Product Information
Reviewed by Simon Thomas from Stuck in a Book
The True Deceiver is a little different from the other Jansson books I've read. Still set in snowy Sweden, still focusing on the co-existence of two women (a theme found in The Summer Book and Fair Play), there is more of an edge to this novel. Katri Kling is blunt, friendless, and entirely honest without being malevolent. She is blunt not because of malice, but because she sees truth as far more important than etiquette, and isn't encumbered by emotions. She loves only two things - numbers, and her brother Mats, 'a bit simple'. Katri's character is shown in the way she is said to speak: 'Other people talk, you make pronouncements'. Living away from the village, in 'the rabbit house', is Anna Aemelin. She is a disorganised, semi-reclusive illustrator of children's books (yes, Tove was the illustrator of the Moomin books, but the very opposite of disorganised). Anna's talent is the depiction of the woodland floor, in great, caring detail. But she has to include rabbits in her pictures, and the rabbits are covered in flowers - all the letters from fans, young and old, ask her why they are covered in flowers, and she always makes up a different answer. She never works on these books in the winter, so her paintbrushes are hibernating, as it were.
Bookmark & Share
Be the first to review this product!
Price: £7.99
