Comet in Moominland [Hardcover]

Tove Jansson (Author)

Product Details

• Hardcover
• Publisher: Ernest Benn (1970)
• ASIN: B002S3NTDM
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (28 customer reviews)

More About the Author

TOVE JANSSON (1914-2001) is revered around the world as one of the foremost children's authors of the twentieth century for her illustrated Moomin chapter books.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

37 of 40 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Well, this is a pleasant surprise!, April 26, 2003

By 

Angry Mofo "angrymofo" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Comet in Moominland (Paperback)

I didn't expect this to be available in English, for some reason, but rarely have I been happier to be wrong. If you favour the existence of good children's literature, you owe it to yourself to get all the Moomintroll books. Sure, you yourself might not get that much out of them, but if you have children, it is your absolute duty as a parent to give them these books. It's what you give them to read now that will determine whether they grow up to love literature, after all - are you going to let the likes of Animorphs and Goosebumps dictate their future tastes, with their assembly-line banality, hideous nature, and utter lack of any aesthetic qualities whatsoever? I didn't think so.

A key aspect of Tove Jansson's world is that there is no conflict in it, as such. There's plenty of danger and risk, as much as the adventurous exploits of the Moomintroll would require, but there are no villains, no good-versus-evil struggle, no battle to save the world that has to be hidden from the grownups for some bizarre reason. Some of the Moomintroll books are more pastoral in nature, featuring the Moomin family just lounging around and talking to each other and various other denizens of the neighbourhood. Others feature struggles, such as this one, but they are struggles of knowledge against blind cosmic forces - Moomintroll is trying to _discover_ and _conquer_ the nature of the comet that threatens his home with destruction. This makes for suspense aplenty, and one may even forget that there are no real antagonists, no one who is willfully malicious. The closest thing to that to be found here is the menacing character of the Groke, who freezes the ground under her feet, but she is viewed with sympathy, as a part of nature as well. Nor is she deliberately malicious; she's cold and frightening by nature.

Then there's Jansson's prose and gift of description. Oh my! It's like a gorgeous watercolour. Just read the bit in the beginning where Moomintroll finds the hidden cave, or the part where Sniff and Moomintroll are travelling downriver - there's an air of adventure and beauty to that that seems to have died a lonely death in children's literature sometime in recent history. The setting is a beautiful, undefiled Nordic paradise, where nature rages unfettered and beauty exists in its balance rather than in its placidity. And how about the weird denizens of Moominland themselves - the Hattifnauts, for instance, who can't talk or do anything other than wander from place to place, hauntingly, in vast herds, exhorted by something in their nature that they cannot articulate? What about the philosophizing Hemuls with their respective passions for collecting things and putting them in order? All of these different characters reflect different aspects of human nature. They are emotionally complex, contemplative, given to reflection. Jansson's realistic (the description even says "Naturalistic," which isn't that far from the truth) dialogue brings them to vibrant life.

Apparently, various corporations have gotten their hands on the rights to Moominland, and are exploiting them for all they're worth. There's a cartoon on this theme in Japan, so I hear. But fortunately, no matter what anyone does, the original books are still right here, in all their lyricism, poetry, wonder, melancholy, and aesthetic perfection.

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars 2 generations of reading pleasure, November 10, 2000

By A Customer

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Comet in Moominland (Paperback)

My sister and I read the Moomin fantasy stories in the 1960s, when we were children. We STILL share jokes about plot lines today! When my son was 5, I bought them and we read them. We could hardly put them down, and he wanted to read the entire series through again the minute we finished. I hadn't realized how entertaining they were for adults. Maybe it's the wry humor of Finland coming through. While these are chapter books, they do have some absolutely charming illustrations. My son ... prefers them to Harry Potter (which he is hearing aloud again at school). It's best to read them kind of in order, as there is a time line to the books insofar as characters are introduced. Comet in Moominland is the first one, in my opinion, and Moominpappa's Memoirs is last. You can read the others in any order, in between. Moominsummer Madness was a little bit weak, I thought; but the others are just terrific, children's classics! Also great take home messages subtly presented, such as: even orphans can find a family; friends help friends out of jams; people go through moods, and it's OK; people who look scary and behave strangely, can maybe just be misunderstood. I credit these books as major contributors to his outstanding love for reading. The characters are beautifully drawn, diverse and imperfect; while there is a mother, a father, and a son, family structure is not stereotyped; the plot lines keep your attention; and the prose created by the translators is superb. They may be hard to find in libraries but they are WELL WORTH the search (or purchase).

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I'm 11 and have read all of tha Moomin books twice., July 4, 2001

A Kid's Review

This review is from: Comet in Moominland (Paperback)

I'm sad that not too many people my age have read these books but I highly recomend them. I wish Tove Jansson wrote more books because I like reading about the Moomin Family and friends' adventures. I like reading them over, and over, again, because I remember that they were good books. My favorite character is the Snork Maiden because I like how she can change colors. The characters weren't ordinary animals like cats and dogs, but characters that you've never heard of before and want to know more about where they live and what they look like. Sometimes I forget what the book is about and want to read it over again so I can picture the characters more clearly so as to read the next book. I hope more kids and adults will read the Moomin books so that they can get transported into Moominland. And also learn about the wonderful characters and world of the Moomin Family and friends.