The Slummer: Quarters Till Death

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Meanwhile there is the island and the sea, the tidal changes, the storms, everything that nature itself changes. I find this sort of writing – which has no real plot but is all about exploring characters – very hard to do and I am always lost in admiration when I see it done well. We must make the best of the world we have and learn to love it if we are to find true happiness in our lives, and this book is a wonderful example of finding this love.

The Slummer, Quarters Till Death by Geoffrey Simpson The Slummer, Quarters Till Death by Geoffrey Simpson

the story clings on to the imagination like the trusting hand of a child, or the clutch of an elderly woman.

The chapters are independent anecdotes which blend into each other in the way that summer days do when you're very young.

The Summer Book by Tove Jansson | Goodreads The Summer Book by Tove Jansson | Goodreads

As a former runner, I found it very enjoyable, though at times I thought "Enough with the running already! That said, I greatly appreciated his determination, will power, and his sense of hope and enthusiasm for his sport and possible future.For years, a national track championship has inspired Ben to ferociously cultivate his own talent as a runner. But I decided to give it a shot, and commented to the author that I would read it over Christmas and give it an honest review. The profoundly humane story of the unique friendship between the little girl Sophia and her grandmother, who spend endless summer days on an island far out in the archipelago, is loved by readers around the world.

The Summer Book by Tove Jansson turns 50 years - Moomin The Summer Book by Tove Jansson turns 50 years - Moomin

There is a kind of serene loveliness to this book, which is more a series of vignettes than an actual novel. As luck would have it, there was a Tove Jansson exhibition on at the Helsinki Ateneum while I was in town – August marks the centenary of her birth.And that makes it a very pleasing book about the fairly different intellectual and emotional worlds of being old and being young, and the relationship between the two.

The Summer Book - Wikipedia The Summer Book - Wikipedia

This book is utterly cleansing to a weary heart, like a brilliant ray of sunshine through a dusty attic, and makes for a perfect summer get-away for readers of any age. This kind of deep respect for nature is characteristic of Jansson’s writing, from the Moomin books, which focus on a family of trolls who live in harmony with their surroundings, to The Summer Book and the nine other novels and short-story collections she wrote for adults.

No matter what happens, life does change just like the seasons, but each one brings something new to contemplate. Do you think these habits are specific to Sophia and Grandmother, or true of adults and children in general?