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Notes from an Island
In the bitter winds of autumn 1963, Tove Jansson, helped by Brunstr�m, 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 Pietil�, retreated there to live, paint and write, energised by the solitude and shifting seascapes.
Notes from an Island, published in English for the first time, is both a chronicle of this period and a homage to the mature love that Tove and 'Tooti' 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 beauty.
'... Tooti wandered aimlessly around the island and stood stock still for long periods. I thought I knew what she was doing.
She was working again. Copperplate etchings and wash drawings. Mostly the lagoon, the lagoon as a consummate mirror for clouds and birds, the lagoon in a storm, in fog. And the granite, first and foremost, the granite, the cliff, the rocks. It's all peace and quiet now.'
Notes from an Island, published in English for the first time, is both a chronicle of this period and a homage to the mature love that Tove and 'Tooti' 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 beauty.
'... Tooti wandered aimlessly around the island and stood stock still for long periods. I thought I knew what she was doing.
She was working again. Copperplate etchings and wash drawings. Mostly the lagoon, the lagoon as a consummate mirror for clouds and birds, the lagoon in a storm, in fog. And the granite, first and foremost, the granite, the cliff, the rocks. It's all peace and quiet now.'
112 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1996
70 people are currently reading
1,735 people want to read
About the author
Tove Jansson
765 books3,624 followersTove Jansson was born and died in Helsinki, Finland. As a Finnish citizen whose mother tongue was Swedish, she was part of the Swedish-speaking Finns minority. Thus, all her books were originally written in Swedish.
Although known first and foremost as an author, Tove Jansson considered her careers as author and painter to be of equal importance.
Tove Jansson wrote and illustrated her first Moomin book, The Moomins and the Great Flood (1945), during World War II. She said later that the war had depressed her, and she had wanted to write something naive and innocent. Besides the Moomin novels and short stories, Tove Jansson also wrote and illustrated four original and highly popular picture books.
Jansson's Moomin books have been translated into 33 languages.
Although known first and foremost as an author, Tove Jansson considered her careers as author and painter to be of equal importance.
Tove Jansson wrote and illustrated her first Moomin book, The Moomins and the Great Flood (1945), during World War II. She said later that the war had depressed her, and she had wanted to write something naive and innocent. Besides the Moomin novels and short stories, Tove Jansson also wrote and illustrated four original and highly popular picture books.
Jansson's Moomin books have been translated into 33 languages.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 237 reviews
October 7, 2021
This is probably a book for die-hard Tove Jansson fans rather than people looking for an introduction to her writing for adults. It’s a beautifully produced collection of notes and diary entries relating to Jansson’s time with her partner, and greatest love, Tooti (Tuulikki Pietil) on the remote island of Klovharun. The couple had a cabin there which became their cherished haven/retreat. Tove talks about the weather, the landscape, and shares snippets of information that provide an insight into her everyday existence with Tooti. Her writing’s accompanied by a selection from Tooti's artwork: a series of full-page, muted, but atmospheric, etchings and drawings of the local land and seascapes. This would make a perfect gift for someone interested in delving further into the minutiae of Jansson’s life. It's carefully translated by Thomas Teal.
Rating: 3.5
Rating: 3.5
February 7, 2022
Tove Jansson and Tuulikki ‘Tooti’ Pietilä’s collaborative Notes From an Island was my most anticipated release of 2021. The beautifully designed large-format hardback, filled with beautiful writing and gorgeously evocative paintings, was published in its first English translation by the wonderful Sort Of Books, who have brought so much of Jansson’s work to an English-speaking audience. Notes From an Island pulls together snippets of writing from Tove, in the form of both diary entries and vignettes, extracts from ‘maverick seaman’ Brunström’s log, and Pietilä’s artwork, 24 ‘copperplate etchings and wash drawings’ which she made during the 1970s.
When she was in her late forties, Jansson, most famous for her delightful Moomin stories, ‘raced to build a cabin on an almost barren outcrop of rock in the Gulf of Finland’, on an island named Klovharun, located at the edge of the Pellinge archipelago. For the next ‘twenty-six summers’, Jansson and her life partner, Pietilä, ‘retreated there to live, paint and write, energised by the solitude and shifting seascapes.’ They remained there until their mid-seventies, eventually relinquishing their beloved cabin in 1991. Notes From an Island, which came out in its original Swedish in 1996, is ‘both a memoir and homage to the island the two women loved intensely.’
The short introductory publisher’s note states the differences between Jansson’s previous summer home, which she shared with her mother and brother on the ‘leafy and welcoming’ island of Bredskär, and the ‘stark’ Klovharun, ‘the preserve of warring gulls and terns’. The note goes on to praise this ‘moving homage to a tiny, rugged island and to a profound and enduring relationship.’
Jansson begins by writing about Bredskär, where, she says: ‘We had everything, albeit in miniature – a little forest with a woodland path, a little beach with a safe place for the boat, even a little marsh with some tufts of cotton grass.’ She goes on to tell us that Klovharun is between just 6- and 7,000 square metres; it is ‘shaped like an atoll’, divided by a lagoon in its middle. Both Jansson and Pietilä ‘relished the storms that would lash the granite rocks, marooning them for days.’
One of my favourite things about Jansson’s work – and there are many! – is the way in which she captures the natural world. Notes From an Island begins: ‘I love rock – sheer cliffs that drop straight into the ocean, unscalable mountain peaks, pebbles in my pocket. I love prising stones out of the ground, heaving them aside and letting the biggest ones roll down the granite slope into the water! As they rumble away, they leave behind an acrid whiff of sulphur.’ She writes with such care, especially regarding colour, texture, and scents: ‘On some of the blasted surfaces’, she tells us, when their cabin is being constructed, ‘the rock has an unusual colour, like oxblood or Pompeiian red, a hard colour to capture. Also the rainwater in the little hollows at the bottom of the pit is red or cadmium yellow.’ Later, she writes of quite a spectacle, when the sea ice breaks up before her eyes: ‘When we woke up, the whole ocean was full of broken ice. Unbelievable tabernacles floated by, driven by a mild south-west breeze, statuesque, glittering, as big as trolleys, cathedrals, primeval caverns, everything imaginable! And they changed colour whenever they felt like it – ice blue, green and, in the evenings, orange. Early in the morning they would be pink.’
Jansson’s notes are occasionally quite matter-of-fact, but I still found that they expressed a great deal; for instance: ‘Tooti is building shelves in the cellar. / It’s starting to get cold.’ She captures comedic scenes, particularly with regard to sailor and general handyman, Brunström, and his escapades. She writes of the time when he found ‘a huge ship’s mast, pitch-black, and with all the fittings still in place’. Brunström was determined to use this in the construction of the cabin, and had real trouble towing it ashore, almost destroying his boat in the process. There are moments of childish delight, too. On visiting one March, Jansson writes: ‘We were exhilarated by change and expectation and ran headlong here and there in the snow and threw snowballs at the navigation marker. Tooti made a toboggan out of thin strips of wood, and we rode it again and again from the top of the island far out across the ice.’
Thomas Teal’s translation is truly excellent, and he captures so much of Jansson’s glee, as well as the often amusing brevity from Brunström’s log. On the 14th of October 1964, for instance, he writes: ‘Jansson shot an eider by mistake this morning and the ladies boiled it for three hours but it made a lousy dinner.’ Teal evokes Jansson’s artistry, and her keen eye for noticing: ‘Sometimes we build things to be solid and lasting, and sometimes to be beautiful, sometimes both.’
Notes From an Island comes together wonderfully. The matter-of-fact entries of Brunström contrast wonderfully with Jansson’s beautiful eye for detail. Both are complemented by Pietilä’s full-page artwork, which makes masterful use of light and shadow using only brown tones. I loved the collaborative approach taken here; it is something I see quite rarely when reading, and I really appreciated the level of detail which it brought to the book. At just 94 pages, this is one to really linger over. Notes From an Island is entrancing; it is a glorious celebration of nature, of solitude, of collaboration, of love.
When she was in her late forties, Jansson, most famous for her delightful Moomin stories, ‘raced to build a cabin on an almost barren outcrop of rock in the Gulf of Finland’, on an island named Klovharun, located at the edge of the Pellinge archipelago. For the next ‘twenty-six summers’, Jansson and her life partner, Pietilä, ‘retreated there to live, paint and write, energised by the solitude and shifting seascapes.’ They remained there until their mid-seventies, eventually relinquishing their beloved cabin in 1991. Notes From an Island, which came out in its original Swedish in 1996, is ‘both a memoir and homage to the island the two women loved intensely.’
The short introductory publisher’s note states the differences between Jansson’s previous summer home, which she shared with her mother and brother on the ‘leafy and welcoming’ island of Bredskär, and the ‘stark’ Klovharun, ‘the preserve of warring gulls and terns’. The note goes on to praise this ‘moving homage to a tiny, rugged island and to a profound and enduring relationship.’
Jansson begins by writing about Bredskär, where, she says: ‘We had everything, albeit in miniature – a little forest with a woodland path, a little beach with a safe place for the boat, even a little marsh with some tufts of cotton grass.’ She goes on to tell us that Klovharun is between just 6- and 7,000 square metres; it is ‘shaped like an atoll’, divided by a lagoon in its middle. Both Jansson and Pietilä ‘relished the storms that would lash the granite rocks, marooning them for days.’
One of my favourite things about Jansson’s work – and there are many! – is the way in which she captures the natural world. Notes From an Island begins: ‘I love rock – sheer cliffs that drop straight into the ocean, unscalable mountain peaks, pebbles in my pocket. I love prising stones out of the ground, heaving them aside and letting the biggest ones roll down the granite slope into the water! As they rumble away, they leave behind an acrid whiff of sulphur.’ She writes with such care, especially regarding colour, texture, and scents: ‘On some of the blasted surfaces’, she tells us, when their cabin is being constructed, ‘the rock has an unusual colour, like oxblood or Pompeiian red, a hard colour to capture. Also the rainwater in the little hollows at the bottom of the pit is red or cadmium yellow.’ Later, she writes of quite a spectacle, when the sea ice breaks up before her eyes: ‘When we woke up, the whole ocean was full of broken ice. Unbelievable tabernacles floated by, driven by a mild south-west breeze, statuesque, glittering, as big as trolleys, cathedrals, primeval caverns, everything imaginable! And they changed colour whenever they felt like it – ice blue, green and, in the evenings, orange. Early in the morning they would be pink.’
Jansson’s notes are occasionally quite matter-of-fact, but I still found that they expressed a great deal; for instance: ‘Tooti is building shelves in the cellar. / It’s starting to get cold.’ She captures comedic scenes, particularly with regard to sailor and general handyman, Brunström, and his escapades. She writes of the time when he found ‘a huge ship’s mast, pitch-black, and with all the fittings still in place’. Brunström was determined to use this in the construction of the cabin, and had real trouble towing it ashore, almost destroying his boat in the process. There are moments of childish delight, too. On visiting one March, Jansson writes: ‘We were exhilarated by change and expectation and ran headlong here and there in the snow and threw snowballs at the navigation marker. Tooti made a toboggan out of thin strips of wood, and we rode it again and again from the top of the island far out across the ice.’
Thomas Teal’s translation is truly excellent, and he captures so much of Jansson’s glee, as well as the often amusing brevity from Brunström’s log. On the 14th of October 1964, for instance, he writes: ‘Jansson shot an eider by mistake this morning and the ladies boiled it for three hours but it made a lousy dinner.’ Teal evokes Jansson’s artistry, and her keen eye for noticing: ‘Sometimes we build things to be solid and lasting, and sometimes to be beautiful, sometimes both.’
Notes From an Island comes together wonderfully. The matter-of-fact entries of Brunström contrast wonderfully with Jansson’s beautiful eye for detail. Both are complemented by Pietilä’s full-page artwork, which makes masterful use of light and shadow using only brown tones. I loved the collaborative approach taken here; it is something I see quite rarely when reading, and I really appreciated the level of detail which it brought to the book. At just 94 pages, this is one to really linger over. Notes From an Island is entrancing; it is a glorious celebration of nature, of solitude, of collaboration, of love.
July 21, 2024
Notes From An Island is a memorial collaboration, an account by popular Finnish author, Tove Jansson, of the twenty-six summers she and her partner, artist Tuulikki Pietila, Tooti, spent on the island of Klovharun, on the edge of the Pellinge Archipelago. It is translated from Finnish by Thomas Teal.
As well as straight narrative, it includes log book entries by Jansson herself and Brunstrom, the fisherman who built their cabin. These are enhanced by paintings, some quite enigmatic (read: what actually is that?), by Tooti. This edition has an introduction by Alexander Chee, which includes some photographs.
In 1963, Tove finds the idyllic island she’s living on with her family, Bredskar is just getting far too busy, so she and Tooti decide that they are energised by starkness of the little nearby skerry, Klovharun. Fisherman Brunstrom comes along and offers to build them a cabin.
Getting building materials and other supplies to their uninhabited little island can be challenging, with much relying on the weather and the seas. They need to build a loading dock, which is promptly blown out to sea during a fierce storm. Construction involves blasting the big boulder to make a cellar. A mast and a roof tree are required, as is a building permit.
Meanwhile, netting fish, shooting birds for food, salvaging wrecks, tobogganing, watching the ice break-up, and seeing the spring flowers fill their days. Tove’s mother, Ham, and the cat Psipsina (Pipsu) make the journey. Time is spent in the tent sauna.
Taking over the gulls’ island means sea bird attacks, except for the almost-pet, Pellura. Eider hens are watched and a water spout is observed. Migratory birds come and go: sandpipers, coal black starlings, crows, owls.
Their household rowan tree grows well, as do some rose bushes. They gather driftwood, make a woodpile, construct a wood shed and tar it with a pitch roof, covered with turf, and the contents are emptied out by the winter sea. They clear a meadow of silken beach rye and the wildflowers abound, but they do find that the changes they make are often reversed by the winter winds and sea.
Eventually, though, Tove begins to recognise that this domain is becoming unmanageable, leading to some anxiety and worry, and prompting a decision to leave before they are forced to do so. As they pack up, they make list of tips for potential new residents, and are aware of the finality of some actions, of doing things for the last time. Photos of their hut and their final day, and the essay, The Island, round off the story. An interesting peek into the personal life of a much-loved author.
This unbiased review is from an uncorrected proof copy provided by NetGalley and Timber Press.
As well as straight narrative, it includes log book entries by Jansson herself and Brunstrom, the fisherman who built their cabin. These are enhanced by paintings, some quite enigmatic (read: what actually is that?), by Tooti. This edition has an introduction by Alexander Chee, which includes some photographs.
In 1963, Tove finds the idyllic island she’s living on with her family, Bredskar is just getting far too busy, so she and Tooti decide that they are energised by starkness of the little nearby skerry, Klovharun. Fisherman Brunstrom comes along and offers to build them a cabin.
Getting building materials and other supplies to their uninhabited little island can be challenging, with much relying on the weather and the seas. They need to build a loading dock, which is promptly blown out to sea during a fierce storm. Construction involves blasting the big boulder to make a cellar. A mast and a roof tree are required, as is a building permit.
Meanwhile, netting fish, shooting birds for food, salvaging wrecks, tobogganing, watching the ice break-up, and seeing the spring flowers fill their days. Tove’s mother, Ham, and the cat Psipsina (Pipsu) make the journey. Time is spent in the tent sauna.
Taking over the gulls’ island means sea bird attacks, except for the almost-pet, Pellura. Eider hens are watched and a water spout is observed. Migratory birds come and go: sandpipers, coal black starlings, crows, owls.
Their household rowan tree grows well, as do some rose bushes. They gather driftwood, make a woodpile, construct a wood shed and tar it with a pitch roof, covered with turf, and the contents are emptied out by the winter sea. They clear a meadow of silken beach rye and the wildflowers abound, but they do find that the changes they make are often reversed by the winter winds and sea.
Eventually, though, Tove begins to recognise that this domain is becoming unmanageable, leading to some anxiety and worry, and prompting a decision to leave before they are forced to do so. As they pack up, they make list of tips for potential new residents, and are aware of the finality of some actions, of doing things for the last time. Photos of their hut and their final day, and the essay, The Island, round off the story. An interesting peek into the personal life of a much-loved author.
This unbiased review is from an uncorrected proof copy provided by NetGalley and Timber Press.
March 20, 2020
Jag önskar den här boken var 600 sidor lång. Att varje dag på ön var noga redovisad (även om dagarna såklart finns på andra platser i Janssons författarskap) och att jag hade det precis likadant. Tove Jansson är nog ändå min favoritförfattare av alla. Ett lugn infinner sig när jag läser. Som att jag litar på henne fullt ut. Ingenting är farligt. Inte ens när hon själv blir rädd.
"Anteckningar från en Ö" är en samling anteckningar från ett husbygge och ett husliv. Berättelsen tar sin börja när Tove och Tuulikki vill bosatta sig på en alldeles särskild ö i Pellinge skärgård. Än finns inget hus på ön och det ska stå just där en stor sten ligger. De hör sig för på fastlandet och snart är det full rusch ut till ön Klovharun. Som berättelse saknar jag mellanläget, här är först om husets tillblivelse och sedan om när de faktiskt lämnar ön, för gamla och rädda för att stanna kvar. Det är på så sätt en sorglig berättelse, även om jag ju vet att huset än står kvar och går att besöka (tänk att ett hem kan bli museum på det där sättet). Ett måste för de som intresserar sig för Toves person.
"Anteckningar från en Ö" är en samling anteckningar från ett husbygge och ett husliv. Berättelsen tar sin börja när Tove och Tuulikki vill bosatta sig på en alldeles särskild ö i Pellinge skärgård. Än finns inget hus på ön och det ska stå just där en stor sten ligger. De hör sig för på fastlandet och snart är det full rusch ut till ön Klovharun. Som berättelse saknar jag mellanläget, här är först om husets tillblivelse och sedan om när de faktiskt lämnar ön, för gamla och rädda för att stanna kvar. Det är på så sätt en sorglig berättelse, även om jag ju vet att huset än står kvar och går att besöka (tänk att ett hem kan bli museum på det där sättet). Ett måste för de som intresserar sig för Toves person.
March 29, 2024
2024:
My favorite. <3
2017:
A tiny little gem of a book. It's not easy to review this, simply because words always fail me when it comes to Tove Jansson's work. Haru is filled with small stories and observations about the sea, everyday life, art, nature and its creatures, Tooti and Psipsina, growing older and growing older with the one you love. It feels like such an intimate glimpse into Tove and Tuulikki's life on their beloved Klovharu island through the decades, from the beginning to the very last day, and I am so glad to have read it.
My favorite. <3
2017:
A tiny little gem of a book. It's not easy to review this, simply because words always fail me when it comes to Tove Jansson's work. Haru is filled with small stories and observations about the sea, everyday life, art, nature and its creatures, Tooti and Psipsina, growing older and growing older with the one you love. It feels like such an intimate glimpse into Tove and Tuulikki's life on their beloved Klovharu island through the decades, from the beginning to the very last day, and I am so glad to have read it.
August 25, 2023
lühike ja armas, põhiliselt päevikuvormis raamat sellest, kuidas Tove ja Tuuti vanemas eas oma suvesid Klovharu laiul veetsid. sellele, kes on lugenud "Suveraamatut" ja "Talveraamatut" (jaa, see on ka olemas, aga eesti keelde vist pole tõlgitud?) ja "Muumipapat ja merd" ja üldse muumiraamatuid, tuleb siin palju tuttavat ette - sedapidi, et näed, kust see mõte või tunne või inspiratsioon tulnud on.
raamatu alguses otsustavad prouad eelmiselt ("Suveraamatust" tuttavalt) laiult ära kolida, sest sinna on aasta jooksul nii paljusid pereliikmeid ja sõpru külla kutsutud, et kitsaks ja lärmakaks läheb. otsitakse läheduses teine laid ja leitakse üks mees, kes isegi mitte ehitusloa esialgse puudumise kiuste, vaid minu meelest lausa selle tõttu hea meelega neile sinna majakese ehitab. seega on esimestes peatükkides ka selle mehe logiraamatu kandeid kasutatud ja see annab sellise toreda kõrvalpilgu, et kuidas need kaks daami seal siis elasid ja olid (esimesel suvel kutsub Brunström neid veel daamideks, järgmisel kevadel on juba "tüdrukud"). no umbes et "Jansson lasi kogemata haha maha ja daamid keetsid seda kolm tundi, aga sellest sai väga kehv õhtusöök".
esikaanepildiks on Tove ema joonistatud saare kaart ja sees on Tuuti pildid, sealsamas laiul joonistatud ja sealsetest vaadetest.
raamatu alguses otsustavad prouad eelmiselt ("Suveraamatust" tuttavalt) laiult ära kolida, sest sinna on aasta jooksul nii paljusid pereliikmeid ja sõpru külla kutsutud, et kitsaks ja lärmakaks läheb. otsitakse läheduses teine laid ja leitakse üks mees, kes isegi mitte ehitusloa esialgse puudumise kiuste, vaid minu meelest lausa selle tõttu hea meelega neile sinna majakese ehitab. seega on esimestes peatükkides ka selle mehe logiraamatu kandeid kasutatud ja see annab sellise toreda kõrvalpilgu, et kuidas need kaks daami seal siis elasid ja olid (esimesel suvel kutsub Brunström neid veel daamideks, järgmisel kevadel on juba "tüdrukud"). no umbes et "Jansson lasi kogemata haha maha ja daamid keetsid seda kolm tundi, aga sellest sai väga kehv õhtusöök".
esikaanepildiks on Tove ema joonistatud saare kaart ja sees on Tuuti pildid, sealsamas laiul joonistatud ja sealsetest vaadetest.
November 28, 2024
Mahult väike, aga sisult siiski suur, kui väikesed mõtisklusekillud meeldivad - ja siis saab omakorda nende üle järele mõelda. Mõistan seda, et külaliste tulekut võiks kaugelt näha olla, et selle mõttega harjuda :)
October 3, 2024
It is astonishing the number of people who go around dreaming of an island. Tove Jansson, The Island
In 1979 my family hosted a Finnish exchange student, Elina, for a year. She lived on the Arctic Circle, her father a forester. I remember Elina telling us about Sisu, and how Finns like solitude. She told a story about a man who moved upriver into the deep woods. He was happy until he noticed something that had floated down the river, indicating someone had built a cabin upstream. He was incensed, so walked upriver a few days, shot the interloper, and happily returned home.
The drive for solitude can seem incomprehensible in a world addicted to constant, instant communication. Or, perhaps, we all secretly dream of our own island?
Notes From an Island tells the story of how Tove Jansson, famous for her Moomie children’s books, and her partner Tooti, spent summers on an island. It tells how they built their island summer home and the life they enjoyed there, illustrated with Tooti’s artwork of the island. Additionally included is Tove’s essay The Island, illustrated with photographs.
The first island they summered on was “paradise” but gradually filled with people. Tove and Tooti searched for another island, one that would offer solitude.
They found their dream island. It was under seven thousand square meters, shaped like an atoll with a lagoon. First, they lived in a tent, dreaming of the cabin they would build. One day, a man arrived who warned that rather than wait for permission, they should build the cabin right away, and with his help, they got to work.
They brought Tove’s eighty-three-year-old grandmother Ham, who lived in the tent which flooded, Ham laughing as she waded ashore. They used nets to catch fish to feed themselves and the cat.
Ham expresses her amazement at people who come and ask if it doesn’t get a little boring with nothing but rocks and the horizon, and don’t we miss nature? from Notes From an Island by Tove Jannson
Tove’s descriptions are seductive, documenting the variety of beauty to be experienced on the island.
A helicopter dropped them on the island to experience the break-up of the ice. Tove describes how “Unbelievable tabernacles floated by, driven by a mild south-west breeze, statuesque, glittering, as big as trolleys, cathedrals, primeval caverns, everything imaginable! And they changed colour whenever they felt like it–ice blue, green and, in the evening, orange. Early in the morning they could be pink.”
She writes of spring on the island: “Every spring, it’s the scurvy-grass flower that comes first…The flower is white and tiny and has a sharp smell. The next to come is the wild pansy, then all the others in a perfect frenzy of blossoming.”
The eiders nested on the island, the gulls raiding the nests. Migrating birds stopped by.
There was flotsam to collect, driftwood to salvage for firewood. Mending of the cabin and the woodshed with its metal roof covered with tar and turf. Cleaning out the chimney. Days of deep fog, listening to the engines and fog horns of passing boats.
When you’ve been alone for a very long time, you begin to listen differently, to feel the organic and the unexpected all around, and see the incomprehensible beauty of the material world. Tove Jansson, The Island
In their seventies, they realized the time had come to give up their island retreat. It was a rugged, demanding life, and Tove realized she was becoming afraid of the power of the ocean.
This enchanting book will appeal to anyone who has ever dreamed of escape.
Thanks to the publisher for a free book through NetGalley
In 1979 my family hosted a Finnish exchange student, Elina, for a year. She lived on the Arctic Circle, her father a forester. I remember Elina telling us about Sisu, and how Finns like solitude. She told a story about a man who moved upriver into the deep woods. He was happy until he noticed something that had floated down the river, indicating someone had built a cabin upstream. He was incensed, so walked upriver a few days, shot the interloper, and happily returned home.
The drive for solitude can seem incomprehensible in a world addicted to constant, instant communication. Or, perhaps, we all secretly dream of our own island?
Notes From an Island tells the story of how Tove Jansson, famous for her Moomie children’s books, and her partner Tooti, spent summers on an island. It tells how they built their island summer home and the life they enjoyed there, illustrated with Tooti’s artwork of the island. Additionally included is Tove’s essay The Island, illustrated with photographs.
The first island they summered on was “paradise” but gradually filled with people. Tove and Tooti searched for another island, one that would offer solitude.
They found their dream island. It was under seven thousand square meters, shaped like an atoll with a lagoon. First, they lived in a tent, dreaming of the cabin they would build. One day, a man arrived who warned that rather than wait for permission, they should build the cabin right away, and with his help, they got to work.
They brought Tove’s eighty-three-year-old grandmother Ham, who lived in the tent which flooded, Ham laughing as she waded ashore. They used nets to catch fish to feed themselves and the cat.
Ham expresses her amazement at people who come and ask if it doesn’t get a little boring with nothing but rocks and the horizon, and don’t we miss nature? from Notes From an Island by Tove Jannson
Tove’s descriptions are seductive, documenting the variety of beauty to be experienced on the island.
A helicopter dropped them on the island to experience the break-up of the ice. Tove describes how “Unbelievable tabernacles floated by, driven by a mild south-west breeze, statuesque, glittering, as big as trolleys, cathedrals, primeval caverns, everything imaginable! And they changed colour whenever they felt like it–ice blue, green and, in the evening, orange. Early in the morning they could be pink.”
She writes of spring on the island: “Every spring, it’s the scurvy-grass flower that comes first…The flower is white and tiny and has a sharp smell. The next to come is the wild pansy, then all the others in a perfect frenzy of blossoming.”
The eiders nested on the island, the gulls raiding the nests. Migrating birds stopped by.
There was flotsam to collect, driftwood to salvage for firewood. Mending of the cabin and the woodshed with its metal roof covered with tar and turf. Cleaning out the chimney. Days of deep fog, listening to the engines and fog horns of passing boats.
When you’ve been alone for a very long time, you begin to listen differently, to feel the organic and the unexpected all around, and see the incomprehensible beauty of the material world. Tove Jansson, The Island
In their seventies, they realized the time had come to give up their island retreat. It was a rugged, demanding life, and Tove realized she was becoming afraid of the power of the ocean.
This enchanting book will appeal to anyone who has ever dreamed of escape.
Thanks to the publisher for a free book through NetGalley
October 13, 2022
In several brief episodes, Tove Jansson describes the "adventures" and difficulties of living on Klovharun. a very small, treeless island in the Gulf of Finland, her summer residence for 30 years. The text and the illustrations by her partner Tuulikki Pietilä combine to make this a very pleasant reading experience.
August 31, 2024
In the autumn of 1963, Tove Jansson, her partner Tuulikki 'Tooti' Pietilä, and their taciturn friend Brunström set about trying to finish a small cabin on a tiny Finnish island before the onset of winter (and possible legal delays of building permits). Tove and Tooti spent their summers on the island for the next 3o years. This book contains excerpts of journal and introspective writing on the nature of the island, the sea, the changeable weather, the futility of human efforts to shift the natural environment. These writings are paired with delicate prints Tooti made of water, stones, and ocean views. I read this directly after The Summer Book and after listening to a short biography of Jansson- this made a good companion to those other texts, but might have been a bit spare on it's own.
October 20, 2022
In the early 1960s, Tove Jansson and her partner, Tuulikki Pietilä (Tooti), made their summer home on the remote island of Klovharun. They spent months there every summer, finally leaving in 1991, when they felt they were too old to manage the work involved. This beautiful book contains Tooti's drawings of the island, moody woodcuts capturing the sea and rough landscape, and Tove's description of her summers there. These notes are brief, atmospheric and full of life: like the island, Tove's writing is pared down to the bare bones, but is very rich. This is a beautiful account, but may not be so interesting for those who are not already invested in Tove Jansson.
June 4, 2024
A collection of stories from Tove & Tooti's (her life partner) private island. It was basically a bunch of rocks, and they had a cabin built on it. They returned frequently to enjoy the rest and elements. I enjoy Tove's writing, so this little book was quite entertaining. Tooti's artwork really completements the stories. It's unfortunately really short and not the best of Tove's writing, but maybe it's the translation.
Thank you so much to the author, publisher and NetGalley for an ARC to read & review. These are my honest opinions.
Thank you so much to the author, publisher and NetGalley for an ARC to read & review. These are my honest opinions.
August 11, 2020
Aivan täydellinen kirja. Kuulaankaunis, arkinen, rohkea, lämmin. Meri ja elämä tulevat lähelle. Tove Janssonin ja Brunströmin muistiinpanot vuorottelevat ja niiden erilaiset näkökulmat piirtävät esiin kokonaisuuden paremmin kuin kumpikaan yksin pystyisi. Tuulikki Pietilän kuvat ovat vähäeleisiä ja hyvin tunnelmallisia.
September 6, 2024
Tove Jannson, a Finn who wrote in Swedish, was best known for her children’s books, The Moomins series, which she began in 1945. These may be her claim to fame, but she had a darker and more humorous heart; “I could vomit all over the Moomins”, she once told the BBC. Indeed, as the series continued, as it did until 1970, the plots became darker, as the family is threatened by floods, and even a comet.
Jannson’s other writing was less know, other than The Summer Book which describes the summer stay on an island of a young girl and her grandmother. She was also an illustrator and cartoonist.
In 1956 she met her lifelong partner, Tuulikki Pietilä, known as ‘Tooti’, a graphic artist. Though they both lived in Helsinki, they lived apart, so they could meet unnoticed. To get over this hurdle, they built a cabin on a deserted island in the Gulf of Finland, Klovharu, and this is the story of the 26 years that they lived there. A problem in Helsinki had been Tove’s mother, known as Ham, from whom they felt it necessary to keep their relationship a secret. However, Ham does of course visit them on Klovharu.
This is a beautifully written book. As simple as life is on the island, it is physically demanding b maintaining the boat, chopping driftwood for fuel, preparing for winter, and keeping the generator going, and this only after building was complete.
This is a story of love, for each other, their art, and for their island home, and of inspiration for their work. The ending in particular is very affecting.
It is one of Jannson’s last pieces of work, written when she was 82; she died in 2001, four years later. After that, Tooti put together hours of Super 8 film for a documentary called Haru: The Island of the Solitary, which, on completing the book, is well worth seeing.
Jannson’s other writing was less know, other than The Summer Book which describes the summer stay on an island of a young girl and her grandmother. She was also an illustrator and cartoonist.
In 1956 she met her lifelong partner, Tuulikki Pietilä, known as ‘Tooti’, a graphic artist. Though they both lived in Helsinki, they lived apart, so they could meet unnoticed. To get over this hurdle, they built a cabin on a deserted island in the Gulf of Finland, Klovharu, and this is the story of the 26 years that they lived there. A problem in Helsinki had been Tove’s mother, known as Ham, from whom they felt it necessary to keep their relationship a secret. However, Ham does of course visit them on Klovharu.
This is a beautifully written book. As simple as life is on the island, it is physically demanding b maintaining the boat, chopping driftwood for fuel, preparing for winter, and keeping the generator going, and this only after building was complete.
This is a story of love, for each other, their art, and for their island home, and of inspiration for their work. The ending in particular is very affecting.
It is one of Jannson’s last pieces of work, written when she was 82; she died in 2001, four years later. After that, Tooti put together hours of Super 8 film for a documentary called Haru: The Island of the Solitary, which, on completing the book, is well worth seeing.
We dreamed about what our new cabin would look like. The room would have four windows, one in each wall.
Towards the south-east we'd need to see the big storms that rage right across the island, on the east we'd see the moon's reflection in the lagoon, and on the west side a rock face with moss and polypody ferns. To the north, we'll keep watch for approaching boats so we'll have time to get ready.
January 10, 2025
This slim volume is spare, a little odd (the inclusion of the journal entries from the guy who built their cabin!), somewhat melancholy and not least lovely as a physical book. A keeper.
July 12, 2020
Täydellisempää kesälomakirjaa kesäaamuun ei taida ollakaan, ainakaan mökkilaiturille, jossa voi kuunnella laineen liplatusta eilisen aaltojen kohinan ja kuohun jälkeen. Haru, eräs saari tuo luonnon lähelle ja elämän onnen käsille. Huumoria, luontohavaintoja, meren voimaa... Mitä ihminen tarvitsee? Ei paljon.
August 2, 2022
I loved the artwork, it's a very short and simple book but it feels like it's written with a lot of love, about a time they wanted to remember and an experience they wanted to share, which I think is very nice. I really enjoyed reading about building a home and having to leave it before you wanted to, especially right now. "There is a balance between the absolute calm of arrival and the stress of departure. Both are indispensable". Thank u Mazu for always giving me the best gifts, I love you so much <3
December 16, 2023
Rörd över att Tove & Tooti fått finnas. Varje gång jag läser om deras liv tillsammans får jag framtidsro!
November 16, 2021
Tove’s spare prose and Tooti’s etchings and drawings make this a wonderful, almost meditatieve story about island life, nature, the weather etc. I particularly liked the last chapter, when Tove and Tooti feel it may be better to leave the island and give away the house because they are getting anxious and perhaps a bit too old for island life. Beautifully published as well!
January 11, 2023
I will read anything she has ever written, even if it's just lists of things to pack. Something about the clarity of the way she writes soothes my brain. Sky, sea, salt, rock, storm clouds, clever hands, quiet industrious creativity.
August 21, 2021
Skulle kunna vara flera hundra sidor längre än vad den är och jag hade älskat varenda en av dem.
January 20, 2025
Gorgeous and funny. Reflective and intimate. What women! The short story in the back is a perfect ending. Also Tuulikki’s illustrations are fantastic, full of such character.
September 25, 2024
Pretty underbar, spare and spot on, and full of practical tips that would send you scurrying to your own barren island.
October 10, 2021
This is Sophia from The Summer Book, grown to adulthood and into possession of her own island cabin. That it's a memoir of Tove and Tooti's life on the small rock skerry of Klovharun is both incidental and central.
As with much of Tove's adult writing, this is a quiet book, telling of little moments which seem inconsequential and mundane, and which fit together into an intimate picture of life and lives shared.
Tooti's monochrome watercolour wash paintings of the islands are, not unsurprisingly, a perfect and evocative accompaniment to Tove's writing.
After finishing the book, I watched a few trailers for the film, "Haru, Island of the Solitary", which was edited together from cine camera footage the two shot of their island life, and now I want to hunt down the DVD of the whole film. This short French documentary (with English subtitles) is wonderful, including an interview with Tove's niece, Sophia, filmed on Klovharun: https://youtu.be/sjRfrpKeDU0
As with much of Tove's adult writing, this is a quiet book, telling of little moments which seem inconsequential and mundane, and which fit together into an intimate picture of life and lives shared.
Tooti's monochrome watercolour wash paintings of the islands are, not unsurprisingly, a perfect and evocative accompaniment to Tove's writing.
After finishing the book, I watched a few trailers for the film, "Haru, Island of the Solitary", which was edited together from cine camera footage the two shot of their island life, and now I want to hunt down the DVD of the whole film. This short French documentary (with English subtitles) is wonderful, including an interview with Tove's niece, Sophia, filmed on Klovharun: https://youtu.be/sjRfrpKeDU0
April 28, 2023
Been feeling very soft recently and as usual, Tove is an excellent friend for these times. She somehow always seems to be reflecting on something that I deeply resonate with and reading her books allows those moments alone to feel gentle and delicious. Moving out of my home soon - the place where I broke down and rebuilt the pieces, where over the past few years, I learnt how to feel safe - and was both grateful and deeply moved to hear her sadness at leaving the island, she has an exceptional way of marking endings.
Overall a beautiful collaboration between her and Tuulikki and as usual, I'm sad it's already over. Crying through the streets of bristol yesterday cause within hours of not seeing it, I already miss the sea.
Overall a beautiful collaboration between her and Tuulikki and as usual, I'm sad it's already over. Crying through the streets of bristol yesterday cause within hours of not seeing it, I already miss the sea.
May 23, 2024
This is blissful. A beautiful book in every sense of the word. The cover, designed by Jansson's mother, depicts the island Jansson and her partner Tootie, built a house and lived on for 27 summers until old age forced them to give it up. The book consists of paintings by Tootie and prose by Jansson, interspersed with entries from the log book in their cabin written by one of the men who helped build it. Vignettes of island life, of the natural world, of the power of the sea, all rendered in Jansson's crystal clear prose.
June 2, 2022
Miten ihana! 💛
February 8, 2023
Ihan kiva kirja tavallaan ja kerronta oli erilaista jota odotin - ja ilahduin että oli tällaista selkeää eikä sitä mitä odotin. Tarina kulki hyvin. Jokin kuitenkin jäi uupumaan enkä oikein osaa sanoa, että mikä puuttui.
Kirjaa en saanut Helmet- haasteeseen 2023 ensimmäiseen kierrokseen, joten sijoitan toiselle kierrokselle. Se voisi sopia kohtiin 1, 33, 39, 40, 42, 45, 50.
Kirjaa en saanut Helmet- haasteeseen 2023 ensimmäiseen kierrokseen, joten sijoitan toiselle kierrokselle. Se voisi sopia kohtiin 1, 33, 39, 40, 42, 45, 50.
July 2, 2020
Den här var så lugn och sävlig och fin att jag nästan ville gråta. Jag blir lugn av tempot och känner en sån frid över att kunna välja hur man vill leva sitt liv. Vill man flytta ut till ingenstans där man bygger sitt eget hus? Gör det. Och när man tycker man har upplevt allt, flytta bort. Så enkelt och rättframt, på nåt sätt.
Favoritcitat: ”Nåja man gör fel. Och än sen då?”
Favoritcitat: ”Nåja man gör fel. Och än sen då?”
March 25, 2024
an incredible and personal read for established fans of Tove, but probably not the place to start with her works if you're new to her lol (try comet in moominland- or the summer book, if you're interested in her work for adults!). Tooti's etchings and ink washes add a wonderful atmospheric tone to the book and overall this is a glimpse into their island life that brought me a lot of joy to read!
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