Description

For thirty summers Tove and her partner, the graphic artist, Tuulikki Pietila, retreated to the tiny island of Klovharun, a rocky outcrop in the gulf of Finland, where they would live, paint and write, energised by the shifting seascapes and the island’s austere charms. Notes from an Island, offers both a memoir of, and homage to, this beloved island home. Tove’s spare prose, and Tuulikki’s subtle washes and aquatints, combine to form a work of meditative beauty.

This edition includes the first UK publication of Tove’s acclaimed 1961 essay/prose poem, The Island.

Publisher Review

It’s hard to describe the astonishing achievement of Tove Jansson’s artistry — Ali Smith A treasure trove of wry and profound reflections on nature, love, art and the wonder of being alive * Waterstones Says * Both a memoir and a love letter to all things wild and weathered * New Statesman * These wry and winsome autobiographical sketches demonstrate the couple’s virtuosity in the art of living…as evocative as a long-lost coastline glimpsed through mist. — Nancy Campbell * TLS * The Summer Book’s limpid style belies a deep psychological subtlety. It’s about how people can live close together for months with tact and grace, and about how rich and rewarding even a small world can be. — Melissa Harrison * Guardian *