“I love borders. August is the border between summer and autumn; it is the most beautiful month I know.
Twilight
is the border between day and night, and the shore is the border
between sea and land. The border is longing: when both have fallen in
love but still haven't said anything. The border is to be on the way. It
is the way that is the most important thing.”
―
Tove Jansson
Moomins are the greatest children's media ever created. That was all that I needed to say, better then a Winnie the poo or the phantom tollbooth. What Tove Jansson created is a magical place only rivaled by the works of Dr. Seuss and (depending on what you think children should be allowed to read.) Edward Gorey. But the shear humanity of her work is what he fans celebrate in their hearts. The kindness and perpetual twilight of the melancholy of the heart. That brings our inner child back to moomin valley too visit the little trolls. They are simple stories about comets and floods, but the maturity of the innocence is what is most shocking. The way the little trolls always seem to be in the emotional state of surprisingly mature six year old trying to deal with he loss of the family pet. And that dichotomy of emotions adds a layer of complexity that is normally missing in children's literature, that sparks the nine books she wrote of the little trolls to be a warm spot in the heart of the most angry of jaded fucks.
I taught my little brothers how to read with Roald Dahl and Tove Jansson books, they seem to have bee more moved by James and the giant peach or Charlie and the chocolate factory then anything else. The moonin books to me were a revelation, that I, out of nostalgia have recently started to explore ounce again. With amazement I am overwhelmed and overjoyed that their is a escape that allows for platonic innocence while still reminding that the end result of a open mind is a well informed opinion. The magic is something I don't know how to describe...right now I am listening to smashing pumpkins ava adore, and can not help but think if you hear this song, and get it, then you will live a trip too moomin valley. Even if only for a short trip the warmth you will take away is as natural as sitting by a fire on a cold October night.
Tove Jansson in 1967
|
| Born |
Tove Marika Jansson
9 August 1914
Helsinki, Grand Duchy of Finland, Russian Empire |
| Died |
27 June 2001 (aged 86)
Helsinki, Finland |
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