The Summer Book

A grandmother and her young granddaughter come to stay on an island for the summer. The mother of the granddaughter, we soon learn, has recently died. Jansson is too good of a writer to let the story circle around and around that, but the mother's death lies quietly at the heart of the book. The real focus is the beautiful way the grandmother and granddaughter grow closer and closer. Jansson is a master and this book is a deserved classic.