Tove Jansson

Those damn Moomins. I don't want to hear about them any more. I could vomit on the Moomintrolls.

— Tove Jansson

“It's funny about paths and rivers," he mused. "You see them go by, and suddenly you feel upset and want to be…

— Tove Jansson

“We'll always keep our bangles in brown pond water in the future. They're so much more beautiful that way”

— Tove Jansson

Sometimes it's better to look at things than own them... owning means anxiety and lots of bags to carry around.

— Tove Jansson

Dogs are mute and obedient, but they have watched us and know us and can smell how pitiful we are.

— Tove Jansson

“No one can depict desolation who hasn't inhabited desolation and observed it very closely. Things condemned have a terrible beauty.”

— Tove Jansson

All men are chums who will never leave each other in the lurch. A chum doesn't forgive, he just forgets - women…

— Tove Jansson

“Englemos," sa sniff nonchalant. "Bare barnslig tøv." I hvert fall for alle som har sett i en stjernekikkert.”

— Tove Jansson

But that's how it is when you start wanting to have things. Now, I just look at them, and when I go…

— Tove Jansson

It’s strange,” Moominmamma thought. “Strange that people can be sad, and even angry because life is too easy. But that’s the way…

— Tove Jansson

“I remember the dog at home, when I was a girl; the one that killed chickens. They tied a dead hen around…

— Tove Jansson

Malander had an idea and was trying to work it out, but it would take him time. Sometimes people never saw things…

— Tove Jansson

... 'I've been doing everything for an awfully long time, and I've seen and lived as hard as I could, and it's…

— Tove Jansson

One summer morning at sunrise a long time ago I met a little girl with a book under her arm. I asked…

— Tove Jansson

It's a funny thing about bogs. You can fill them with rocks and sand and old logs and make a little fenced-in…

— Tove Jansson

“Is it true you were born in the eighteen-hundreds?" Sophia yelled through the window. "What of it?" Grandmother answered, very distinctly. "What…

— Tove Jansson

“Akkurat nå tenker jeg på nordlys. Man vet ikke om det finnes eller bare synes. Alt er meget usikkert, og det er…

— Tove Jansson

“On niitä jotka jäävät ja toisia jotka lähtevät, niin on ollut aina. Kukin saa valita itse, mutta on valittava ajoissa, eikä koskaan…

— Tove Jansson

One ought to have the right to have a secret and to spring it as a surprise. But if you live inside…

— Tove Jansson

“The Dweller Under the Sink had still not come out to eat but was probably living a secret and important life by…

— Tove Jansson

It is simply this: do not tire, never lose interest, never grow indifferent—lose your invaluable curiosity and you let yourself die. It's…

— Tove Jansson

And all you can do is just read," she said. She raised her voice an screamed, "You just read and read and…

— Tove Jansson

A very long time ago, Grandmother had wanted to tell about all the things they did, but no one had bothered to…

— Tove Jansson

“Before she left, she said, "Just remember one thing: Going along with something doesn't mean you give in to it.[...]”

— Tove Jansson

There are those who stay at home and those who go away, and it has always been so. Everyone can choose for…

— Tove Jansson

All men have parties and are pals who never let each other down. A pal can say terrible things which are forgotten…

— Tove Jansson

When Mats came in the evenings, they would drink tea in the kitchen while reading their books and talking about them. If…

— Tove Jansson

“I am the Muskrat,” said the wretched creature faintly. “A philosopher, you know. I should just like to point out that your…

— Tove Jansson

...by and by a change came: I started to muse about the shape of my nose. I put my trivial surroundings aside…

— Tove Jansson

I want your first trip to be with me. I want to show you cities and landscapes and teach you how to…

— Tove Jansson

When one's dead, one's dead... This squirrel will become earth all in his time. And still later on, there'll grow new trees…

— Tove Jansson

Quite, quite,' she thought with a little sigh. 'It's always like this in their adventures. To save and be saved. I wish…

— Tove Jansson

An island can be dreadful for someone from outside. Everything is complete, and everyone has his obstinate, sure and self-sufficient place. Within…

— Tove Jansson

“This wasn't at all what I wanted to talk about, which is this: How did the rabbits get all covered with flowers?"…

— Tove Jansson

“She had picked the spot the day before and carried out a stool low enough to sit on and still have her…

— Tove Jansson

Before we left, Grandmother talked a lot about the arctic night we would fly through. 'Isn't it a mystical word, "arctic"? Pure…

— Tove Jansson

She started thinking about all the euphemisms for death, all the anxious taboos that had always fascinated her. It was too bad…

— Tove Jansson

“Grandmother walked up over the bare granite and thought about birds in general. It seemed to her no other creature had the…

— Tove Jansson

Lie on the bridge and watch the water flowing past. Or run, or wade through the swamp in your red boots. Or…

— Tove Jansson