The Summer Book: A Heartwarming Novel About Family, Nature, and Adventure – Perfect for Beach Reading & Vacation Escapes

This book was the choice of my reading group at my local bookstore and for the first time, the more than 30 people who attended were unanimous in their praise of this book which was first published in Finland in 1972 and translated into English in 1974. This is a story of a six year old girl and her very old grandmother who, with the girl's father, inhabit an almost isolated island off the coast of Finland during one special summer after the girl's mother has just died.This is a spare and beautiful story told through 22 different vignettes which are each deceptively simple and contain haunting descriptions of life, death, loss and renewal. It is a view of nature, and cultural values and is obviously written by someone who has lived this unique kind of life. There is also an underlying sense of humor and there were times I just laughed out loud or smiled to myself at the relationship between the ancient old woman who is possessed of a great natural wisdom and the young child. The voice is authentic, the prose beautiful, the view of nature real and uplifting.This is a short book, a mere 170 pages long and I must say I didn't want it to end. It is treat for anyone who reads this and it left me with a feeling of pleasure. That is about as high a compliment that I can pay to any book.