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The Summer Book
 
 
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The Summer Book (Paperback)

by Esther Freud (Foreword), Tove Jansson (Author), Thomas Teal (Translator)
4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
RRP: £6.99
Price: £5.49 & this item Delivered FREE in the UK with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions
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Frequently Bought Together

The Summer Book + The Winter Book: Selected Stories: Selected Stories by Tove Jansson + Fair Play
Price For All Three: £15.10

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Product details

  • Paperback: 160 pages
  • Publisher: Sort Of Books; New Ed edition (29 May 2003)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0954221710
  • ISBN-13: 978-0954221713
  • Product Dimensions: 19.4 x 13 x 1.4 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 3,145 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

    Popular in this category:

    #1 in  Books > Fiction > Authors, A-Z > F > Freud, Esther

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Product Description

Review

"'The Summer Book is a marvellously uplifting read, full of gentle humour and wisdom.' Justine Picardie, Daily Telegraph 'A marvellous book.... The prose is sublime.' Murrough O'Brien, Independent on Sunday 'It's hard to describe the astonishing achievement of Jansson's artistry... a perfection of the small, quiet read.' The Guardian, BOOK OF THE WEEK 'Jansson was a genius, a woman of profound wisdom and great artistry, and this is a book to treasure.' Philip Pullman 'Every so often, a book is published that captures something in us.... The Summer Book is one of those.' Rachel Simhon, The Daily Telegraph"


Daily Telegraph, 24 May 2003 Justine Picardie (extract)

"The Summer Book is a marvellously uplifting read, full of gentle humour and wisdom.
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What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?

The Summer Book
91% buy the item featured on this page:
The Summer Book 4.7 out of 5 stars (20)
£5.49
The Winter Book: Selected Stories: Selected Stories by Tove Jansson
4% buy
The Winter Book: Selected Stories: Selected Stories by Tove Jansson 4.5 out of 5 stars (8)
£5.12
The True Deceiver
2% buy
The True Deceiver 5.0 out of 5 stars (2)
£4.26
Fair Play
2% buy
Fair Play 4.8 out of 5 stars (4)
£4.49
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Customer Reviews

20 Reviews
5 star:
 (16)
4 star:
 (3)
3 star:    (0)
2 star:    (0)
1 star:
 (1)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
4.7 out of 5 stars (20 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
60 of 62 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Small, but perfectly formed, 5 Aug 2003
By A Customer
Beautifully-written, 'The Summer Book' focuses upon the relationship between a little girl, Sophia and her wilful, yet wise grandmother as they spend the summer together on a remote Finnish island.

Based on Jansson's own family experiences and love of nature, the stories are deceptively simplistic. The author manages to cram a huge amount of ideas, observations and description into a relatively short space without being sentimental or over-descriptive. The characters are excellent. The grandmother and Sophia are feisty individuals who enjoy questioning the world and their conversations can be at times, both hilarious and touching.

This edition has also been produced with real care. Esther Freud's foreword is probably one of the most fascinating that I have read in a long time(she visits the island and meets the 'grown-up' Sophia) and the inclusion of photographs of the island and Jansson's family only adds to the slightly sad beauty of the novel.

For me, it sums up what great literature should be. It's an easy and enjoyable book to read, but you leave with the impression of having touched on some huge ideas. I'm looking forward to reading it many times over in the future.

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30 of 31 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Charming, beautiful, philosophical..., 8 Nov 2003
By A Customer
I rejoice that this short work has come into print again, though it's rather sad that it took the author's recent death to prompt the publishers into action. I'd read an extract in a guide to the top 100 books of the twentieth century and was surprised and disappointed not to be able to get my hands on the full edition.

Jansson has an inate understanding of the wisdom and skewed world-view of children, and manages to capture the fragile - and ephemeral - friendship which can exist between the very old and the very young. There is a freshness about her style which never teeters into whimsy. A rare achievement indeed.
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21 of 22 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Outstanding short novel., 3 Aug 2003
By A Customer

“The Summer Book” is episodic, detailing events from long summers spent on a remote Island off the coast of Finland, and concentrating on the rapport between the recently motherless six-year old Sophia and her Grandmother. Although short, the book covers a lot of ground – a clear and lucid observation of the natural history of the Island and the surrounding sea, reflections on aging and the end of life and, above all, a sharply drawn portrait of the relationship between young and old.

I didn’t feel the book was particularly well served either by the introduction or by the presentation but that shouldn’t put anyone off.

This excellent book tells its tale shorn of sentimentality and platitude. The prose style (I suppose that’s also a nod in the direction of the translation) is simple and elegant. It left me wanting to tone down my enthusiasm in case I put my friends and relatives off reading it.

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars Childhood summers on a special island
Tove Jansson relates her memories simply with a pared-down style and while her writing is without flourish or busy chatiness, her depictions of tiny details of life in the cottage... Read more
Published 25 days ago by Mrs. B. M. Greene

5.0 out of 5 stars Perfect summer reading
Nothing much happens in this quiet little book. But it's amazing what is revealed when there's not a lot of noise junking up the pages. Read more
Published 4 months ago by bigdaddy

5.0 out of 5 stars Evocative and nostalgic
I read this book years ago as a library book, and the essence of it has stayed with me ever since, as though I had actually experienced it myself. Read more
Published 5 months ago by Liz K

5.0 out of 5 stars A Scandinavian classic
I came to this book with misgivings. It was a choice for our book club, and I approached it thinking it would be another load or portentous cliches a la Paolo Cuelo, or as twee... Read more
Published 7 months ago by Peter Scott-presland

5.0 out of 5 stars Loved it
Fantastic characters in this poignant island story. The Grandmother and Granddaughter share a similar temperament which shows in a beautiful relationship full of tantrums and... Read more
Published 8 months ago by Mrs. Y. Wright

5.0 out of 5 stars Finnish Times
I took this book with me to read while I was travelling around Finland.
It is a good book which I could not put down.
I would recommend this book to everyone.
Published 12 months ago by Elaine Grant

5.0 out of 5 stars Poignant island summer
This is the most beautifully written book, poignant, sad, wise, joyful, and not a shred of mawkish sentimentality to spoil it. Read more
Published 16 months ago by booksetc

1.0 out of 5 stars At least its short
I feel that by reading this I wasted a part of my life that I'll never get back. Its not that I hated it, it was so bland that I couldn't even muster up dislike.
Published 22 months ago by Michael Gillespie

5.0 out of 5 stars Perfect
I had loved Jansson's writing as a child and obsessively read the Moomins series for years. I had no idea that she wrote adult fiction until I came across this in a bookshop... Read more
Published on 3 Nov 2007 by Mrs. K. A. Wheatley

5.0 out of 5 stars More than Moomins
I can not recommend this little book highly enough to you. I first heard it spoken of on Radio 4 and was so intrigued that I bought both a copy of this and Fair Play, also by Tove... Read more
Published on 15 Oct 2007 by J. Pink

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