“Tove Jansson’s first book for adults drew on her childhood memories to capture afresh the enchantments and fears of growing up in Helsinki in the nineteen tens and twenties. Described as both a memoir and ‘a book of superb stories’ by Ali Smith, her startlingly evocative prose offers a glimpse of the mysteries of winter ice, the bonhomie of balalaika parties, and the vastness of Christmas viewed from beneath the tree.”
I have wanted to read Sculptor’s Daughter ever since I first learnt of its existence around eight years ago. Despite fruitless Internet searches, I could never locate a copy of the book which fell beneath £300. When I found out that the marvellous people at Sort Of Books, who are responsible for publishing a lot of Jansson’s fiction, were reissuing it in a gorgeous hardback edition, I was incredibly excited. I never preorder books, but this was the one exception to my rule.
Jansson, as many of the readers of this blog probably already know, is one of the authors whom I adore the most. Her fiction never fails to astonish me with both its beauty and clarity, and it goes without saying that I absolutely love the creation which she is most famous for – the Moomins.
Author Ali Smith’s introduction to Sculptor’s Daughter is wonderful. It is clear that she very much admires Jansson’s work. Sculptor’s Daughter is essentially a childhood memoir of sorts, told through a series of short stories. When opening the book, a lot of the titles seemed familiar to me, and that is because thirteen of the nineteen tales published within its pages can be found within Jansson’s A Winter Book. If I had known this beforehand, I still would have preordered the volume, as it does contain six stories which were new to me. Each of these is exquisite, like a tiny treasure in itself.
Sculptor’s Daughter has been beautifully produced, and the photographs throughout are lovely. My only qualm is that a couple of these were printed more than once, which was a little bit of a shame. It will come as no surprise, however, to say that I absolutely loved this book, and will be reading it many more times in years to come.
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