Sun City

By Tove Jansson

This novella, about the inhabitants of a Florida retirement home, hints at the dark reality found behind a utopian vision. Alienation, abandonment and ageing foreshadow the spectre of death – with some people simply choosing to ignore it.

Publishing information

Year of publication

1974

Page count

160

Original title

Solstaden

Original publisher

-

About the author

Tove Jansson (1914-2001), Finnish-Swedish writer and artist, achieved worldwide fame as the creator of the Moomins, written and illustrated between 1945 and 1970. The books about the brave, adventurous, yet family-focused and home-loving Moomins have been translated into more than 50 languages and are still in print all over the world today.The Moomins were, of course, only a part of Jansson’s prodigious output. Already admired in Nordic art circles as a painter, cartoonist and illustrator, she would go on to write a series of classic novels and short stories. She remains Scandinavia’s best-loved author.Tove Jansson’s work reflected the tenets of her life: her love of family and nature, and her insistence on freedom to pursue her art. “Work and love” was the motto she chose for herself and her approach to both was joyful and uncompromising.

Author page

Reviews

"The Finnish writer Tove Jansson returned from a U.S. trip with a new perspective on home—and an enduring novel (...) Sun City, which explores an aspect of American life—the isolation of the aging—that often goes unseen."

Lauren LeBlanc, The Atlantic

Related content & publishing

Authors

Tove Jansson