Fair Play (original 1989; edition 2007)

100 pages in 100 words:

Art and work and life come together.

Two friends and artists, Jonna and Mari, who live together, and have become more than friends. Little stories about their lives, togetherness, separation.

Simple and meaningful images of nature and adventure - islands in the Baltic, boats in fog, visits to Tuscon, a little apartment where their studios are separated by a hallway, to give each other space to think and create.

This is also a love story. Delicate, sparse in detail, gentle in tone, intimate in communication, distinct in character, in quiet exhilaration.

No word is wasted. On to [b:The Summer Book|79550|The Summer Book|Tove Jansson|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1347604020s/79550.jpg|76813]. ( )

How long do I have to wait to be old and making work and living on an island? ( )

Iris raves about Jansson (as do many others). I just didn't get it! This was a novel of episodes - not really short stories, because it was always the same characters, but very short episodes over the lives of two women. To call the prose spare or sparse does it, in my opinion, a credit - it was not only laconic, it was barely there at all! Jansson clearly has a talent for capturing a character with few words - tiny actions and reactions, rather than long descriptions. My issue was mostly a lack of plot, or progression - time progressed, but nothing really changed between the characters. ( )

Vignettes in the life of two women who fit like hand to glove. Very sweet, the sort of book you keep, and re-read when you need to restore your faith in relationships and love.

This lovely short novel is like a painting. We see Mari and Jonna living together in a spacious home and a spacious relationship on a quiet island off the coast of Finland. At first glance (the first couple of "chapters"), we are distracted by the brushstrokes of their mild bickering. As we continue to study the work, however, the women's interdependence and the warmth of their relationship rapidly become the figure while the simple tension of living and working together for decades becomes the ground. Other characters come into their lives only to highlight the depth of their connection. Having completed reading the novel in the space of one day, I felt like I had spent an enjoyable extended moment gazing at a beautiful work in an art gallery, only to wander away with a lasting impression and a strong sense of satisfaction. ( )