Never too Late to Read Classics discussion

Please join us as we read The Summer Book by the Finnish author who wrote in Swedish, Tove Jansson .

Happy reading everyone!

I am waiting for a ecopy to arrive and hope to join this discussion before the end of the month. 🤞

Rosemarie wrote: "I am waiting for a ecopy to arrive and hope to join this discussion before the end of the month. 🤞"

I hope your copy arrives soon, Rosemarie. I’m looking forward to reading this book.

I'm planning to read The Summer Book. It will be a re-read and I'm looking forward to it.

Err I do not wish to be pedantic, but it is not July yet?

You noticed, Bernard! Just a bit of advance planning. 😉
July 1 is Canada Day! Of course with Covid there are going to be a lot fewer celebrations, but the numbers have been going down-which is a good reason to celebrate.

My best wishes to Canada for the special day. Enjoy the celebrations which do take place.

Thank you, Bernard.🇨🇦

Great--as I posted somewhere, I read this recently.

I remember this as very nice and atmospheric read by the author of Moomins. I think I will reread it.

I will join, have been meaning to read her books for years so this is perfect! My copy should arrive by Monday.

I should finally read this.

I will read this in a week after I finish The Axe, This looks to be a quick easy read and is a good looking book in any edition:

SPOILER - The covers do give the impression the story takes place on a small island. Sounds nice.

Beautiful covers, Brian.

I read it in late June, so am looking forward to what people have to say about it.

Me too!

I'm almost finished. Jansson's descriptions of nature on the island are perfect - simple sentences that convey much.

The story of Sophia and Grandmother is bittersweet. I've felt a bit melancholy throughout the book because of the aging of Grandmother. She's a wonderful teacher/friend/grandmother for Sophia.

I've always thought there were parts of Tove in both Sophia and the Grandmother.

Unfortunately ageing is a natural process. It seems that Tove suffered badly from her mothers ageing and death.

I finished the book. I thought it was well-written in, as Kathy says, simple direct sentences. Overall, though, I was disappointed. I think I had expectations of being charmed and instead I felt like I was dropped into a place and was picked up without ever getting to know that much about the characters. The author presents what the characters say and do but does not offer observations or background into what is presented. I found myself wanting to know more.
This may have been exacerbated by my reading too much of the book each day. Due to circumstances, this served as my primary book and I read it in 3 days.
The book consists of 23 vignettes. Reading 50 to 60 pages in a sitting may have been too much for an atmospheric book that lacked a compelling overall narrative or plot.
I think a better approach would have been to limit myself to a few vignettes a day and read it over a much longer period, letting me savor the stories. This approach worked well for me with two other vignette-based books I read last year, The Little World of Don Camillo and Up the Junction. where a little daily taste of the place and characters involved was all I desired or needed.
However, I didn't realize the book consisted of vignettes when I started it as my primary book and I continued at that pace since I was eager to start my next book. I rate this book as 3 stars, a pleasant but not compelling read.

Brian, your proposed alternative plan does sound better, and it would extend the pleasure dividend. Use it next time!

I loved Don Camillo as a kid, I must reread some. And I did not know that Up the Junction was "sketches", but then I never ventured south of the river much.

Bernard wrote: "Brian, your proposed alternative plan does sound better, and it would extend the pleasure dividend. Use it next time!

I will! With my memory lapsing, I'll be ready to read it again in about 10 years. Maybe I'll try reading it during winter.
I will be using that reading approach with my current non-fiction, which I just started, Joseph Roth's The Hotel Years which is a collection of 64 'feuilltons' that serve as 'literary postcards' from between war Europe. I think they will be best served at a few a day.

Up The Junction was made into quite a good film starring Dennis Waterman and Suzy Kendall with a soundtrack by Manfred Mann.

Brian wrote: "Bernard wrote: "Brian, your proposed alternative plan does sound better, and it would extend the pleasure dividend. Use it next time!

I will! With my memory lapsing, I'll be ready to read it again..."

Ten years??? I will have forgotten my own name in ten years, if I live that long.

Jazzy wrote: "Up The Junction was made into quite a good film starring Dennis Waterman and Suzy Kendall with a soundtrack by Manfred Mann."

I first came across it as one of the infamous Plays for Today on BBC.

Bernard wrote: "Jazzy wrote: "Up The Junction was made into quite a good film starring Dennis Waterman and Suzy Kendall with a soundtrack by Manfred Mann."

I first came across it as one of the infamous Plays for ..."

The BBC play was early Ken Loach from 1965. He later did the movie of Dunn's Poor Cow. It was so early, I think he may have gone by Kenneth back then

Of course, the infamous Ken (or Kenneth) Loach!

You know my front door is in the film I, Daniel Blake.

The person has a job delivering leaflets and they pushed one through my letterbox.

I also auditioned for a part, but didn't get one.

And he also did Cathy Come Home (1966). Heartbreaking film, and important for today as well.

https://youtu.be/xky8ZqhNAlo

I did not know that either! Is there a blue plaque on your door???

Bernard wrote: "Ten years??? I will have forgotten my own name in ten years, if I live that long.."

You joke, but I learned recently that people with my blood type are over 80 percent more likely to suffer memory loss with age...

what are we discussing again?

I liked the book, but it was a three star like for me. It was definitely poignant, and of course being short stories there was no plot. I prefer longer fiction now.

None of my homes have appeared on film, although my alma mater has. I even watched a suspense movie just to see it plus one of the BC ferries, but I can't remember what it was called. That's not from age related memory loss (I'm not there at this point and ideally I'll beat the odds), as I have always been one to forgot movie and book titles. Not for all movies and books, but, after all, once we've seen enough of them it's hard to remember them without work. It was set in the States--primarily Washington state--and Canada (southern BC). A red haired man with long hair commits a murder (you don't see his face), cuts his hair and then later there are a number of red headed men hiking with a female guide on a trail that takes them over the border. If any of you know this film, then in between making it to Canada and getting on the ferry, there was a scene or so at SFU in Burnaby, BC.

I don't recognize the film, but this is what Wikipedia says about filming at Simon Fraser University in Burnaby BC:

Its first use as a film set was for the 1972 science fiction film The Groundstar Conspiracy, in which the entire campus complex was used. It was then followed by The Fly II, which has scenes shot inside and outside the Burnaby campus. The campus also appeared in the 1989 movie American Boyfriends, set in 1965, with the buildings dressed to look like they were still under construction. The campus served as a high-tech corporate setting in the film Antitrust. Recently, in addition to other Vancouver-area landmarks, many parts of the Burnaby campus were used for the filming of the movie The 6th Day as well as Agent Cody Banks. The 2007 film Personal Effects, was filmed in the newly constructed Blusson Hall at the Burnaby campus. In early 2008, the Burnaby campus was again used for filming, this time for The Day the Earth Stood Still (2008 Remake). Filming of the 2012 movie Underworld: Awakening starring Kate Beckinsale, began in early 2011 with parts of the AQ modified as part of the set.

In television
The Burnaby campus has been prominently featured in science fiction television series such as Stargate SG-1, Battlestar Galactica, and Andromeda. The Academic Quadrangle has also served as a backdrop for shots of "FBI headquarters" in the television series The X-Files, as well as the "National Academy For Seers" in Sliders. Exterior shots of the Academic Quadrangle have also been used in the Vancouver-based TV series JPod (based on the book).

I really enjoyed this book. It's very light and sweet, and I really wanted to know more about the family.

My copy has arrived, along with a bunch of other holds. I will start it soon.

Well, I've read it, but only because it was short. I couldn't relate to any of the characters.
When I was a little girl in Germany, my Oma looked after me. She wasn't anything like this grandma.
The book was a disappointment for me. There was a lot more nastiness than I expected and I was grossed out by the box of dirty dishes under the bed!
I agree with your most of your comments, Brian, but I rated it two stars since three stars means I liked the book.

Rosemarie, my research shows that there are many types of grandmother. I love the book, including the dirty dishes which put Lovecraft to shame!

I prefer the Winter Book. It has characters outside the family ones, and a wider range of situations. One clever story is made of letters between Tove and one of her host of fans, this one in Japan.

That does sound better, Bernard.

And I loved it. And every time I see moss i think of how if you step on it twice you'll kill it.

I loved how they went out on the boat looking for spoils.

Jazzy wrote: "And I loved it. And every time I see moss i think of how if you step on it twice you'll kill it."

You did not know that ???

Bernard wrote: "Jazzy wrote: "And I loved it. And every time I see moss i think of how if you step on it twice you'll kill it."

You did not know that ???"

No Bernard, I grew up in the city.

Ha ha! Me too. I had no idea!

Silly boy!

I just can't remember if she said you can step on it once or twice before the next time the moss would die, but now if i go to the park and see any moss I don't step on it at all :)

Yes, we should let the moss be. It plays its part in the global ecosystem.

I like moss. There is a saying that if you are lost in the wilderness, the moss always grows on the north side of a tree. I have seen moss growing on three sides of a tree, so that isn't very reliable.

Ha ha! An old wife's tale, from an unreliable old wife.

Brian wrote: "I don't recognize the film, but this is what Wikipedia says about filming at Simon Fraser University in Burnaby BC:

Its first use as a film set was for the 1972 science fiction film The Groundstar..."

Only a small part of it was set at SFU--the climax was on one of the BC Ferries--most of it was set in the bush (as we call the forest) while they were hiking on a trail to take them over the US-Canada border (but I suspect that was filmed in BC not partly in Washington).

However, I have seen bits of it in other things. I doubt that every scene that has ever been filmed there is listed since so many things are filmed in the GVRD (Greater Vancouver Regional District) and BC in general. I know my brother has filmed a few things on the Island (aka Vancouver Island) as well but never at my alma mater. None of my siblings went there, but I have other relatives who have.

However, the name is long forgotten as are most movie titles since I don't make a point of remembering them all.

This book was a huge disappointment to me after looking forward to reading it for ages. I disliked the characters & thought the book was disjointed & unpleasant in parts. If the book had been any longer I would have abandoned it - a 2 star read. I don’t want to read anything else by this author.
Brian mentioned the simple sentences used - does anyone know if it really was written that way or if it is partly due to the translator?

Trisha, I felt the same way you do about the book-on all counts.