of course the moomintrolls, or muumit in finnish, have been something i’ve known all my life. i’ve read various children’s books from the series to my own kids. but the children’s books are quite different from the original muumi books. that’s why i decided to go back and read the original book that started it all.

i only had it in english, but that’s ok. i wasn’t going to read it in swedish (doubt my swedish would be good enough for that anymore) and i guess the english translation is as good as the finnish translation.

you see a lot of differences, like muumipappa smokes a pipe and drinks sometimes. but one thing that’s consistent – life is simple for the muumit. and that’s an appealing concept, getting rid of the complications and stress of modern life. it reminds me of vacation time at finnish cottages.