Customer Reviews

Moominland Midwinter (Moomintroll Series)

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Moomintroll did what no other Moomin in the history of the world has ever done. He woke up in the middle of his Winter Sleep. He sees a world he never saw before. He is by turns frightened, lonely, persevering, and at times just a mite irritated. Thus begins this charming tale told with subtlety and grace by the talented Tove Jansson.

The creatures may be strange and wondrous, but somehow we feel as if we might have met them before someplace. Haven't we all known someone like the Hemulen: large, cheerful, energetic without a mean bone in his body who always wants us to enjoy the cold brisk air and strenuous sports with him-and why is it we don't exactly like him very well?

The descriptions of Moomin world are lovely and fanciful. Early spring clouds are "scatterbrained" rushing along. The Great Cold is beautiful, but ominous. This is a book for all ages. It saddens me my children are not young enough to be read to anymore. The Moomins, like Winnie the Pooh, are perfect read-alouds with assured discussions afterward.

A lovely book. Highly recommended.

An imcomporable masterpiece of quiet, subtle children's literature, perhaps only equalled by other books in the series such as "Moominpappa at Sea" or the inexplicably out of print "Moominvalley in November." A perfect read for winter, embodying both its beauty and loneliness, and the way in which good souls can muddle through it, flaws and all. Sophisticated, sensitive children will most appreciate this unique world.

Moomintrolls usually sleep through the long winter, but when the moon shines upon him, Moomintroll awakes one January to discover an alien world of cold and snow while the rest of his family sleeps on. (Moomintrolls are not trolls as we commonly think of them, but handsome little round fellows - see the picture on the cover. That's Moomintroll on the left in the brown coat.) At first he feels terribly alone in this strange season, but he soon discovers companions in the form of Too-Ticky, a sensible creature who has taken up residence in the bathing house, and Little My, a devil-may-care little critter known from other Moomin books in the series. Alongside these friends Moomintroll faces the winter, with its freezing cold blasts, sledding on tea trays, equinox bonfires, ice fishing, and blizzards that promise spring. He soon discovers that the winter landscape is full of lonely, oddball (and comical) creatures who are not around at other times of year, and does his best to shelter and entertain them in the Moominhouse. Like all of Jansson's fine Moomin books, this one astounds me with its ability to convey power and subtle emotion with just a few choice words. Her exquisite attention to the aspects of the season, as well as to the sensitive inner worlds of her characters, render this a masterpiece. (Its subtleties, both comic and deeper, might perhaps be appreciated by slightly offbeat children who like a little peace and quiet sometimes to be alone with their thoughts.)

Moomintroll awakes in midwinter to find everyone else asleep, until he finds a whole different community that inhabits the land in winter, from the taciturn but kind Too Ticky to a lonely dog, a loud Hemulen, various little creeps, and our old mischievous Little My. The interaction among these characters is subtle and wonderful. So too are the alternating moods of winter, from joyous to severe and lonely. Particularly hilarious in an odd sort of way are "the lonely and the rum," a collection of outcasts. This is a great book for adults and children alike who appreciate subtleties and quirks.

This translation is very difficult to read out loud--and would be almost impossible for children to read on their own. Syntax is convoluted, diction is oddly stiff and formal, and the grammar isn't even always correct.

Even worse (and more confusing) this translator can't seem to keep his personal pronouns straight or even write in complete sentences. Take these two consecutive sentences, for example:

"I'm growing angry," said little My. "When, for once, one could've had some use for a sister." "Once, one" reads terribly--and the whole chunk is a fragment that messes up the rhythm of a would-be sentence. (The above quote was an entire paragraph, by the way. I haven't mislead by a partial quote.)

The Moomintroll books translated by Elizabeth Portch are delightful reads. I won't buy another Warburton translation again, though, no matter how badly I want another Moomintroll adventure.

I first read this book about the age of 10 in New Zealand. Many years later I walked into a tutorial room as an adult student in the University of Sydney. Apart from the tutor I was the first to arrive. The tutorial was to be on Milton's Paradise Lost and so I was asked how I was going with the essay. I confessed that I had temporarily put it aside in order to rediscover the delights of this book. The tutor's reaction to my apparent lack of commitment to the great Milton was totally surprising. Instead of bemused disapproval and ignorance of this little masterpiece he brightened up and also admitted great admiration and love for this stand-out from the enitire Moomin series. By way of proof he even took out a copy from the top draw of his desk!Our animated conversation about Moominland Midwinter was all too soon cut short by the arrival of the other students and we had to return to Paradise Lost and a level of joy in the room faded into a collective consideration of so called weightier matters. As a frequenter of book shops over the years I have never encountered any copy of the Moomin books, new or used in Australia which makes the informal tutorial all the more remarkable as they were all released in New Zealand when I was young.

I agree with the reviewers who lament that many children are now deprived of these books and this one in particular. I have read almost the entire series but this book has been a life-long friend in fact one of the two books I would most treasure to read and read again. The other is DC Lau's translation of Tao Te Ching.

This is my first review and could be my last but I'm glad to share this in particular as how the morning radio intones that Atlas Shrugged is now an Amazon top seller. A tome for our age but only for the lost and confused. Moominland Midwinter would be dammed with faint praise to be mentioned in same breath. I confess this is my reaction to the radio report, ha, how perverse is my inner libraian.

Moominland Midwinter really is magic.

This book and its' companions changed my life. And many others. Tove Jansson's Moomin series is without doubt the finest children's literature ever. And it must be said that it's in the running for the finest literature ever, period. 'Midwinter' is somewhat more somber in tone than the earlier Moomin books, but does not yet approach the dark, lonely colors Jansson paints with in the last two parts of the series. Full of memorable sequences and fairy-tale imagery, this book is guaranteed to delight children and induce in adults a painfully strong yearning for the days of their childhood.

I am an adult, and I still reread the Moomin series by Tove Jansson. Any of the books are good, but this is one of my favorites. The beauty of Jansson's books is that they are fantasies, yet at the same time they are very interesting character portraits. The moomins and their friends and countrymen may be "fantasy animals", but they have very human foibles. The books have such an "otherworldly" sense about them, too - they transport the reader to another world. I reread these books to cheer myself up when I feel bad. They are soothing, and they make you forget your troubles. I would recommend them to adults as well as to children.

Moominland Midwinder is my favorite Moomin story. I think anyone who, like me, has grown up in California - or any relatively temperate climate - will be fascinated by this story of extreme winter.

It does not have the large cast - you are stuck with Moomintroll and Little My mostly. It is a quiet snow-covered book.

Make a cup of cocoa and pull the covers close before you start reading. (It is super bedtime read-aloud material too. My son - 3rd grade -loved it.)

The story line meanders casually about, yet has a great organic wholeness about it.
The language is straightforward, yet profoundly beautiful; narrative, but poetic.
Protagonist Moomintroll is Odyssean, yet childlike.
Children will find it charmingly engaging while adults are staggered by its wise and innocent beauty.