Moominsummer Madness

Okay, this has to be my favorite Moomin book so far.

Does that have to do with Snufkin being pushed out of his comfort zone and finally showing a little more emotion than usual? Probably. It's just hilarious seeing him navigate something that he's for once not an expert/comfortable at.

That on top of the Moomins taken further out of their comfort zones too, it just makes for a fun read.

A huge flood pours through Moominvalley, covering all of Moominhouse. The Moomins, therefore, need to find a new home (of course, lmao, logically! That's their first and main issue. I love these books). When they find a what they assume is a deserted house floating by, they promptly move in. Little do they know it's a theater owned by a cranky old show more Fillyjonk! Meanwhile Snufkin and Little My are on their own adventure electrocuting Park Keepers (just a normal day for Snufkin ...).

This is an especially fast read, because I just couldn't get enough. It's a quick page-turner, and I couldn't stop laughing through it all. The illustrations are, as always, stunning, though always improving. I'm so glad I found these books; they're like coming home somehow. I can't wait to read more. show less

I think this might be my favorite Moomin book so far. It's the fourth I've read. It's midsummer in Moomin Valley and Snuffkin has yet to return from his winter adventures. Moomintroll is missing him terribly. But, the local volcano erupts and causes a stir in the ground, or something, which causes the sea to rise and engulf the Moomin house. About the time the water gets up to the roof, a sort of cave floats by and they all jump into it. It's a strange cave, with red velvet curtains, lots of nice pictures in the rafters, and rows of lights along the open side, the one with the red curtains. There's also someone who cackles in the night. Eventually, they find it's a theater in which they're living and the cackling comes from a properties show more mistress (or something). They decide to put on a play, which Moominpappa has chosen to write. But different people want different things, so Moominpappa keeps having to revise his script. In the meantime, Moomintroll and the Snork Maiden have been arrested for destruction of property. The actual destruction was done by Snuffkin, who was on his way back to Moomin Valley from his adventures. Along the way, he found Little My floating on the ocean, and has picked up some 24 Woodie children. Being a father is tough on a born wanderer. Anyway, somehow they all end up at the play, escape from the Hemulic police and make their way back to Moomin Valley and back to the Moomin house. They have to fix quite a bit up, but it's always good to be home.

The above is undoubtedly garbled and misses out on some delightful new characters, The Whomper and Misabel. Anyway, it was a rather charming story, which is just what is needed in to distract our minds from all the cruelty now being imposed by our brand-new, kleptocratic government. As Jimmy Buffet would have it, "if we couldn't laugh, we would all go insane". The Moomins keep us grounded, keep us laughing, and keep us from going insane. Bless their hearts. show less

A huge wave has crashed through the valley, flooding the Moomins out of their home! With their usual resilience, the Moomins and their friends move into the first house that comes bobbing along. It's strange-looking, like a big cave with curtains hanging on either side. And when the house bumps into dry land and Moomintroll and the Snork Maiden decide to spend the night on shore--then the adventure really begins. Moomintroll and the Snork Maiden get lost, and Moominpappa decides to write a play which they will perform in the house, in the hope that Moomintroll will hear about it and find his way home.

Moominmamma nodded. She was dipping her snout in the water and looking at the bottom.
There’s a nice gleam down there,' she said.
'It’s your golden bracelet,' said Moomintroll. 'And the Snork Maiden’s necklace. Good idea, isn’t it?'
'Splendid,' said his mother. 'We’ll always keep our bangles in brown pond water in the future. They’re so much more beautiful that way.'

Another Moomin book, another natural disaster. This time a volcanic eruption causes a flood and the family has to take shelter in a floating theatre. I didn't enjoy it as much as the others in the series that I have read recently, as the supporting characters weren't as interesting.

https://nwhyte.livejournal.com/3091856.html

The Moomins get washed out of their house by a flood; Moominmamma and Momminpappa (and a host of other small creatures) take refuge in what turns out to be a theatre - initially to their total bemusement, because they have no idea what a theatre is; but it doesn’t stop Moominpappa from writing a play. Meanwhile Moomintroll and the Snork Maiden have been separated from the rest of the household and have a series of edventures culminating in a jailbreak with the neurotic Fillyjonk.

(The Snork Maiden’s brother seems to have been written out.) This book possibly draws most on Tove Jansson’s own somewhat Bohemian upbringing. Her father was a famous sculptor, her mother was an artist too; and show more she herself had a strong attraction to the theatre (Vivica Bandler was an actor) and was closely involved with the stage adaptations of the Moomin stories in her lifetime. But here she is at least partly laughing at herself, and looking at the theatre through the eyes of characters for whom it is completely new.

It’s played for laughs a bit more than the other books (though there are a couple of rather sad characters, to offset the jollity). show less

Moomins #5
Such a charming book! You will like to know that the plot of the video game Snufkin: Melody of Moominvalley is based on part of this book, but not all of it. The way the Moomin parents took in stride the flooding, and escaping to the highly unusual "house", was very comforting, and of course the connections between the multiple Fillyjonks and the multiple Hemulens... Definite re-read value!

A more dramatic, diverse adventure in Moominwalley with multiple storylines and a host of delightfully funny new characters. The beginning is not as catchy as in some other Moomin books, but once they get to exploring the theatre the usual wackyness appears and it's once again a pleasure to read.

I especially liked the characters Whomper (Homssu) and Emma, who gave some "outsider" observations on the Moomin family (let's face it, they are a bit strange). The theatre performance is also hilarious, and all over-enthusiastic lines spoken by little My.