Tove Jansson Rediscovered

by Malin Lidström Brock (Editor)

Best known to English-speaking audiences as the creator of the Moomin books, Tove Jansson was also a novelist, short-story writer, memoirist, painter, cartoonist and creator of picture-books. Tove Jansson Rediscovered brings the full range of Jansson s artistic and literary creativity to light. The nineteen essays in the volume, contributed by leading scholars from around the world, discuss themes of artistic and personal identity, gender and sexuality, childhood and old age in Jansson s work. Jansson s writing for children and adults, her paintings, cartoon-strips and illustrations are explored in contexts such as her membership of the Swedish-speaking minority in Finland and her life as an island-dweller. Assembling scholarship in children s literature, women s writing, queer theory, linguistic analysis and reception studies, Tove Jansson Rediscovered updates the critical understanding of an extraordinary writer and artist. 'McLoughlin's and Lidstrom Brock's collection, the first of its kind in English, gives a fascinating picture of the work of Tove Jansson. It reads her well-known children's fiction alongside her writings for adults and her visual art, and in the context of the traumatic period of Scandinavian history during which she lived. The essays are wide-ranging and the collection makes a strong claim for Jansson as an artist whose work repays detailed critical investigation.' Dr. Alice Jenkins, Senior Lecturer in English Literature at the University of Glasgow

295 pages, Hardcover

First published September 1, 2007

Reviews

[Blue]

I NEED this book for my thesis but can I find it anywhere?

NO I CANNOT!!!

[Jeffrey · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting though uneven collection of articles on Jansson - some way too academic, some a little limited in what they argued but overall, interesting given how little critical work there is in English on this hugely important writer! Suggests that English-language academics are too scared to tackle the depths of these stunning profound, poignant, delightful and compelling novels and short stories - are they too European perhaps?

[Jason · Rating 2 out of 5]

I found this collection of essays on Tove Jansson’s work academic and a little dry. Dragging Jansson’s amazingly rich work through the darling theories of the liberal arts (post modern feminist deconstruction, queer theory etc) felt a little more like academic indulgence than anything that gave me great insights into Jansson’s work. Anyway, it’s nevertheless good to see that she has attracted some serious attempts at deeper cultural analysis. I think that book has yet to be written.