Notes from an Island

Tove Jansson, Tuulikki Pietilå, Thomas Teal (Translator)

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English

Sort Of Books
01 December 2021

Biography; Memoirs

In the bitter winds of autumn 1963, Tove Jansson, helped by Brunstrom, a maverick fisherman, raced to build a cabin on a treeless skerry in the Gulf of Finland. The island was Klovharun, and for thirty summers Tove and her beloved partner, the graphic artist, Tuulikki Pietila, retreated there to live, paint and write, energised by the solitude and shifting seascapes.

Notes from an Island, published in English for the first time, is both a chronicle of this period and a homage to the mature love that Tove and 'Tooti' shared for their island and for each other. Tove's spare prose, and Tuulikki's subtle washes and aquatints combine to form a work of meditative beauty.

'... Tooti wandered aimlessly around the island and stood stock still for long periods. I thought I knew what she was doing. She was working again. Copperplate etchings and wash drawings. Mostly the lagoon, the lagoon as a consummate mirror for clouds and birds, the lagoon in a storm, in fog. And the granite, first and foremost, the granite, the cliff, the rocks. It's all peace and quiet now.'

By: Tove Jansson, Tuulikki Pietilå
Translated by: Thomas Teal (Translator)
Imprint: Sort Of Books
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Edition: Main
Dimensions: Height: 236mm, Width: 198mm, Spine: 14mm
Weight: 425g
ISBN: 9781908745934
ISBN 10: 1908745932
Pages: 112
Publication Date: 01 December 2021
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active

The Finnish artist and author Tove Jansson (1914-2001) is best known as the creator of the world famous Moomin stories and as author of The Summer Book. For more than forty years she shared her life with the graphic artist and professor, Tuulikki Pietila (1917-2009). Klovharun was their summer island refuge.

Reviews for Notes from an Island

It's hard to describe the astonishing achievement of Tove Jansson's artistry -- Ali Smith The Summer Book's limpid style belies a deep psychological subtlety. It's about how people can live close together for months with tact and grace, and about how rich and rewarding even a small world can be. -- Melissa Harrison * Guardian *