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Feeling his family's life is too safe and fixed, Moominpappa moves them to a lighthouse on an island to lead a life full of troubles, and indeed they find many mysteries in that lonely place.Tags
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Jannes Janssons kärlek till den finska skärgården är mycket tydlig i båda dessa böcker som trots sina ytliga olikheter har mycket gemensamt.
Member Reviews
The Moomin family of trolls relocates from their comfortable valley to live in an abandoned lighthouse on a lonely island in the sea.
I read two or three of the Moomin books ages ago, and always meant to go back and read more of them, so this is me finally getting around to that! A bit out of order, I'm afraid, but I don't know that it makes a huge amount of difference for this particular series.
I remember finding the other books I'd read well-written and charming. What I hadn't remembered was how atmospheric they can be. More than that, this one feels like it has a lot of themes and resonances that seem a bit surprising in a kid's book. Some of them are obvious, like the gentle commentary on the absurdities of the male ego, as show more Moominpappa finds himself determined to protect his family whether they need it or not and unwilling to admit there's anything he doesn't know. Some of it is stranger, subtler, and harder to put my finger on. Like, I don't know quite what to make of the Groke, in her frozen loneliness, but I think she's crawled into the back of my brain and just sort of lives there now. show less
I read two or three of the Moomin books ages ago, and always meant to go back and read more of them, so this is me finally getting around to that! A bit out of order, I'm afraid, but I don't know that it makes a huge amount of difference for this particular series.
I remember finding the other books I'd read well-written and charming. What I hadn't remembered was how atmospheric they can be. More than that, this one feels like it has a lot of themes and resonances that seem a bit surprising in a kid's book. Some of them are obvious, like the gentle commentary on the absurdities of the male ego, as show more Moominpappa finds himself determined to protect his family whether they need it or not and unwilling to admit there's anything he doesn't know. Some of it is stranger, subtler, and harder to put my finger on. Like, I don't know quite what to make of the Groke, in her frozen loneliness, but I think she's crawled into the back of my brain and just sort of lives there now. show less
Oh, boy. I had heard the later Moomin books weren't as cheery and written to be happy escapism as the earlier ones, but this really was a stark change.
Moominpappa decides he needs a huge life change, so he uproots the family to live on an abandoned lighthouse in the middle of the ocean. There's only one other person living on the island: a strange and lonely fisherman who may be the key to understanding this curious, melancholy place where they live now.
I can't believe how much of this book made me feel lonely. There were, of course, some funny moments, but overall it lacks the charm of earlier Moomin books. I understand Tove Jansson's headspace wasn't in the same headspace as when she wrote the earlier books, too, and can appreciate show more that. The book was also sadly beautiful in its own way, but I don't think this is one I'd read over and over again.
I think what I missed most was the side characters, like Snufkin and Snorkmaiden and Too-Ticky, and all the other little creatures that filled up Moominvalley. There was maybe one mention of the friends back home, but otherwise it was like these friends had been forgotten! Autumn was nearing, and Moomintroll didn't have one thought for Snufkin! Not once did the family think of Snork or Snorkmaiden when they completely moved with the intention of living on a remote island for the rest of their lives. Did they even say a goodbye to their friends? It just seemed so strange!
Anyway, I did like the book - I don't think it's possible for me to dislike a Moomin book at this point - but I'm not sure this will be one of my favorites. show less
Moominpappa decides he needs a huge life change, so he uproots the family to live on an abandoned lighthouse in the middle of the ocean. There's only one other person living on the island: a strange and lonely fisherman who may be the key to understanding this curious, melancholy place where they live now.
I can't believe how much of this book made me feel lonely. There were, of course, some funny moments, but overall it lacks the charm of earlier Moomin books. I understand Tove Jansson's headspace wasn't in the same headspace as when she wrote the earlier books, too, and can appreciate show more that. The book was also sadly beautiful in its own way, but I don't think this is one I'd read over and over again.
I think what I missed most was the side characters, like Snufkin and Snorkmaiden and Too-Ticky, and all the other little creatures that filled up Moominvalley. There was maybe one mention of the friends back home, but otherwise it was like these friends had been forgotten! Autumn was nearing, and Moomintroll didn't have one thought for Snufkin! Not once did the family think of Snork or Snorkmaiden when they completely moved with the intention of living on a remote island for the rest of their lives. Did they even say a goodbye to their friends? It just seemed so strange!
Anyway, I did like the book - I don't think it's possible for me to dislike a Moomin book at this point - but I'm not sure this will be one of my favorites. show less
I’m a little anxious to write this review. I just know I won’t do this book justice. There’ll be too much name dropping, too little plot description and love, love, love all over the place.
Don’t let the cute name fool you. Tove Jansson’s books about the Moomin family are the exact best books for children ever written. They are funny, adventurous, sad, spooky, melancholy, philosophical, profound and populated with the kind of characters you can use as examples to describe real people (I would love to be Little My, but am probably most like The Fillyjonk). Like all good books for children they are just as readable for adults. Each book in this series has a distinctly flavour of it’s own, from the fun and playfulness of Finn show more Family Moomintroll to the apocalyptic ambience of Comet in Moominland, from the Shakespearian poetry of Moominsummer Madness to the burlesque tall tales of The Exploits of Moominpappa. Moominpappa at sea and it’s sister novel Moominvalley in November (which deals with what happens in the valley when the safe centre point that was the family is gone) are the last books in the series, and they were my least favourites when I was a child. I liked them too, but thought they were bleak and dark and a little scary and that not enough was going on in them. It’s easy to see why. Those two books are very much in the borderland between children’s literature and adult literature, and they are the ones I most obviously read in a different way now than I did as a child.
It starts with Moominpappa feeling unnecessary. Everything is too steady, too comfortable, too neat. Nobody needs his protection, and he’s miserable because of it. Pappa’s restlessness affects the family and Moominmamma decides they need to move for his sake. A small island with a lighthouse, far out into the ocean will be the family’s new home, a place where Pappa can find a purpose again. But the island isn’t what the family hoped for. It’s grumpy, difficult and barren, whipped by an angry grey ocean and defying description. And it brings something with it – change.
It’s really brave what Jansson does here, letting her beloved family move in genuinely new directions, grow apart even. Mamma misses home, and escapes into memories instead of being a safe haven. Pappa battles with the disappointment of a fulfilled wish. My is her angry cheerful self as ever, but also shows a brutal streak. And Moomintroll comes of age in a way, and even starts to create a strange stormnight relationship with the Groke, the loneliest and most dangerous creature of all, she who freezes everything in her path to death. Yes, this is a sad book in some ways. There’s humour here too, and lots of warmth and insight. And a happy ending that rings so true it gives me goosebumps.
You shouldn’t start with this book. You could, but it finds additional strength if you already know the family in all their frail humanity. I’m reading it for the fourth time I think (third as an adult), and will definitely come here again. I revisit all the Moomin books regularly. I find new things in them every time.
This is not only the finest book for children I know, it’s probably on my top ten list of books ever. show less
Don’t let the cute name fool you. Tove Jansson’s books about the Moomin family are the exact best books for children ever written. They are funny, adventurous, sad, spooky, melancholy, philosophical, profound and populated with the kind of characters you can use as examples to describe real people (I would love to be Little My, but am probably most like The Fillyjonk). Like all good books for children they are just as readable for adults. Each book in this series has a distinctly flavour of it’s own, from the fun and playfulness of Finn show more Family Moomintroll to the apocalyptic ambience of Comet in Moominland, from the Shakespearian poetry of Moominsummer Madness to the burlesque tall tales of The Exploits of Moominpappa. Moominpappa at sea and it’s sister novel Moominvalley in November (which deals with what happens in the valley when the safe centre point that was the family is gone) are the last books in the series, and they were my least favourites when I was a child. I liked them too, but thought they were bleak and dark and a little scary and that not enough was going on in them. It’s easy to see why. Those two books are very much in the borderland between children’s literature and adult literature, and they are the ones I most obviously read in a different way now than I did as a child.
It starts with Moominpappa feeling unnecessary. Everything is too steady, too comfortable, too neat. Nobody needs his protection, and he’s miserable because of it. Pappa’s restlessness affects the family and Moominmamma decides they need to move for his sake. A small island with a lighthouse, far out into the ocean will be the family’s new home, a place where Pappa can find a purpose again. But the island isn’t what the family hoped for. It’s grumpy, difficult and barren, whipped by an angry grey ocean and defying description. And it brings something with it – change.
It’s really brave what Jansson does here, letting her beloved family move in genuinely new directions, grow apart even. Mamma misses home, and escapes into memories instead of being a safe haven. Pappa battles with the disappointment of a fulfilled wish. My is her angry cheerful self as ever, but also shows a brutal streak. And Moomintroll comes of age in a way, and even starts to create a strange stormnight relationship with the Groke, the loneliest and most dangerous creature of all, she who freezes everything in her path to death. Yes, this is a sad book in some ways. There’s humour here too, and lots of warmth and insight. And a happy ending that rings so true it gives me goosebumps.
You shouldn’t start with this book. You could, but it finds additional strength if you already know the family in all their frail humanity. I’m reading it for the fourth time I think (third as an adult), and will definitely come here again. I revisit all the Moomin books regularly. I find new things in them every time.
This is not only the finest book for children I know, it’s probably on my top ten list of books ever. show less
Moominpappa at Sea in particular I remember as a child finding eerie and puzzling, but with adult eyes it revealed whole new layers dealing with loneliness, middle age, and the difficulties of solving one’s problems with radical life changes. Mercifully Hollywood has yet to get its hands on the Moomin books and ruin them the way it’s busily doing to Dr Seuss.
We spent a couple of days on the coast last week and my wife gave me a lovely little hardback to read and help me relax while there. What an excellent choice Moominpappa at Sea (Sort of Books) by Tove Jansson was. She is a master of the simple tale that means so much, and the personalities and relationships that we all bear and encounter. This one is about fresh starts and the need to regain a sense of importance. And there was me thinking that my wife bought it for me because we were by the sea. I genuinely think everyone should read at least one Tove Jansson adult novel or Moomin book every year without fail, as therapy.
This is the best of the Moomin books. It is unbelievably deep and thoughtful -- I think reading this can change lives. It's not exactly for children anymore. It isn't funny like most of the previous books, it raises an air of anxiety from the very first pages onward, when we learn that there's a crisis brewing in the usually so happy-go-lucky Moomin family. There's no real adventure in this book, but a lot of struggles on a psychological level.
The book deals with themes such as sense of inadequacy, alienation, and the chance to start over. It grasped me very deeply, I could relate strongly (once again) to Moominpappa, whom I found very Finnish in this book. Actually, I could find a bit of myself in the responses of all of the Moomin show more family members to the new, hostile environment. This is a must for re-reading. show less
The book deals with themes such as sense of inadequacy, alienation, and the chance to start over. It grasped me very deeply, I could relate strongly (once again) to Moominpappa, whom I found very Finnish in this book. Actually, I could find a bit of myself in the responses of all of the Moomin show more family members to the new, hostile environment. This is a must for re-reading. show less
This one is nearly magical thinking the whole way through, along with some good commentary on the annoying character of fathers who have succeeded to the point where others no longer actively rely on them, then make those others suffer for it.
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Author Information
644+ Works 31,409 Members
Tove Jansson has received the Hans Christian Andersen prize for children's literature. The world of the Moomintroll has become internationally famous thanks to her brilliant sense of humor and fabulous illustrations. The delightful Moomintrolls make it through catastrophe after catastrophe through cooperation and plain luck. Although Jansson is show more best known for her children's books, her adult fiction is equally entertaining. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
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Awards and Honors
Series
Belongs to Publisher Series
Work Relationships
Common Knowledge
- Canonical title
- Moominpappa at Sea
- Original title
- Pappan och havet
- Original publication date
- 1965
- People/Characters
- Moominpappa; Moominmamma; Moomintroll; Little My; Groke
- Important places
- Moominvalley
- Dedication
- To some father.
- First words
- One afternoon at the end of August, Moominpappa was walking about in his garden, feeling at a loss.
- Quotations
- "I'm not saying anything about some mothers and fathers," drawled Little My. "If I do, the first thing you'll say is that they're never silly. They're up to something, those two. I'd eat a bushel of sand if I knew what it was... (show all)." "You're not supposed to know," said Moomintroll sharply. "They know perfectly well why they're behaving a little oddly. Some people think they're so superior and have to know everything just because they've been adopted!"
- Last words
- (Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)The lighthouse was working.
- Blurbers
- Pullman, Philip
- Original language
- Swedish
Classifications
- Genres
- Fiction and Literature, Children's Books, Fantasy
- DDC/MDS
- 839.7374 — Literature & rhetoric German & related literatures Other Germanic literatures Swedish literature Swedish fiction 1900-1999 1945-1999
- LCC
- PZ7 .J247 .M — Language and Literature Fiction and juvenile belles lettres Fiction and juvenile belles lettres Juvenile belles lettres
- BISAC
Statistics
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- 1,562
- Popularity
- 14,709
- Reviews
- 27
- Rating
- (4.27)
- Languages
- 16 — Bulgarian, Danish, Dutch, English, Estonian, Finnish, French, German, Japanese, Lithuanian, Norwegian (Bokmål), Norwegian, Polish, Russian, Spanish, Swedish
- Media
- Paper, Audiobook, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 97
- UPCs
- 1
- ASINs
- 15