There is a kind of serene loveliness to this book, which is more a series of vignettes than an actual novel. Not sure what I expected when I choose this book I’m a runner and could relate to the struggles of training. He, his brother and father all work at the foundry for a mere pittance to sustain their existence, live in a cramped small apartment, and barely have enough left for food and clothing. One of my favourite chapters was the one where Grandmother was visited by an old friend, and we see her for the first time away from Sophia and talking to another grown-up: we realise that talking to adults requires just as much care and dissembling as talking to children.

BarkingBoxer Press - geoffreysimpson

I read a good portion of this Scandinavian classic as Hurricane Ian hurled heavy branches at our house and tangled himself up in the arms of the city's power lines, knocking out our electricity for hours. It was pretty and mysterious” (pages 5–6) is one of the first descriptions, and also a good description of the book as a whole. And we know, if the child does not, that the summers of her grandmother are limit; she has already passed into the autumn of her life and winter is nipping at her heels. One tiny island in the gulf of Finland comes to represent a complete world full of miracle and mystery, safety and danger as we are swept happily along through the adventures of a feisty, indomitable little girl and her refreshingly different grandmother. She started thinking about all the euphemisms for death, all the anxious taboos that had always fascinated her.

There is no need to establish a time-line—the months moving back and forth across the summer season may imply that it occurs over several different summers, yet there is no indication which summer it is or if Sophia has aged—or for events to be considered in light of later events. One summer (or what felt like a series of summers, perhaps), little Sophia and Grandmother rely on one another and learn from each other in this beautifully written novel. For years, a national track championship has inspired Ben to ferociously cultivate his own talent as a runner. Perhaps you might regard this as evidence that he died an optimist, and optimism is maybe not something to repress completely. Although she has age related physical limitations, she is always ready for an adventure: crawling on her hands and knees, carving woodland creatures, inventing stories and swimming in the frigid northern waters.

The Summer Book by Tove Jansson | Waterstones The Summer Book by Tove Jansson | Waterstones

This slim, magical, life-affirming novel tells the story of a young girl and her grandmother, who spend their summer together on a small, isolated island in the Gulf of Finland. I wasn't surprised at some of the hate, but I was really happy to see some compassion throughout the story. She cut the them from branches and driftwood and gave them paws and faces, but she only hinted at what they looked like and never made them too distinct. Translated from Swedish and written in 1974 these 22 short vignettes occur on a small island off the Gulf of Finland.

No matter what you like — thrillers, audiobooks, cookbooks, historical fiction, music books, sci-fi, romance, horror, true crime, sports books, Hollywood tell-alls — we have recommendations for the perfect literary escape. Sophia has “no understanding for people who have these very harsh opinions about who they choose to live with”.