Trollvinter
Tove Jansson
146 p.

Awe Gebers, 1957.

Back cover blurb:

Det är inte lätt att vakna ur sitt vinteride i januari och inte kunna somna om.
Mumintrollet var det första mumintroll som nånsin upplevat vintern och i början var han förfärligt ensam i det sovande huset. Men småningom befolkades hans dal med vinterns hemlighetsfulla varelser, och den här boken handlar om hur han försökte klara sig med dem och den främmande iskalla värld han ramlat in i.
Här bredvid ser ni My som klarade sig utmärkt med detsamma och den lilla hunden Ynk som däremot tyckte att tillvaron var en besvärlig historia.

This is not my favourite Moomin-book. It was nice, but never had me as roused as Trollkarlens hatt or Farlig midsommar or Mumintrollet på kometjakt did. This is probably because, of all the regular Moomin-characters, there are only actually two (Moomin himself and Little My) appears. Snufkin, my absolute favourite, didn’t appear, despite being mentioned here and there. This novel introduces a number of new characters, Tooticky, a little dog called Ynk (or, that’s his name in the Swedish version, I don’t know at all what his name in the translation is), and a quite annoying Hemul.

The absolute highlight of this novel is when the Groke, who is as terrifying as she is fascinating, appears, wanting to be warmed, but is unable to, because she is so cold. I find the Groke to be a extremely interesting character, because she seems to scare the living daylights out of everyone who has read these novels - I talk to people who haven’t read these books in years, and still they stare wide-eyed and look frightened when we reach the Groke.

The mood of this novel is different from the rest. It’s more melancholic than before, and more subdued. It doesn’t feel as sparkling and happy. It is, actually, quite depressing. However, it is (thankfully!) not at all as depressing as real life. And it is still very good.

The Diamond of Drury Lane
Julia Golding
424 p.

Egmont UK Ltd., 2006.

Back cover blurb:

At the Theatre Royal in Drury Lane, Covent Garden, This present day, being 1st January, 1790,
will be presented

The Diamond of Drury Lane
(written by Miss Cat Royal)

Principal Characters
Miss Cat Royal - orphan and ward of the theatre
Mr Johnny Smith - prompt with a secret
Mr Syd Fletcher - leader of the Butcher’s boys
Mr Billy ‘Boil’ Shepherd - evil leader of rival gang
And a hidden diamond!

With a new musical interlude by Mr Pedro Hawkins, late of Africa.

To which will be added a farce, in which a hot air balloon will land on stage!

I am sorry for the blurb looking so messy - it is actually quite pretty, it’s just that I’m not sure how to present it.  It’s got lots of different fonts and boldnesses, and it is really quite a beauty. In fact, the entire cover, both front and back, is beautiful. It is smaller than most books I own, despite being in hardback. It’s 18×13.4 cm, which, compared to most normal novels, is really quite tiny. Additionally, it is a delight with its colours and its glittering diamond on the cover. Oh, I’ll admit it: I only bought this novel for its cover. I skimmed through the blurb, slightly amused. It is the kind of book I just want people to look at and awe. That is how pretty it is!

Had I been in charge of marketing this book, I would not market it in my age category; I am a bit too old, and maybe a bit too cynical. It is the sort of novels ten-fifteen-year-olds could easily fall in love with. (I ought to try and make my younger brother, approaching fourteen, but barely a reader read it - I have a feeling he might love it.) However, I enjoyed it. Admittedly, there were parts I thought that were a bit too childish, and I constantly hoped Cat to get involved with either of the friendly nobles in this book. Then I got to know that Cat is twelve years old, and then I felt like a pervert. Obviously. Genre-wise, I feel that it has a lot in common with Philip Pullman’s excellent The Ruby in the Smoke and the other novels in the Sally Lockheart-series. I am a big fan of Philip Pullman, and comparing this novel to him should be thought of as great praise.

Also, like in the Sally Lockheart-series, one of the things I love are the characters. Although some of the characters do not feel fully fleshed-out, most notedly (unfortunately!) Cat herself, most of the characters, especially minor such, feel so real. One of my favourite characters in this novel was the Lord Francis, colloquially termed Frank, a young Lord (I assumed he was seventeen-eighteen, but later I had a sneaking suspicion that he was in fact younger than that, and not older than fifteen) who takes an interest in boxing and the lower classes, albeit in a completely loveable way. Disguised as a chimney-cleaner, he finds Cat, who has been held back by the rivaling gang and says “we wondered what had happened to you! I was very perturbed to find that you had not followed us.” (148) Apart from being a quote which still, days later, brings a smile to my face, it more or less sums up Lord Francis. He is foppish and absolutely wonderful.

Another lovely aspect of the novel is the time and location setting as well as the structure of the story. Set in late eighteenth century London, it is a convincing picture of a society which really seems quite ghastly. I am complete tosh at history, but even I could navigate myself through some of the references, to my great pleasure. And, the structure! Portrayed like a play, it is divided in five acts, with act descriptions and parts of maps of London. It was so pretty.

Come Wednesday, I have some free time, and I’ll be able to go downtown, and if I’m lucky, they’ve got the next part. I don’t have a clue the next time I’ll have time to read properly, but it is never wrong to stock up!

Mumintrollet på kometjakt
Tove Jansson
156 p.

Sörlins förlag, 1956.

Back cover blurb:

De stora äventyren började egentligen samma morgon, som Sniff hittade sin hemliga grotta. Mystiska och svårtydbara tecken började visa sig överallt. Tecken, som såg ut som en stjärna med svans efter sig. Varken Mumintrollet eller Sniff visste riktigt vad de skulle tro, men som vanligt hade Mumintrollet sina aningar. För säkerhets skull frågade han Bisamråttan, och han visste på råd; en ondskefull komet var på väg mot Mumintrollens fridfulla lilla dal.

För att få reda på mera begav sig Mumintrollet och Sniff på väg mot Observatoriet i Ensliga Bergen. Efter en tid slog de följe med Snusmumriken och de tre vännerna fick uppleva både hemska och roliga äventyr. Och under tiden var kometen på väg… allt närmare, och närmare kom den som ett ondskefullt öga.

På hemväg träffade de på Snorkfröken och hennes broder, som Mumintrollet med sin rådighet räddade från en hemsk köttätande Angostura. Så efter många äventyr kom de slutligen hem igen till det lilla blå Muminhuset i dalen, lagom för att rädda sig och Mumintrollets mamma och pappa från den stora kometen som kom svepande med sin långa glödheta svans…

This blurb tells about everything that happens in this book, but with fewer words. That is a little strange, I think, but I guess that might have been the way blurbs were written in the fifties. I was definitely not alive back then, so how could I know? (I assume I could do an investigation, but I am extremely lazy, and you can’t expect me to be bothered doing that!)

This novel is the first version, so to speak, of the story which later would be published under the name Kometen kommer. I think the latter title is a lot more dramatic, but as I haven’t read that book, I can’t really compare them, plotwise. (if I understood correctly from reading a bit about it on the internet, one of the major differences is that what is a monkey in this version, is a kitten in the other version.) The writing style is the happy and simple style Jansson uses and it makes me so happy.

And, um. It really really makes me happy. It is like Prozac. Or metaphorically so, because I’m not at all so into medicines. But you get the gist of it.

Trollkarlens hatt
Tove Jansson
164 p.

AWE Gebers, 1956.

Back cover blurb:

Den här berättelsen börjar med trolldom en tidig vårmorgon och slutar en varm augustinatt som aldrig kommer glömmas i mumindalen. Däremellan ligger mumintrollets långa sommar, full av solsken och åskväder. Den kunde ha varit som en vanlig sommar, med upptäckter av nya öar, med långrevsfiske i duggregn och lyckliga bad i bränningarna och hemlighetsfulla nattvandringar - men så hittade muminfamiljen trollkarlens hatt. Och efter det var ingenting som vanligt längre. Farlighet och spänning hade kommit in i dalen och tassade hotfullt kring deras hus, varje dag hände otroliga och upprörande saker. De hade med andra ord aldrig haft så roligt förr. Det här är historien om små och stora kryp och om glada händelser och hemska händelser som alltid måste vara hopblandade för att ens sommar ska bli riktig och underbar.

Looking through the first few pages of this book, I realised that this is from the second print run, which made me feel a little uncomfortable - maybe I shouldn’t have carried it around as I did! I carried this book around for a near week, which, for such a short volume, is maybe a bit ridiculous. However, it was interesting to see how people reacted to it. People often went “Moomin!” in an appreciating way, but others went “..Moomin!” which made me think that maybe they thought it was ridiculous. If they did, I don’t care. Moomin might be considered a childrens’ book, but it is so much greater than a childrens’ book. (Earlier today I actually went to see a couple of short Moomin films at a cinema. The ticket girl looked a little strangely at me when I said I wanted to buy a ticket.)

It’s such a wondrous story. This novel has a few things I missed from Farlig Midsommar, most notably Mårran (The Groke in English). I love the concept of Mårran - something that’s evil because she’s unloved, but you can’t love her, because then she only gets cross. It is fantastic, and I don’t think I’ve ever been  as scared of any character as I was Mårran. At one place Jansson writes: “I det frusna gräset satt Mårran och glodde på dem” (132, roughly translated to “In the frozen grass sat the Groke and stared at them”). The choice of words chills my blood. I never thought I’d be as scared of someone who “glor”. (I realise this sounds really strange, but nevermind!) She is a truly extraordinary character.

And all the other characters! Oh, how I love them! Had I the opportunity, I would definitely marry Snusmumriken (who I believe is called Snufkin in English). He wouldn’t be a very good husband, I believe, but no one is perfect. I mean, at least he wears a pretty hat!

All in all, it was a very good book. I don’t really think I’ve said much about the actual content of the book, but, well, it’s obvious that I’ll like it - it’s Moomin. Whoever doesn’t like Moomin is mentally unwell.