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18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Very similar, not identical to "The Exploits of Moominpappa", 8 Mar 2006
This is very similar to "The Exploits of Moominpappa" (ISBN 0140303235). Both "The Exploits of Moominpappa" and "Moominpappa's Memoirs" are translated by Thomas Warburton, but from slightly different manuscripts.It is as if Tove Jansson altered the book slightly for a reprint. Though each passage is very similar, with most sentences being identical, sometimes there are additions or subtractions. So it is not just a different translation: the original Finnish manuscript was changed. Some people seem to prefer "The Exploits of Moominpappa" over "Moominpappa's Memoirs". "Moominpappa's Memoirs" was actually published in Finnish in 1968, long after "The Exploits of Moominpappa" (1952), so it seems that "Moominpappa's Memoirs" was the final version by Tove Jansson. I say, buy them both. "Moominpappa's Memoirs" has a very short "Prologue" which "The Exploits of Moominpappa" (ISBN 0140303235) does not have. But "The Exploits of Moominpappa" (ISBN 0140303235) has a "Gallery" at the end with a sentence about each character, with an illustration each. For these very small differences, and the differences between the whole books, complete your collection and see for yourself. Since both books are quite cheap and quite short, I feel I might as well.
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32 of 35 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
This is a Mangled Rewrite of 'The Exploits of Moominpappa.', 9 Aug 2003
The same book, only not as good. The translation is much less sensitively done, and the plot has been dumbed down and arbitrarily adjusted in an attempt (which fails) to make it accessible to less able readers (at least I presume that's what they had in mind).Since 'The Exploits of Moominpappa' is in print, and is the authentic version of this book, buy that instead. This book is a much less satisfying read. When I received my copy (a) I felt cheated, and (b) I immediately took steps to secure the original instead. People who mangle books like this should be fed to the Groke.
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14 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Not a good introduction, but still among one of the best!, 16 May 1999
By A Customer
After Moominsummer madness, Tove Jannson slipped into a more subtle and even philosophical vein (that is, more philosophical then the first three books), however, Memoirs (formerly Exploits of Moominpapa) returns to the more slapstick antics of her early book. Although I am a fan of all of these books, Memoirs was a welcome return to that earlier style, though it in itself is a unique entry in the series. In Memoirs, Moominpapa is both a wonderfully adorable character as well as a characture or himself, filled with pride, egotism, and prejudice--making him all the more human. The story itself is almost a parody of the big rolling adventure tales, full of various fantastic happenings, and culminating in Moominpapa's dilemma: to following his adventuring instinct, or another instinct that drives him to build moominhouses with moomin verandahs, etc etc... The end is as happy as finn family moomintroll, maybe even happier--completely over the top. Although this shouldn't be the first moominbook to read (since knowledge of the characters is pretty central to the humor here) it is nonetheless one of the most uplifting books in the series and I can't recommend it more!!!
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