This was a lovely little book that’s a quick read and also occasionally, and unexpectedly, made me laugh out loud. Translated from Finnish, it’s the story of young Sophia and her grandmother, told in vignette form. They spend their summers on one of the many Finnish islands. Sophia’s father is there in a limited way; the focus is on Sophia and her grandmother as they explore the island and talk to each other. There are also symbolic references to the death of Sophia’s mother, which we know nothing about except that it happened.
The island is an immersive setting. I often found myself looking up the fauna that was mentioned (and once even angleworms, to my regret) to see what it looked like. There are lovingly detailed descriptions of the island’s geography and weather, as well as the idiosyncratic people who populate the various surrounding islands.
Sophia and her grandmother are included amongst the idiosyncratic people and are strikingly similar to each other. Sophia is full of the passions of a young child, often yelling or screaming a comment, and Grandmother (the only moniker she has) can give the anger right back. They’ll also fantasize and make up stories together. Although Grandmother sometimes argues with Sophia, there are other times she clearly holds her tongue so as not to spoil Sophia’s outlook on things. We don’t spend any time in Sophia’s head, but we do get some of Grandmother’s reflections, especially around aging.
I got this book after reading The Ferryman and His Wife, hoping it would scratch the itch left over from that, and it did. Both books are quiet, reflective, and emotionally restrained, with subtly communicated shifts in emotion. The Summer Book is lighter and not focused on an ultimate plot outcome, but the feel was very similar. I loved the tone plan and to check out one of Jannson’s other adult novels to see if it gives me the same feeling.
