Tales from Moominvalley by Tove Jansson #ToveTrove

My contribution to Moomin Week and the latest addition to the Tove Trove Library 

“You can’t ever be really free if you admire somebody too much.”

Tales from Moominvalley (or Det osynliga barnet och andra berättelser in its earliest Swedish-language form) is a short fiction collection from Tove Jansson’s original series of stories about a family of benevolent, philosophical trolls with downy fur and soft round snouts, who reside in a rather unusual house in an attractive woodland valley by the sea.

I chose to re-explore this title for Moomin Week, a one-off literary happening hosted by my magnificent Moominmates Mallika Ramachandran and Chris Lovegrove who planned everything so splendidly to celebrate my Moomin-themed wedding on 14^th September 2024. I waited for the first of the month – the final day of the event – to share my post.

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“He was the owner of the moonlight on the ground, he fell in love with the most beautiful of the trees, he made wreaths of leaves and strung them around his neck.”

This collection of nine short stories, presented in the foreword as a “chance to meet new characters and re-encounter […] old friends,” perfectly fits with the spirit of our wedding. After 35-years together, my partner and I want nothing more than to celebrate our time together in the company our dearest friends, relatives and their loved-ones – the occasion every bit as much about them and their importance in our lives as it is about us. To use an old British idiom, it’s a bit of a do we like to think the Moomin family themselves would enjoy.

Revealed within its pages are the triumphs, troubles, escapades and insights of the inhabitants of Moominvalley, a place likely situated above the Arctic Circle, believed to have been inspired by Ängsmarn, the summer retreat of the author’s maternal grandfather.

A strong collection in and of itself, Tales from Moominvalley nevertheless includes several outstanding pieces in which Jansson’s idiosyncratic storytelling and enigmatic illustrations are combined to their virtuosic best.

On the surface, her narratives are humorous and engaging, written perhaps with the more intelligent child in mind – but dig deeper and you may well discover why so much of Tove’s crossover fiction appeals to such a wide variety of readers.

Snufkin “…never cooked a dinner for other people if he could avoid it, nor did he care much for other people’s dinners.”

Among my favourites is the first story, The Spring Tune, where we meet Moomintroll’s best friend Snufkin journeying north beneath a cloudless sky, content with his lot and happy because “tomorrow and yesterday [are] both at a distance.” As he walks, he composes a tune, something he regards as a serious undertaking, “especially if [it is] to be jolly and sad at the same time.” He is therefore somewhat miffed to be confronted by an admiring Creep – a small, jumpy creature not generally known for indulging in conversation. Although vexed by this disturbance, he and we eventually realise that his experience has revealed the importance of personal autonomy and having a distinct identity. Snufkin’s tune may be lost but he has done something of importance by helping a fellow being discover his true self (as the young are wont to say these days).

The message to be found (if indeed one is sought) in A Tale of Horror, which tells of a young Whomper with a disagreeable imagination, and in which Little My comes into her mischievous own, seems to be that fibs are only fun if you are the one telling them. Whereas The Fillyjonk Who Believed in Disasters is almost certainly about facing one’s worst fears and learning not only to live with them but also to thrive regardless of what is to come.

“If people are frightened very often, they sometimes become invisible…”

I have previously mentioned The Invisible Child, a tale in which a young girl called Ninny has been “frightened the wrong way by a lady who [took] care of her without really liking her,” for a long-ago feature in Book Jotter (Three Things… #2). Here I extolled (or possibly extrolled) the British actor and voice artist Bill Nighy’s reading of this story in a podcast. Please do follow the above link for more about this.

The Hemlen Who Loved Silence is another belter. After years as a fairground ticket-stamper, working for his hearty but intimidating relatives who mean well but take him for granted, the individual known only as “the Hemulen” longs to retire and escape the incessant racket of children having fun. However, when his wish is finally fulfilled, he realises that he does rather like having others around him, so long as he can slip away and enjoy his solitude when the mood takes him – a necessity with which I fully empathise.

“Moominpappa missed his family and his veranda. He suddenly got the feeling that only there could he be as free and as adventurous as a good father should be.”

The Secret of the Hattifatteners is another of my favourites from this collection, which sees Moominpappa lured to sea by white ghost-like beings that never speak and are always journeying towards the horizon in their boats. The purpose of their travels is a mystery to others, and it isn’t quite the done thing to mention them in polite society, but Moominpappa’s thirst for adventure is well and truly quenched when he realises it is possible to live a full and exciting life at home with those who love him. There is an image of Hattifatteners in Winding Up the Week #390 if you care to look.

Finally, I will mention the now iconic The Fir Tree, which is apparently adored by Finns, who listen to a recording of Tove reading it on national radio every Christmas. When the Moomins are woken from hibernation by agitated neighbours struggling to prepare for the Yule celebrations, they are bewildered. What is Christmas, they wonder, and why does it upset everyone so? There is much to be learned from their conclusions.

I don’t believe there is a weak story in this collection, rather some exceptional narratives and others that are simply very good. All are readable, thought-provoking, amusing and melancholy all at once, and most importantly, exceedingly Tove.

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My copy of the book is a Collector’s Edition Moomin Hardback published in 2018 by Sort of Books, which has been “lovingly restored” to its former striking design. It was translated by Thomas Warburton (1918-2016). Tove dedicated it to her niece Sophia Jansson, the daughter of cartoonist Lars Jansson, perhaps because she was born in 1962, the same year as this collection was originally published.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Tove Jansson was born in Helsinki on 9^th August 1914, the daughter of a Swedish-Finnish father who worked as a sculptor and a mother who was a graphic designer. She first trained as an artist and made a name for herself in her homeland as a painter and cartoonist. She became internationally famous after creating the Moomins. She later went on to write novels and short fiction for adults. She worked in her Helsinki studio, moving to a tiny island in the Gulf of Finland during the summer months with her partner, Tuulikki Pietilä. She died on 27^th June 2001 at the age of 86.

 

All images © Moomin Characters™