August Book Club: The Summer Book by Tove Jansson (trans. Thomas Teal)

Late summer calls for a quiet, sunlit read. This month we are celebrating Women in Translation Month with The Summer Book, Tove Jansson’s tender novel about a six-year-old girl, Sophia, and her grandmother spending a season together on a small Finnish island.

Across brief, perfectly formed chapters, the pair build dens, argue and make up, watch storms roll through and learn how to be with one another. The plot is gentle by design; what lingers is the attentive way Jansson notices small things: salt-stiff hair, the give of moss underfoot, the courage it takes to say sorry. Beneath the simplicity runs a moving meditation on grief, patience and the art of living well in a small world.

It is an ideal August choice. The book can be read in an afternoon or savoured across the month, and it offers many doors into discussion: how children and adults experience the same landscape differently; how routine becomes ritual; how care is shown in small, practical acts. If you are reading with family, it makes a beautiful shared text.

For those who like to pair a read with a keepsake, our nature-loving pieces sit beautifully alongside this pick. The Secret Garden designs echo the book’s island paths and wild corners, while A Room of One’s Own is a quiet nod to women’s creative space. If you are travelling, a compact coin purse keeps ferry tickets and beach tokens safe between chapters.

We would love to hear your thoughts. How did the island change your sense of pace this month? Which chapter stayed with you longest? Share your reflections with us in the comments or on Instagram.

If you fancy a brand-new release alongside our classic pick, try dipping into the Booker Prize 2025 longlist, or pick up Reese’s August choice, Once Upon a Time in Dollywood by Ashley Jordan, for a warm, contemporary counterpoint to Jansson’s island summer.