The dangerous journey

(Nolan’s) The Odyssey? No, not that one: The Perilous Journey. The one Susanna embarks on in search of her cat, which will lead her to the Moomin Valley. The book is the recent Italian translation, by Laura Cangemi, of the last picture book that Tove Jansson dedicated to her famous characters, in 1977. The Moomins – Moomin himself, then Moominpappa, Moominmamma and a host of friends and companions – are trolls but there’s nothing scary about them; on the contrary, innocent and fluffy, they’ve made their home a refuge for anyone who turns up, immediately welcoming them into the family. Children’s literature that adults perhaps enjoy even more: the Moomins are indeed utterly endearing, but they are also witty, introspective, and some of them even like to philosophise.

With their love of nature and adventure, they form a pair with Pippi Longstocking in the analysis that sees Italian children brought up by the disciplined Pinocchio and Nordic children inspired by libertarian characters. Just like Jansson herself, a Swedish-speaking Finnish painter and writer, who was the lifelong partner of the artist Tuulikki Pietilä. She created the Moomins during the Second World War to imagine a place of peace and universal welcome. From this emerged a universe of books and comics, and a merchandise empire. The Dangerous Journey is an invitation to discover an upside-down world, colourful yet frightening, in which a taste for the fantastical blends with a naturalistic reinterpretation and a veiled nostalgia.

Tove Jansson

Iperborea, 32 pp., ill., €16.50