Tove Jansson: Moominvalley in November (Sort of Books 2018)
This is the last, strangest and most adult volume of the Moomin series. There have been many stories about the Moomins over the years: they sailed through a flood, they expected the end of the world due to the approach of a comet, a wizard’s top hat changed everything around them, they lost their home, they woke up from their winter sleep and saw the frozen world and sailed to a lonely island. However, what was common in all the stories was that they made many friends because everyone loved them. Not only were they nice, but they listened to everyone. This does not mean that they always pleased their guests, but they knew that they often did their best to leave the other person alone. Everyone who met them loved them. However, they did not appear in this book…
It is very interesting that the author was able to write a Moomin book that does not have any Moomins in it. However, Moominvalley still has a special atmosphere, filled with the memory of the Moomins. Those who think of them fondly come here, because they spent a good part of their lives with them and now want to get that feeling back. While they wait, they settle in together and get to know themselves better. The characters are humanized by their imperfections. The story is permeated by a desire for healing and a sense of farewell, which – as Tove Jansson writes – fills us with melancholy and relief at the same time. But perhaps in the end, even the Moomins may return.
Tove Jansson is one of Scandinavia’s best-known children’s book authors (along with Astrid Lindgren), whose work is also significant for her work as an illustrator, comic book writer and adult book author. The Moomins are 80 years old this year, because the author finished the first book in 1945. I reread the books for this occasion and also because I love them so much.
