Moominvalley in November

When I was a kid wandering around a library in Savannah, I blundered upon the Moomin books by Tove Jansson (1914-2001), a painter and writer from Finland.  The Moomins are hippo-like imaginary creatures living in a valley in Finland.  Jansson created them as a life-affirming, anti-Hitler response to World War II and wrote a comic strip distributed in 60 countries as well as nine chapter books for children that have been translated into 35 languages.  The characters and stories remain quite popular in parts of Europe as well as Japan.  In Finland there is even an amusement park built in the guise of Moomin Valley.  For some reason, the Moomins have never caught on in America.  That makes me sad because people are missing out -- but at the same time, I like having something wonderful that hasn't been commercialized in my neck of the woods. 

In one interview, Jansson said she had things to say that she couldn't put into her paintings or writings for adults.  Thus the Moomins were born.  As a kid, I understood this instinctively and loved the books for the truth I found in them.  The characters are full of joy and longings at the same time plus there is a deep appreciation of nature, the seasons, friendship, and family life in the books.  And Jansson's books are ones I have only come to understand more fully as I grew up and continue to gain more life experience.  I read them again periodically, enjoying them just as much each time although my favorites have shifted somewhat over the years.  She has some "fluffy" stories that are full of the adventures kids crave -- Finn Family Moomintroll and Moominsummer Madness.  Those were my favorites as a kid.  But now I love the ones that are deeper, full of complex characters who remind me of people I know in real life and addressing the issues all of us struggle with -- Moominpapa at Sea, Moominvalley in November, and Moominland Midwinter.

As I do almost every autumn, I'm reading Moominvalley in November again right now.  The book is small and moves quickly.  Even if the words and grammar are a little stilted because they have been translated into English, I find beauty in Jansson's sense of the world.  Last night after working on the book most of the day, I sank into the bathtub and read for a while while rain drummed on the roof....

“The quiet transition from autumn to winter is not a bad time at all.  It’s a time for protecting and securing things and for making sure you’ve got in as many supplies as you can.  It’s nice to gather together everything you possess as close to you as possible, to store up your warmth and your thoughts and burrow yourself into a deep hold inside, a core of safety where you can defend what is important and precious and your very own.  Then the cold and the storms and the darkness can do their worst.  They can grope their way up the walls looking for a way in, but they won’t find one, everything is shut, and you sit inside, laughing in your warmth and your solitude, for your have had foresight.”

--Moominvalley in November by Tove Jansson.  NY: Henry Z. Walck, Inc. p. 13-14

 

          

   

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Comments

[Caro]

Love, love the quote, I'll look up Jansson and the moomins! Thanks

[Monica]

procrastinating and enjoying quiet time provided by Lucas' nap, I am taking a few moments to catch up on friends' blogs...LOVE the Moomins! I grew up on them. I'm not sure who gave them to my family, but we had a whole series. I haven't thought of them in years!