Notes from an Island by Tove Jansson & Tuulikki Pietilä
Fried ducklings aren’t always what you expect - and other observations from life on a tiny barren island.
A love letter to an island life
When she was little, author and artist Tove Jansson dreamed of being a lighthouse keeper. The dream didn’t pan out, but she did live a lighthouse keeper’s life: in a cabin, on a rock, in the hurl and spray of the Gulf of Finland. Screamed at by gulls, washed over by the sea, terrified in the storms, relishing it all.
Notes from an Island comprises diary extracts from Jansson and cabin-builder Brunström, as well as artwork from fellow islander and partner Tuulikki Pietilä. But the heart of the book are Jansson’s anecdotes of island life: on Pellura, the friendly gull; on the cat all covered in tar, on the eider ducks and the physical joy of hauling stones, on laughter in the face of failure, on Tooti drawing under an umbrella to protect herself from the raining guano of the gulls.
One highlight for me was the telling of the wreck of their boat Victoria which, as well as being beautiful and funny, is a miniature lesson in story craft, and shows the push-and-pull camaraderie of two women living together, approaching art from different corners.
A short and relaxing read, Notes from an Island will appeal more to those who have already been enchanted by Jansson’s writing. In other words, read The Summer Book and/or A Winter Book first.
WHAT TO READ NEXT
A Winter Book by Tove Jansson
The True Deceiver by Tove Jannson
