sunlight and storms—into twenty-two crystalline vignettes. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThis brief novel tells the story of Sophia, a six-year-old girl awakening to existence, and Sophia’s grandmother, nearing the end of hers, as they spend the summer on a tiny unspoiled island in the Gulf of Finland. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThe grandmother is unsentimental and wise, if a little cranky; Sophia is impetuous and volatile, but she tends to her grandmother with the care of a new parent. Together they amble over coastline and forest in easy companionship, build boats from bark, create a miniature Venice, write a fanciful study of local bugs. They discuss things that matter to young and old alike: life, death, the nature of God and of love. “On an island,” thinks the grandmother, “everything is complete.” In \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Summer Book\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cspan\u003e, Jansson creates her own complete world, full of the varied joys and sorrows of life.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eTove Jansson, whose Moomintroll comic strip and books brought her international acclaim, lived for much of her life on an island like the one described in \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Summer Book\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cspan\u003e, and the work can be enjoyed as her closely observed journal of the sounds, sights, and feel of a summer spent in intimate contact with the natural world. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Summer Book\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cspan\u003e is translated from the Swedish by Thomas Teal.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eSoftcover.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Finlandia Foundation","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":43774805409866,"sku":"9781590172681","price":21.5,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0289\/4712\/0202\/files\/image_1024x1024_a08cbe38-7150-4f2e-9e9a-f094f919e140.webp?v=1783178202","url":"https:\/\/store.vesterheim.org\/products\/the-summer-book","provider":"Vesterheim Museum Store","version":"1.0","type":"link"}