Author | Tove Jansson |
---|---|
Original title | Pappan och havet |
Language | Swedish |
Series | Moomins |
Genre | Novel |
Publication date | 1965 |
Publication place | Finland |
Preceded by | Tales from Moominvalley |
Followed by | Moominvalley in November |
Moominpappa at Sea (Swedish: Pappan och havet, literally "The Father and the Sea") is the eighth book in the Moomin books by Finnish author Tove Jansson. [1] First published in 1965, the novel is set contemporaneously with Moominvalley in November (1970), and is the final installment in the series where the titular Moomin family are present within the narrative.
The book follows the titular Moomin family as they arrive on a deserted island in the middle of the sea, documenting their experiences as they become familiar with their newfound surroundings. The book is notable for its introspective and contemplative tone, which is in contrast to the other books found within the Moomin series.
The book is based primarily around the character of Moominpappa, who was heavily inspired by Jansson's father, Viktor Jansson. [2] The book's original title is a loose reference to Ernest Hemingway novel The Old Man and the Sea , though this is not reflected in the translation.
Moominpappa becomes dissatisfied with his life in Moominvalley, so he organizes a journey for his family to find a lighthouse in the sea. Upon arrival, they discover the island to be a desolate and lonely place, inhabited only by an unfriendly fisherman.
Moominpappa wishes to become the lighthouse keeper, but he gives up when he cannot figure out how to fix the lantern. He tries other projects, such as building a pier, fishing, and researching a small lake, but fails at all of them.
Meanwhile, Moominmamma becomes increasingly melancholic as her dream of planting a garden fails, and her longing for home grows stronger. She eventually starts painting the walls of the lighthouse with flowers until she has painted all of Moominvalley. She discovers that she can walk inside the painting to find peace.
Moomintroll explores the nearby woods and finds a thicket that he eventually moves into. He is disappointed to find it already inhabited by ants and asks Little My for help in getting them to move elsewhere. Little My solves the problem by exterminating the ants with petroleum, much to Moomintroll's dismay.
At night, Moomintroll looks for the seafillies whom he admires greatly. The fillies are selfish and mean to Moomintroll, but he does not care. As he tries to attract them by waving his lamp, he instead attracts the Groke. Every night, Moomintroll tries to call for the seafillies, but only ends up being accompanied by the Groke. Slowly, he starts to grow fond of her, and when the lamp ultimately runs out of kerosene, the Groke is no longer cold.
As the story draws to a close, the once disjointed family slowly comes together again. Together, they confront the sea and save the lonely fisherman. When they discover that his birthday is coming, they invite him to a party at the lighthouse, which he reluctantly attends, only to slowly realize that he is the original lighthouse keeper. Moominpappa and the fisherman find new purpose in their lives through their shared experience as the novel draws to a close.
The map at the front of Moominpappa at Sea locates the island in The Gulf of Finland. It even gives a location: 60°7′12″N25°45′50″E / 60.12000°N 25.76389°E . This is about 42 kilometres (26 mi) east of Helsinki, and 11 kilometres (7 mi) south of the coast of Finland; though no island exists there in real life. Jansson is said to have used real-life Söderskär Lighthouse in Porvoo as a model when writing the lighthouse island of the book. [3] [4] [5]
The novel has been adapted into animation several times, including episodes 25 and 26 of the 1990 television series Moomin, and episodes 23, 24, and 25 of the 2019 television series Moominvalley.
After Tove Jansson's death, the producer of the 1990 Moomin television series, Dennis Livson, planned to make a film adaptation based on Moominpappa at Sea, but Tove Jansson's niece Sophia Jansson did not give him permission for the adaptation. [6]
Kirkus Reviews wrote, "A psychological drama with an allegorical level, this chapter of the Moomin story cedes Moomin territory to the adults without totally dispossessing the children." [7]
Tove Marika Jansson was a Finnish author, novelist, painter, illustrator and comic strip author of Swedish descent. Brought up by artistic parents, Jansson studied art from 1930 to 1938 in Helsinki, Stockholm, and Paris. She held her first solo art exhibition in 1943. Over the same period, she penned short stories and articles for publication, and subsequently drew illustrations for book covers, advertisements, and postcards. She continued her work as an artist and writer for the rest of her life.
Snufkin is a character in the Moomin series of books written by Swedish-speaking Finn Tove Jansson, appearing in six of the nine books; his first appearance is in the second book, Comet in Moominland. He is the best friend of the series' protagonist, Moomintroll, and lives a nomadic lifestyle, only staying in Moominvalley in the spring and summer, but leaving for warmer climates down south every winter. He is the son of the elder Mymble and the Joxter, and is half-brother to the Mymble's daughter and Little My.
Little My is a character in the Moomin series of books by Tove Jansson. The character first appeared in the fourth book, The Exploits of Moominpappa (1950). She is a small, determined and fiercely independent Mymble. Little My is brash, aggressive, mischievous and disrespectful, but can also be a good friend when she wants to. She is the Mymble's daughter's younger sister. She was eventually adopted by the Moomin family.
Moomin World is a theme park based on the Moomin books by Tove Jansson. It was designed by Dennis Livson, and is located on the island of Kailo next to the old town of Naantali, in Southwest Finland.
Comet in Moominland is the second in Finnish author Tove Jansson's series of Moomin books. Published in 1946, it marks the first appearance of several main characters, such as Snufkin and the Snork Maiden.
Finn Family Moomintroll is the third in the series of Tove Jansson's Moomins books, published in Swedish in 1948 and translated to English in 1950. It owes its title in translation to the fact that it was the first Moomin book to be published in English, and was actually marketed as the first in the series until the 1980s.
Moominsummer Madness is the fifth in the series of Tove Jansson's Moomins books, published in 1954.
The Groke is a fictional character in the Moomin stories created by Tove Jansson. She appears as a ghost-like, hill-shaped body with two cold staring eyes and a wide row of white shiny teeth beneath a large and wide triangular nose. In the book Who Will Comfort Toffle?, it is mentioned that she has a tail, but it has never been seen. Wherever she stands, the ground below her freezes, plants and grass die and if she stands in place too long the soil itself will die and nothing will ever grow there again. She leaves a trace of ice and snow when she walks the ground. Anything that she touches will freeze. On one occasion, she froze a campfire by sitting down on it. She seeks friendship and warmth, but she is declined by everyone and everything, leaving her in her cold cavern on top of the Lonely Mountains.
The Moomins and the Great Flood is a book by Finnish author Tove Jansson. It was published in 1945, during the last months of World War II. It was the first book to star the Moomins, but is often seen as a prelude to the main Moomin books, as most of the main characters are introduced in the next book.
The Exploits of Moominpappa, first published in 1950 and then considerably revised in 1968 under the title Moominpappa's Memoirs, is the fourth book in the Moomin series by Tove Jansson. The story found in this book is mentioned in the previous Moomin books, as Moominpappa writes his memoirs in those stories. Unlike Comet in Moominland and Finn Family Moomintroll, both versions of the novel were translated into English. Exploits of Moominpappa forms the basis of episodes 62, 63 and 64 in the 1990 TV series.
Tales from Moominvalley is the seventh book in the Moomins series by Finnish author Tove Jansson. Unlike all the other books, which are novels, it is a collection of short stories, the longest book in the series. It was first published in 1962. The book forms the basis of episodes 9, 10, 13, 24, and 36 of the 1990 TV series.
Moominvalley in November is the ninth and final book in the Moomin series by Finnish author Tove Jansson, and was first published in her native Swedish in 1970, and in English in 1971. Set contemporaneously with her previous novel Moominpappa at Sea (1965), it is the only installment in the series where the titular Moomin family are actually absent. Instead it focuses on a set of other characters, including Snufkin, who come to live at Moominhouse during the onset of winter whilst its inhabitants are away, and the various interactions which they have with each other.
Moominvalley is a fictional place, where the Moomins live in the tales by Finnish author Tove Jansson.
The Moomins are the central characters in a series of novels, short stories, picture books, and a comic strip by Swedish-speaking Finnish writer and illustrator Tove Jansson, originally published in Swedish by Schildts in Finland. They are a family of white, round fairy-tale characters with large snouts that make them resemble the hippopotamus. However, despite this resemblance, the Moomin family are trolls. The family live in their house in Moominvalley.
Moomins and the Comet Chase is a 2010 3D stop motion animated fantasy adventure comedy family film compiled from the Comet in Moominland-based episodes of the 1977–1982 The Moomins TV series animated at Se-ma-for in Poland, restored and re-soundtracked with multiple voice actors replacing the single narrator. It is the second such Moomin film produced by Finnish children's film company Filmkompaniet, the first being Moomin and Midsummer Madness, and the first one converted to stereoscopic 3-D. A similar revision of the remainder of the series for high-definition television of all 78 episodes was released in 2010. The same novel has been adapted into film at least twice before, with the 1978 Russian stop motion serial Mumi-troll and the 1992 Japanese traditional animation feature Comet in Moominland. The international version of the film features the voices of known Swedish actors like Stellan Skarsgård, Peter Stormare, Alexander Skarsgård. Musician and Moomins fan Björk also wrote an original song for the film. The international film debuted at the Cannes Film Festival in May 2010. In Finland, it arrived in movie theaters on 6 August 2010 and was later broadcast on the MTV3 channel. The film was also produced in dozens of other languages and subsequently received global distribution.
Moomins on the Riviera is a 2014 Finnish-French animated family comedy film directed by Xavier Picard and produced by Hanna Hemilä, who is also co-director. The film is based on Moomin comic strips by Tove Jansson and Lars Jansson.
Moomin is a Dutch-Japanese anime television series produced by Telecable Benelux B.V. and animated by Telescreen Japan. Based on the Moomin novels and comic strips by the Finnish illustrator and author Tove Jansson and her brother Lars Jansson, it was the third anime adaptation of the property and the first to receive distribution in different countries worldwide. Moomin first aired on TV Tokyo from April 12, 1990, to October 3, 1991. The series had also been dubbed into English and aired on CBBC in United Kingdom during the same year.
Metsä is a Nordic-themed entertainment complex in Hannō, Saitama Prefecture, Japan. The complex consists of Metsä Village, entertainment and leisure area which opened in November 2018, and Moominvalley Park, which opened in 2019. The park was initially planned to start operation in 2015 to mark the 100th birthday of Tove Jansson. On June 30, 2015, it was announced that the opening would be delayed until 2017 at the earliest. On December 6, 2016, the opening date was further delayed to spring 2019.
Sniff is a character in the Moomin stories created by Tove Jansson. His debut is in the first Moomin-book The Moomins and the Great Flood. In addition to books, he is also a prominent character in the Moomin comics and animations.