Notes from an Island

(Paperback, Main)

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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.

Reviews

'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

'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

Author Bio

Tove Jansson (1914-2001) is best known as the creator of the world famous Moomin stories and as author of The Summer Book. For more than forty years she shared her life with the graphic artist and professor, Tuulikki Pietila (1917-2009). Klovharun was their summer island refuge.