Tove Jansson. She wrote the Moomin books and she’s a bit of an obsession of mine. I always loved the Moomins but it wasn’t until a few years ago that I discovered that she’d written a load of books for adults as well. Cheerful yet melancholy, dreamlike but realistic, semi-autobiographical stories about the joys and pains of being alive. Books with titles like ‘Fair Play’ and ‘The True Deceivers’.
Jansson was also an artist and illustrator, and in 2014 the City of Helsinki honoured her by naming a park after her to mark the centenary of her birth. If you haven’t read much of her stuff then do it now. It’s not just about funny, white, hippo-looking creatures who talk a lot of sense and go about their business in a calm yet sometimes chaotic manner. Her reach goes further than that. Her voice still resonates today. Have a listen.
