Art in Nature: and other stories
By Tove Jansson
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About this ebook
An elderly caretaker at a large outdoor exhibition, called Art in Nature, finds that a couple have lingered on to bicker about the value of a picture; he has a surprising suggestion that will resolve both their row and his own ambivalence about the art market. A draughtsman's obsession with drawing locomotives provides a dark twist to a love story. A cartoonist takes over the work of a colleague who has suffered a nervous breakdown only to discover that his own sanity is in danger.
In these witty, sharp, often disquieting stories, Tove Jansson reveals the fault-lines in our relationship with art, both as artists and as consumers. Obsession, ambition, and the discouragement of critics are all brought into focus in these wise and cautionary tales.
Tove Jansson
Tove Jansson (1914 - 2001) was born in Helsinki to artist parents. She was to become a celebrated artist, political cartoonist and author, but she is best known as the creator of the Moomins, one of the most successful and beloved children's book series ever written. Inspired by summers spent on the islands off Finland and Sweden, Tove created the unique world of Moominvalley and all its inhabitants. The Moomins and The Great Flood, her first book to feature the Moomins, published in 1945. Tove went on to publish twelve Moomin books between 1945 and 1977, which have sold in their millions and been translated into over forty languages. In the 1950's the Moomins became a successful cartoon strip, which was to feature in newspapers all over the world. As the Moomins' fame grew, they began to appear in television series, plays, films and a varied merchandise program soon followed. Tove also painted throughout her life and wrote novels and short stories, including the acclaimed Summer Book. But the Moomin world was never far away. As Tove said, "You feel a cold wind on your legs when you step outside Moomin Valley," In 1966, Tove received the Hans Christian Andersen Award for her lasting contribution to children's literature.
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Reviews for Art in Nature
37 ratings2 reviews
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Finnish writer Tove Jansson is always a revelation. Known for her children's books about the Moomintrolls. Her books of short stories for grown ups and short novels are evocative, funny and sometimes painful. The most recent volume to be translated into English is Art in Nature. This collection, more than the others seems to focus on people who are either adrift or unwilling to move. She explores with a rare delicacy the play of emotions one person may experience in an hour or a lifetime, often the petty annoyance, subtle jealousies, and self-involvement. While, for me, The Summer Book remains her masterpiece, it is well worth finding her short stories which are a group of elegant, compact revelations.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Tove's short stories are quiet and incisive - I've seen them described as boring, which is, of course, a matter of personal taste, but also wrong! - even when she writes about obsession and murder. Mostly, though, these stories are about the small happenings in ordinary lives which give clues to the deep emotions underlying the actions of her characters, and that, for me, is where the interest and value of Tove's stories lie.