The Woman Who Borrowed Memories: Tove Jansson

An NYRB Classics Original Tove Jansson was a master of brevity, unfolding worlds at a touch. Her art flourished in small settings, as can be seen in her bestselling novel The Summer Book and in her internationally celebrated cartoon strips and books about the Moomins. It is only natural, then, that throughout her life she turned again and again to the short story. The Woman Who Borrowed Memories is the first extensive selection of Jansson’s stories to appear in English. Many of the stories collected here are pure Jansson, touching on island solitude and the dangerous pull of the artistic impulse: in “The Squirrel” the equanimity of the only inhabitant of a remote island is thrown by a visitor, in “The Summer Child” an unlovable boy is marooned along with his lively host family, in “The Cartoonist” an artist takes over a comic strip that has run for decades, and in “The Doll’s House” a man’s hobby threatens to overwhelm his life. Others explore unexpected territory: “Shopping” has a post-apocalyptic setting, “The Locomotive” centers on a railway-obsessed loner with murderous fantasies, and “The Woman Who Borrowed Memories” presents a case of disturbing transference. Unsentimental, yet always humane, Jansson’s stories complement and enlarge our understanding of a singular figure in world literature. An Nyrb Classics Original Tove Jansson Excelled At The Brief Tale, Writing Stories That In Their Short Spans Unfold To Reveal Entire Worlds. This Is True Of Her Internationally Syndicated Cartoon Strip About A Family Of Hippo-like Creatures, The Moomins; Of Her Beloved Moomin Novels; And Of Her Best-selling Books For Adults, Like The Summer Book. Until Now, However, Jansson's Short Stories Have Been Nearly Impossible To Find In The United States. This Volume Brings Together, For The First Time In English, A Generous Selection Of Stories From The Most Fruitful Period Of Her Career, From Her Earliest Collected Stories, Dating From The Early 1970s, To Her Mature Work, Written Not Long Before Her Death In 2001. In Them Are Moments Of The Sublime And The Mundane, As Well As Small Heroisms And Large Griefs. Unsentimental, Yet Kind And Humane, Jansson's Short Stories Complement And Enlarge Our Understanding Of A Giant Of World Literature. From The Listener (1971): The Listener -- Black-white -- The Other -- The Storm -- The Wolf --- The Squirrel -- From The Doll's House (1978) : The Monkey -- The Cartoonist -- White Lady -- The Doll's House -- A Leading Role -- The Locomotive -- A Memory From The New World -- From Traveling Light (1987) : An Eightieth Birthday -- The Summer Child -- A Foreign City -- The Woman Who Borrowed Memories -- Traveling Light -- The Garden Of Eden -- Shopping -- The Gulls -- Correspondence -- From Letters From Klara (1991): Letters From Klara -- From Messages, Selected Stories, 1971-1997 (1998): My Beloved Uncles -- Letters To Konikova -- Messages. Ove Jansson ; Translated From The Swedish By Thomas Teal And Silvester Mazzarella ; Introduction By Lauren Groff. Translated From The Swedish. An NYRB Classics Original #160; Tove Jansson was a master of brevity, unfolding worlds at a touch. Her art flourished in small settings, as can be seen in her bestselling novel The Summer Book and in her internationally celebrated cartoon strips and books about the Moomins. It is only natural, then, that throughout her life she turned again and again to the short story. The Woman Who Borrowed Memories is the first extensive selection of Janssons stories to appear in English. Many of the stories collected here are pure Jansson, touching on island solitude and the dangerous pull of the artistic impulse: in The Squirrel the equanimity of the only inhabitant of a remote island is thrown by a visitor, in The Summer Child an unlovable boy is marooned along with his lively host family, in The Cartoonist an artist takes over a comic strip that has run for decades, and in The Dolls House a mans hobby threatens to overwhelm his life. Others explore unexpected territory: Shopping has a post-apocalyptic setting, The Locomotive centers on a railway-obsessed loner with murderous fantasies, and The Woman Who Borrowed Memories presents a case of disturbing transference. Unsentimental, yet always humane, Janssons stories complement and enlarge our understanding of a singular figure in world literature