Notes from an Island
Report an issue
Tell us what's wrong and we'll take a look.
Thanks – we got it. We'll review and follow up if needed.
“If you never see me again in life after this book is published, it is because I left to find an island of my own at last.” ―Alexander Chee, author of How to Write an Autobiographical Novel
“Tove Jansson was a genius, a woman of profound wisdom and great artistry.” —Philip Pullman, author of His Dark Materials
In the bitter winds of autumn 1963, Tove Jansson—author of the iconic novel The Summer Book and the beloved Moomin series—built a cabin on a treeless island in the Gulf of Finland. For thirty years, Tove and her beloved partner, Tuulikki “Tooti” Pietilä, lived, painted, and wrote, energized by flora, fauna, the shifting seascapes, and solitude and shifting seascapes. Jansson’s spare, quirky prose, and Tooti's subtle artwork combine to form a work of meditative beauty. Notes from an Island is both a beautiful chronicle of a rugged ecology and an intimate collaboration between to artists in love with each other—and the island itself. This edition also includes Jansson’s essay The Island, described by Pulitzer Prize finalist Hernan Diaz as “…a short story, an essay, and a prose poem ... the text seems to change following mysterious tides from a timeless present to an urgent past.”
Praise for Tove Jansson’s Work
"It could be said that everything she wrote is, in one way or another, about the creative interactions between art and reality or art and nature." —The Guardian
“It’s hard to describe the astonishing achievement of Jansson’s artistry.”—Ali Smith, author of Gliff and How to Be Both
"Her style is not at all 'poetic'—quite the contrary. It is prose of the very highest order; it is pure prose. Through its quiet clarity we see unreachable depths, threatening darkness, promised treasures."—Ursula K. LeGuin, The Guardian
Tove Jansson
Tove Jansson (1914 - 2001) was born in Helsinki to artist parents. She was to become a celebrated artist, political cartoonist and author, but she is best known as the creator of the Moomins, one of the most successful and beloved children's book series ever written. Inspired by summers spent on the islands off Finland and Sweden, Tove created the unique world of Moominvalley and all its inhabitants. The Moomins and The Great Flood, her first book to feature the Moomins, published in 1945. Tove went on to publish twelve Moomin books between 1945 and 1977, which have sold in their millions and been translated into over forty languages. In the 1950's the Moomins became a successful cartoon strip, which was to feature in newspapers all over the world. As the Moomins' fame grew, they began to appear in television series, plays, films and a varied merchandise program soon followed. Tove also painted throughout her life and wrote novels and short stories, including the acclaimed Summer Book. But the Moomin world was never far away. As Tove said, "You feel a cold wind on your legs when you step outside Moomin Valley," In 1966, Tove received the Hans Christian Andersen Award for her lasting contribution to children's literature.
More by Tove Jansson
Why Readwise Books?
Readwise Books is an ebook & audiobook platform that automatically logs how much you and your friends read, making it fun and easy to read more. Learn more →