As a huge fan of the Moomin stories my expectations for this book were high and not achieved. It's an okay glimpse back at the Moomin world, but it does not stand as a strong or interesting book on its own and holds no actual depth.
This book reads like a fandom page graced with the wonderful content/illustrations pulled from the existing books, but has nothing new or clever to offer. In fact, I've read many more nuanced, detailed, and insightful fandom pages than this book, which is quite sad. I feel like I would've had a better time reading a wiki article about Tove and the Moominvalley, followed by revisiting one of the actual Moomin books that are so truly exceptional.
>> SOME DETAILS
+ It's a pretty book in a way that all actual Moomin books are. Tove's artwork is magical and it's a pleasure to see it anywhere, again and again.
+ The Moomin characters, settings, and ideas are lovely and nice to revisit, no matter how briefly.
~ Character overviews are okay, but not detailed enough to be interesting. The same stands for overviews of the other elements of the world, such as magic, seasons, music, etc. Most are rather disjointed and feel incomplete.
- Many elements of the world, even as simple as many locations are not mentioned at all.
- The book doesn't have a clear reader age in mind. The writing begins as oriented for a very young audience and is quite charming. However, by the later parts of the book the style changes to an older reader. This inconsistency is confusing and unsatisfying.
- A lot of repetition of the same information grows very tiresome by the end. It feels like either the writer is struggling with extreme forgetfulness or expects the reader to not be able to hold onto any information for more than a page.
- No full universe catalogue, no detailed history, no true critical analysis make this book quite a disappointment for serious fans and make it feel rather pointless. A pair of clever theme observations are insufficient to make the book notable and feel more suitable for a jacket blurb. However, I do believe this book can be a starting point for a much better world overview or analysis in the future.
>> VERDICT
> New Moomin readers? - Skip! It's a poor and confusing introduction for anyone new to the Moomin universe. DO NOT START YOUR MOOMIN ADVENTURE HERE.
> Existing casual fans? - Maybe. The book may be an okay refresher read for the existing fans, especially if they have no access to the real Moomin books or the internet. If your expectation is of a non-professional fanclub level of quality you may enjoy it.
> Diehard fans of *anything* Moomin? - Maybe. If you simply love everything Moomin regardless of detail, you may have fun adding this to your collection.
> Serious fans and critical readers? - Skip! You will not be satisfied with such a shallow read.
PS: I feel very bad rating this book so low, but in truth 3/5 is me being generous because I love Tove's real books so very much. :(