Back in 2017, on a trip to London to meet up with my old friend J and visit an exhibition of Tove Jansson art, I picked up a copy of “Tales from Moominvalley” (translated by Thomas Warburton). J and I had realised that neither of us owned this slim collection of Moomin stories, and so we snaffled the only two copies in Foyles! It has sat waiting patiently on Mount TBR for its moment, and as the book was published in 1962, that time is now! I must confess, however, that I was in two minds as to whether to read the book for 1962, or whether to save it for MoominWeek which is happening in 2024. However, it’s such a long time since I read some of the tales of these lovely creatures that I couldn’t resist – after all, I can always re-read one of the Moomin adventures next year!

“Tales” is a lovely little collection of nine stories, all featuring the various creations of Jansson who populate Moominvalley. ‘The Spring tune’, for example, features Snufkin and an unnamed little creep; ‘The Fillyjonk who believed in Disasters’ does indeed follow the story of a very highly strung Fillyjonk who anticipates catastrophe everywhere; and in ‘The Hemulen who loved Silence’, the titular character is desperate to get away from the noisy circus in which he works.

As well as these colourful characters, there are several stories featuring the Moomin family, with Moomintroll having plenty of adventures. Whether capturing the last dragon in the world, or helping his family deal with an invisible child, he’s wonderfully engaging, as are the whole Moomin family. Moominpappa has another one of his episodes of going off to explore, and the whole family are unexpectedly dragged out of hibernation to experience Christmas, a festival about which they have no idea!

The Fillyjonk takes tea…

Each story is tinged with Jansson’s wonderful writing and dry wit; and the book is of course liberally embellished with her drawings of her characters, which are an extra joy. However, as I read through the tales, I couldn’t help be struck again by the underlying sadness of the lives of those living in Moominvalley, an element which I sensed in her main Moomin stories and one which became stronger towards the final books. Many of the characters are unhappy and seem to be seeking a place in life; the creep has no name and feels he won’t exist until he gets one; the Fillyjonk is tied to her possessions, weighed down by them and unable to enjoy life; the invisible child has had an unpleasant childhood; and the Hemulan is desperate to get away from all the noise making him miserable. And ‘The Secret of the Hattifatteners’, which sees Moominpappa running away from home again, has a very strange, dark heart to it, with the titular characters perpetually searching for something they don’t have.

When I read the final Moomin book, “Moominvalley in November”, I was struck by its melancholy, particularly in a book intended for children; and certainly there are similar feelings in this collection. I guess a child reader might read a litle more on surface level, but I certainly see many of the traits on show here as intended to critique the human condition – Jansson was a very clever writer!

Anyway, I’m glad I chose to pick this up now, as I loved being reminded of the strange and wonderful world of the Moomins and their fellow creatures. Jansson had such a vivid and creative imagination, and the characters and settings are so alive here. It’s tempting to think I might go back and start reading the books again from the beginning for MoominWeek in 2024 – we shall see how I feel… 😉