Moominvalley in November (Moomins Fiction)

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And yet by the end, the absence has served to allow our difficult, mildly irritating protagonists to learn a bit more about themselves, their abilities and limitations, and those of the family they once idolized or took for granted.

Toft finds an old microbiology textbook, and misinterpreting it as a story, creates a monster in his imagination known as the Creature, which appears to develop a life of its own. The month of November, engulfed in fog and lashed with rain hangs over this story like another character. Where previously there had been action and interaction in her lively drawings, here there is a stately isolation. One of Jansson's illustrations from the book, depicting (from left to right), Mymble, Grandpa-Grumble, Toft, Snufkin and the Hemulen watching the Fillyjonk's shadow puppet show. Moominvalley in November (Swedish: Sent i november Literally: "Late in November") is the eleventh in the series of Tove Jansson's Moomin books and the ninth and final novel, published in 1970.Set in the final days of autumn and the approach of winter, various characters begin to experience a change within themselves and decide to travel to Moominvalley where they can visit the Moomins.

Ir nežinau, ar taip atrodo todėl, kad skaičiau jau užaugęs (nesuaugęs), tarsi kitomis akimis, ar todėl, jog ši dalis tikrai yra apie VISKĄ.

The Times Literary Supplement described the book as "possibly the cleverest of the Moomin books", whilst Philip Ardagh, writing for The Guardian in 2003, similarly praised it, describing the work as "melancholy" and comparing the character of Toft with that of Toffle, another lonely child, from Jansson's picture book Who Will Comfort Toffle? In the United States the series beginning with Finn Family Moomintroll (first published in English in 1945) has accumulated generations of fans. It was a place where people were always turning up unexpectedly, where sometimes—as Jansson wrote in Finn Family Moomintroll— “unexpected and disturbing things used to happen, but nobody ever had time to be bored, and that is always a good thing. Perhaps Jansson expects her child readers to have grown up with her enough to appreciate a more melancholy story. Iako su potom negde sledili stihovi „tu se svi veselo igraju a šume smehom odjekuju”, ostalo mi je uvek nejasno kako i, pobogu, zašto se oni igraju a „mrak ih snašo”?

I could definitely relate to this one around the age of 12, although when I re-read it as an adult, it made more sense. It’s a time for protecting and securing things and for making sure you’ve got in as many supplies as you can.I worried the book would end with rather nihilistic pessimism – Toft staring out at a bleak sea – but in fact there is a glimmer of hope: Toft spies the Moomins’ boat approaching and runs to meet them. Moominvalley in November has a unique touch of sweet meloncholy, when you read it, you feel like missing a place you've never been.