A Winter Book is a collection of short stories from the creator of the Moomins, Tove Jansson. I’d started this book when it was much colder, truly Winter. But having finished it on a March Sunday, Spring is on its way; the sky is clear and the sounds of grass cutting seem to form a backdrop to the villages.
I can’t remember exactly how I came across this book. As a child I think I quite liked the amine rendered version of the Moomins, but I’ve never been the biggest fan, probably from limited exposure rather than the content. I think I’d searched something along the lines of ‘uplifting books’ and this one came up, then sat in the memory for a while before I’d noticed it in the Scandinavian section at Daunt Books, Marleybone. Yes, I know Finland might not be technically Scandinavian but they didn’t seem to have a grouping for the Nordic countries. In any case, if Moomin fame weren’t enticing enough, the blurb has a recommendation from Philip Pullman and Ali Smith writes an introduction to seal the deal.
A Winter Book is split into three parts: (i) Snow, (ii) Flotsam and Jetsam and (iii) Traveling Light. Parts (i) and (ii) are tales written around Jansson’s childhood, through the eyes of a child. The distinction is that Snow takes place in the city in Winter, whilst Flotsam and Jetsam is set during the Summer breaks to the coasts. The third part, Traveling Light is at the other end of life, with Jansson reflecting on the Winter of her time and the challenges it brings.
I liked the way the stories are grouped, Summer youth flanked by Winter. All tales have a curious and whimsical charm. My particular favourite is The Squirrel, placed in this final section, which is also the longest story in A Winter Book. Here, a squirrel arrives on an older lady’s island from sea and a battle between the two ensues. As Ali Smith writes in the introduction, colour features heavily in this story, with ‘grey’ sufficing as a reminder of age, a state of feeling and the position between light and death. Indeed, it is only when a ‘black’ ship approaches that terror seems felt.
I’m not sure if I felt uplifted by these stories, as the internet suggested, but they are definitely of great quality. The collection is full of wry humour, a love for Nature and the elements, as well as contrasting and reflecting on the state of aging. These contemplations are perhaps most humorously evidenced in Letters from Klara, one of my other highlights.
A bit of fun you can have with short story collections is to rank order them. I’ve done mine for the first read through below:
- The Squirrel
- Letters from Klara
- The Dark
- The Boat and Me
- High Water
- Traveling Light
- Messages
- The Stone
- The Iceberg
- Flotsam and Jetsam
- Snow
- Flying
- Jeremiah
- The Spinster who had an Idea
- Correspondence
- Taking Leave
- German Measles
- Parties
- Annie
- Albert
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