A Winter Book

I finished reading A Winter Book yesterday, and enjoyed it very much. I've never read anything by Tove Jansson before - not even her famous Moomin books, although I think I did see a few Moomin episodes on the television when I was little - but I'll definitely be investigating The Summer Book, which is her previous work for adults.

A Winter Book is a collection of short stories, many of them about the sea, or about living by the sea. The book is in three sections. The first two contain stories written from the point of view of a child, and I loved reading these - the way Jansson interprets the world in them often seems to fit with how I feel. Although each story is a complete piece in itself, the tales of childhood do fit together, each helping to add context for the others, gradually building up a picture of a child's life.

The stories in the third section are about a much later stage in life, and I have to confess that I enjoyed them less. They were still interesting, but I think I found the child's perspective of the world easier to identify with. The book as a whole contains stories of the sea, of small islands, of sailing and rowing boats, and rafts, and icebergs, and art. I'd definitely recommend it.