Notes from an Island
Author: Tove Jansson & Tuulikki Pietilä
Published by: Sort of Books
Pages: 126
Format: Paperback
My Rating: ★★★★★
Published by: Sort of Books
Pages: 126
Format: Paperback
My Rating: ★★★★★
“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.”
In her late-forties, Tove Jansson, helped by a maverick seaman called Brunström, raced to build a cabin on an almost barren outcrop of rock in the Gulf of Finland. The island was Klovharun, and for twenty-six summers Tove and her partner ‘Tooti’ (the graphic artist Tuulikki Pietilä), retreated there to live, paint and write, energised by the solitude and shifting landscapes.
Notes from an Island is both a memoir and homage to the island the two women loved intensely and relinquished only when pressed by age. It is also a unique collaboration between two artists. Tove’s spare, precise prose – diary entries, vignettes and extracts from Brunström’s log – frame the subtle washes and aquatints created by Tooti. Together they form of meditative beauty.
In her late-forties, Tove Jansson, helped by a maverick seaman called Brunström, raced to build a cabin on an almost barren outcrop of rock in the Gulf of Finland. The island was Klovharun, and for twenty-six summers Tove and her partner ‘Tooti’ (the graphic artist Tuulikki Pietilä), retreated there to live, paint and write, energised by the solitude and shifting landscapes.
Notes from an Island is both a memoir and homage to the island the two women loved intensely and relinquished only when pressed by age. It is also a unique collaboration between two artists. Tove’s spare, precise prose – diary entries, vignettes and extracts from Brunström’s log – frame the subtle washes and aquatints created by Tooti. Together they form of meditative beauty.
My thoughts:
Notes from an Island is a beautifully produced collection of notes and diary entries relating to Jansson’s time with her partner, and greatest love, Tooti (Tuulikki Pietil) on a remote island. In several brief episodes, Jansson describes the "adventures" and difficulties of living on Klovharun, a very small, treeless island in the Gulf of Finland.
The book consists of paintings by Tootie and prose by Jansson, interspersed with entries from the log book in their cabin, written by Brunstöm, one of the men who helped to. build it. This non-fiction memoir features vignettes of island life, of the natural world, of the power of the sea, all rendered in Jansson's crystal clear narrative.
Tove’s spare prose and Tooti’s etchings and drawings make this a wonderful, reflective read: a quiet story about island life, including thoughts and stories relating to the weather, nature, and the shared solitude that they loved so much.
The paperback edition I have included Tove Jansson’s1961 essay, The Island, which I also loved. If anything, this tiny little gem of a book left me wanting more. I deliberately tried to linger over the pages, knowing this would be such a short read, and I wish I could’ve read at least a few more chapters. There is something about the clarity of the way she writesthat transfixed me from start to finish. It is a beautiful book in every sense of the word.
Overall reaction:
Notes from an Island is a beautifully produced collection of notes and diary entries relating to Jansson’s time with her partner, and greatest love, Tooti (Tuulikki Pietil) on a remote island. In several brief episodes, Jansson describes the "adventures" and difficulties of living on Klovharun, a very small, treeless island in the Gulf of Finland.
The book consists of paintings by Tootie and prose by Jansson, interspersed with entries from the log book in their cabin, written by Brunstöm, one of the men who helped to. build it. This non-fiction memoir features vignettes of island life, of the natural world, of the power of the sea, all rendered in Jansson's crystal clear narrative.
Tove’s spare prose and Tooti’s etchings and drawings make this a wonderful, reflective read: a quiet story about island life, including thoughts and stories relating to the weather, nature, and the shared solitude that they loved so much.
The paperback edition I have included Tove Jansson’s1961 essay, The Island, which I also loved. If anything, this tiny little gem of a book left me wanting more. I deliberately tried to linger over the pages, knowing this would be such a short read, and I wish I could’ve read at least a few more chapters. There is something about the clarity of the way she writesthat transfixed me from start to finish. It is a beautiful book in every sense of the word.
Overall reaction: