https://fromtheheartofeurope.eu/letters-from-klara-by-tove-jansson/

A short book of great short stories by Tove Jansson, written in her seventies, reflecting on age, art, nature, gender, sexuality and life in general. None of these is long and they are all digestible; none has a sneaky twist but all are humane and insightful. Recommended. ( )

This book needs more dle.

Admittedly I have given up early.

postscript: apparently this review needs to be explained. Too much twee. Not enough dle.

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I was about to donate this to the bookshop at the end of my street when I noticed that actually, these aren't all letters from Klara. It may be this is a good book with a bad start. It will be taken up again at the end of the year.... ( )

This book needs more dle.

Admittedly I have given up early.

postscript: apparently this review needs to be explained. Too much twee. Not enough dle.

-----------------------

I was about to donate this to the bookshop at the end of my street when I noticed that actually, these aren't all letters from Klara. It may be this is a good book with a bad start. It will be taken up again at the end of the year.... ( )

This book needs more dle.

Admittedly I have given up early.

postscript: apparently this review needs to be explained. Too much twee. Not enough dle.

-----------------------

I was about to donate this to the bookshop at the end of my street when I noticed that actually, these aren't all letters from Klara. It may be this is a good book with a bad start. It will be taken up again at the end of the year.... ( )

While not as strong as 'Sculptor's Daughter' or 'Art in Nature', say, there was still an appeal to aspects of this uneven collection. It is Tove Jansson, after all... From my perspective, Jansson's last two volumes of short stories were her weakest, understandably, perhaps, as by the time 'Letters from Klara' was published she was 77 years old. And when you're the author of 'The Summer Book', you're entitled to have your off days. The best of the stories possessed an unsettling, Mittel-European atmosphere, 'The Pictures', for instance, and 'Emmelina' that elevated them above the other vignettes here. It got me thinking how strong a selection from her last three collections could be, truly reflecting her genius as an observer of charged moments and odd characters. ( )