Måsarna

by Tove Jansson

en utbrända läraren Arne följer med sin hustru Elsa ut till hennes ensligt belägna stuga i ytterskärgården. Här ska han vila, återhämta sig och hitta tillbaka till lugnet. Men stillheten störs snart av en måskoloni som häckar på ön – högljudd, närgången och omöjlig att värja sig mot. Allt tydligare växer en spänning fram mellan Arne och Elsa. Det som var tänkt som en tillflykt blir istället en prövning, där svartsjuka, maktlöshet och undertryckt vrede sakta tar form.

Med sin säregna blandning av stillsam humor och psykologisk skärpa skildrar Tove Jansson hur relationer sätts på prov – och hur naturens obevekliga närvaro kan blotta det som länge legat dolt under ytan.

18 pages

Published March 12, 2026

About the author

Tove Jansson was born and died in Helsinki, Finland. As a Finnish citizen whose mother tongue was Swedish, she was part of the Swedish-speaking Finns minority. Thus, all her books were originally written in Swedish.

Although known first and foremost as an author, Tove Jansson considered her careers as author and painter to be of equal importance.

Tove Jansson wrote and illustrated her first Moomin book, The Moomins and the Great Flood (1945), during World War II. She said later that the war had depressed her, and she had wanted to write something naive and innocent. Besides the Moomin novels and short stories, Tove Jansson also wrote and illustrated four original and highly popular picture books.

Jansson's Moomin books have been translated into 33 languages.