“There is no silence like sitting in a fog at sea and listening,” writes Tove Jansson in her newly-translated story collection Fair Play. She’s a great writer, and this review is no exception: Larissa is one of our top reviewers generally-but not always-writing about Scandinavian lit.
But seriously, she sounds fascinating, especially as one of the few Swedish-speaking Finns who have made their way into English. I’ve been meaning to find time to read Jansson’s books for a while now, and every review we post makes me more and more interested. NYRB has been slowly issuing Tove Jansson’s ‘adult’ books over the past few years, starting with The Summer Book followed by The True Deceiver, which made the 2011 BTBA fiction longlist. And yes, I know telling time by a sporting tournament is a sign of some sort of disorder. (Or in NCAA time: The day of the “first” round of the tournament, which for once, could be cool. These deft and gentle stories are as refreshing as a dip in chilly Finnish seas.The latest addition to our Reviews Section is a piece by Larissa Kyzer on Tove Jansson’s Fair Play, which was translated from the Swedish by Thomas Teal and officially comes out from NYRB Classics next Tuesday. Jansson has a knack for packing a good deal of wit and wisdom into ostensibly simple tales. It feels a privilege to read it.įairness and playfulness are at the heart of this delightful novel, which chronicles in 17 luminous snapshots a shared artistic life. Andreas Campomar, The Times Literary SupplementĪ book about love-tender, eccentric and fiercely independent. that we find the true meaning of the novel. content to let the narrative almost disappear into what Hegel called the "prose of the world": the beauty of the day-to-day. Only the very finest art can show us so many shades of psychological nuance, yet make them visible with such clarity. Jansson reveals the ambiguities in every encounter. and make it really new and fresh, no matter what age you are, what life you're in.
This novel is about creativity from the very start-about how to take a day. Recommend Jansson to readers of Anita Brookner's similarly introspective novels. A novel, a short-story collection, and an autobiographical journey, Fair Play centers on the lives of two creative women-Mari, the writer, and Jonna, the artist.For those who have yet to discover Jansson, her writing is a true pleasure, and her characters, although sparse on dialogue, are complex, passionate, and deeply empathetic. In this brilliantly translated novel from the Swedish by Thomas Teal, Finnish-born author Tove Jansson, whose Moomin children's books may be familiar to some readers, gives us a spare, rich collection of vignettes. Deft, unsentimental and starkly lovely series of lightly fictionalized domestic sketches.
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