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3.5 

Notes from an Island

By Tove Jansson & Alexander Chee
Notes from an Island by Tove Jansson & Alexander Chee digital book - Fable

Publisher Description

In the bitter winds of autumn 1963, Tove Jansson, helped by Brunström, 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 Pietilä, retreated there to live, paint and write, energised by the shifting seascapes and the island's austere rocky charms.

Notes from an IslandNotes from an Island, written in 1996, is both a chronicle of this period and a paean to the mature love that Tove and 'Tuuti' 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 and plangent beauty.

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Notes from an Island Reviews

3.5
“An insight into a different way of life. A tale of seasons and solitude with the person you love, knowing them and the island in an intimate way only isolation can build. I took one of the main themes of island living to be choosing to live life in a way that aligns with your own desires as opposed to living to societal expectations. Which is exactly what queer people do when they chose to live as their authentic selves. I enjoyed the parallels between island living and authenticity. An easy and enjoyable read especially to unwind of nighttime.”

About Tove Jansson

Tove Jansson (1914–2001) was born in Helsinki into Finland’s Swedish-speaking minority; her father was a sculptor and her mother a graphic designer and illustrator. Jansson’s most famous creation is Moomintroll, a hippopotamus-like character with a dreamy disposition who stars in Moomin, the long-running comic strip and series of books for children that have been translated throughout the world, inspiring films, several television series, an opera, and theme parks in Finland and Japan. Jansson wrote eleven novels and short-story collections for adults, including The Summer Book, The True Deceiver, Fair Play, and The Woman Who Borrowed Memories and is widely beloved as a leading voice in contemporary global literature. In 1994 she was awarded the Prize of the Swedish Academy. 

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