Customer Reviews

Fair Play

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Tove Jansson never fails to astonish me. Her children's books are gems (The Moomintrolls) that are equally lovely to read for children and adults. Her books for adults are as cold and clear as fjords or Scandinavian sunlight. She describes ordinary events with such clarity and precision that rather than remaining simple, they take on the layers of complexity that color human interaction. The short stories in Fair Play are loosely autobiographical about her relationship with her long time partner Tuulikki Pietila. Both women were artists. In the stories, they become Mari and Johnna. Each story is an examination of the way in which a partnership develops over time and the subtle negotiation between competing needs: for companionship and for independence, things that need to be said and those which can remain unsaid, love and work. While these stories will not supplant the sheer brilliance of The Summer Book and the stories in Travelling Light as my favorites they are worth reading and rereading. Jansson deserves to be discovered by a wider audience.

This is a novella detailing the relationship between two aging artists. It looks in on their artistic lives whilst examining their close friendship over many years. The sparse writing conveys in subtle tones the interactions with each other, and how those interactions are altered based on the different approaches to life of the two artists in question. It is also an introspective look at earning a living through Art, which the author talks about via past successes and failures of the respective characters.

Not a wasted word in this little book, curl up one evening by the fire and let your mind wonder in the head of an artist for a while. No big plot, and certainly nothing of the fast paced action thriller, but a joy to read and some beautiful writing that never takes time out to preach about how anyone should live life. One feels that we are being subtly urged to ignore the constraints of life and seek what we may find by following our hearts or noses.