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Available
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Publication
NYRB Classics (2009), Edition: Original, Paperback, 208 pages
Description
Fiction. Literature. HTML: Deception--the lies we tell ourselves and the lies we tell others--is the subject of this, Tove Jansson's most unnerving and unpredictable novel. Here Jansson takes a darker look at the subjects that animate the best of her work, from her sensitive tale of island life, The Summer Book, to her famous Moomin stories: solitude and community, art and life, love and hate. Snow has been falling on the village all winter long. It covers windows and piles up in front of doors. The sun rises late and sets early, and even during the day there is little to do but trade tales. This year everybody's talking about Katri Kling and Anna Aemelin. Katri is a yellow-eyed outcast who lives with her simpleminded brother and a dog she refuses to name. She has no use for the white lies that smooth social intercourse, and she can see straight to the core of any problem. Anna, an elderly children's book illustrator, appears to be Katri's opposite: a respected member of the village, if an aloof one. Anna lives in a large empty house, venturing out in the spring to paint exquisitely detailed forest scenes. But Anna has something Katri wants, and to get it Katri will take control of Anna's life and livelihood. By the time spring arrives, the two women are caught in a conflict of ideals that threatens to strip them of their most cherished illusions..… (more)
Media reviews
That there can still be as-yet untranslated fiction by Jansson is simultaneously an aberration and a delight, like finding buried treasure, especially when the translator is as well suited to her resonant, minimal style as Thomas Teal (who was also the original English translator of The Summer Book
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in the 1970s). The True Deceiver is another fortunate first, and it is an unassuming, unexpected, powerful piece of work. Show Less
User reviews
LibraryThing member kidzdoc
The True Deceiver by Tove Jansson, the Finnish author best known for her Moomin series of children's books, which won this year's Best Translated Book Award, was originally published in 1982, translated into English in the UK in 2009, and published by New York Review Books last year. The main
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character, Katri Kling, is a young woman who lives with her younger and mentally disabled teenage brother above a store in an isolated Scandinavian town. Katri is ostracized by the villagers, as she is abrupt and lacks social grace, but she is also respected by them, due to her math skills and brutal honesty. She sees no future for her or her brother, as she works as a shopkeeper's assistant for a man she despises, and seeks to improve the financial situation of her and her brother. At the other end of town lives Anna Aemelin, a widowed and wealthy children's book illustrator, who is respected but aloof. Katri insidiously integrates herself into Anna's life, and assumes responsibility over more of the elderly woman's business correspondence, increasing Anna's income while she reserves some of this money for her and her brother, to the progressive dismay of Anna and the villagers. This was a superb psychological novel, and Jansson does a fabulous job in portraying the isolation of this icy climate and its equally icy residents. Show Less
LibraryThing member AnnieMod
In the small northern village of Västerby (the original town with this name is in Sweden; where Jansson's village is is anyone's guess), the winter is keeping everyone inside. Except for Katri Kling and her dog.
This is how Jansson starts her novel. Without any references of time - if anything the
Katri Kling had been living for years with her younger brother (now a teenager and "a bit slow") at the fringe of society in Västerby. She is different - her eye color does not match what everyone expects, her hair is the wrong color. In a small place like Västerby not being local is almost a crime. To add to that, she believes that any truth should be spelled out, that the little lies and niceties that the polite society demands are nonsense. But when some of her decisions and advices are revealed, Katri emerges as a calculating and scheming person - the truth can be bended and she is pretty good at it.
And as chance will have it, the village has one more loner - Anna Aemelin - an wealthy artist that lives alone and creates beautiful watercolors of the ground in the forest... with rabbits with flowery fur thrown everywhere. When the novel opens, Katri had decided that she wants to use Anna and is planning her way into the older woman home and heart.
When Anna's and Katri's worlds finally collide, it is obvious that nothing will be the same ever again. Katri's cunning and calculating ways have nothing to do with the artistic and dreamlike world Anna had been living in - and Katri will not allow her to keep living in it. And while the two worlds clash, the life in the village continues the same way it had always been going - and we are treated to glimpses and views from it, intermingled with the drama that happens in the lives of the protagonists.
It is a novel of change; a novel of growing up (mentally if not physically) - Anna looses all treats that make her who she is... and need to rediscover herself - except that the new Anna is not the innocent person she was before Katri injected herself in her life. Using the truth, Katri manages to deceive Anna in more than one ways, to use her naivete to gain what she needs. And in a way it is a novel of everything ugly that hides in people's hearts.
But it is also a novel of hope - because at the end, even if all old is ruined, the new is not necessarily bad. Maybe Anna will never be the same, maybe she will never have all that she had been used to. But Katri had changed as well - without realizing and without expecting it.
The last sentence of the novel is the ultimate summary of the whole novel - and it works much better than any epilogue could have worked. It is final and unyielding.
A highly recommended read - although it is not a cheerful and easy read.
PS: Do not read the introduction before you read the novel. I enjoyed it a lot but I am happy I read the novel first.
This is how Jansson starts her novel. Without any references of time - if anything the
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novel makes sure not to mention any recent event - making the story timeless. We get the how and the where but the when never gets revealed. And it is not needed - because the story is as old as the world - the story of the battle between truth and lie; between reality and dreams. Katri Kling had been living for years with her younger brother (now a teenager and "a bit slow") at the fringe of society in Västerby. She is different - her eye color does not match what everyone expects, her hair is the wrong color. In a small place like Västerby not being local is almost a crime. To add to that, she believes that any truth should be spelled out, that the little lies and niceties that the polite society demands are nonsense. But when some of her decisions and advices are revealed, Katri emerges as a calculating and scheming person - the truth can be bended and she is pretty good at it.
And as chance will have it, the village has one more loner - Anna Aemelin - an wealthy artist that lives alone and creates beautiful watercolors of the ground in the forest... with rabbits with flowery fur thrown everywhere. When the novel opens, Katri had decided that she wants to use Anna and is planning her way into the older woman home and heart.
When Anna's and Katri's worlds finally collide, it is obvious that nothing will be the same ever again. Katri's cunning and calculating ways have nothing to do with the artistic and dreamlike world Anna had been living in - and Katri will not allow her to keep living in it. And while the two worlds clash, the life in the village continues the same way it had always been going - and we are treated to glimpses and views from it, intermingled with the drama that happens in the lives of the protagonists.
It is a novel of change; a novel of growing up (mentally if not physically) - Anna looses all treats that make her who she is... and need to rediscover herself - except that the new Anna is not the innocent person she was before Katri injected herself in her life. Using the truth, Katri manages to deceive Anna in more than one ways, to use her naivete to gain what she needs. And in a way it is a novel of everything ugly that hides in people's hearts.
But it is also a novel of hope - because at the end, even if all old is ruined, the new is not necessarily bad. Maybe Anna will never be the same, maybe she will never have all that she had been used to. But Katri had changed as well - without realizing and without expecting it.
The last sentence of the novel is the ultimate summary of the whole novel - and it works much better than any epilogue could have worked. It is final and unyielding.
A highly recommended read - although it is not a cheerful and easy read.
PS: Do not read the introduction before you read the novel. I enjoyed it a lot but I am happy I read the novel first.
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LibraryThing member Cariola
Katri Kling is an outsider in the small Swedish town of Västerby. While everyone agrees that the yellow-eyed young woman with the huge nameless dog is capable and conscientious, her cold, direct manner is offputting. But Katri has a plan for herself and, even moreso, for her younger brother Mats.
I loved the author's clear, clean style that so well matches the icy winter landscape and that not only sets the tone but complements Katri's personality. Yet the novel has its lyrical moments as well; in that, it reminded me of Linda Olsson's Astrid and Veronica. (Perhaps this is typical of Scandinavian writers; perhaps it is the effect of those long dark winters and the late spring sun.) Jansson also plays with fairy tale, myth, and folklore. For example, in an early moment, Anna suddenly recognizes Katri's rare smile as an illustration from one of her childhood books: the wolf in Little Red Riding Hood.
This powerful little book was just what I needed to get away from the stress of the end-of-semester crunch. It grabbed me from the beginning, and I wolfed it down quickly. I will be looking for more of Jansson's adult work.
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Through small acts of apparent kindness--delivering the mail, dropping off groceries--she weasels her way into the life of Anna Aemelin, a wealthy spinster who paints illustrations for children's books, until it seems that she is indispensible. In no time at all, the novel has shifted into an understated thriller as Anna not only becomes dependent upon Katri but begins to lose the things, connections and beliefs that comprise her own identity. But Jansson saves some surprises for the final chapters.I loved the author's clear, clean style that so well matches the icy winter landscape and that not only sets the tone but complements Katri's personality. Yet the novel has its lyrical moments as well; in that, it reminded me of Linda Olsson's Astrid and Veronica. (Perhaps this is typical of Scandinavian writers; perhaps it is the effect of those long dark winters and the late spring sun.) Jansson also plays with fairy tale, myth, and folklore. For example, in an early moment, Anna suddenly recognizes Katri's rare smile as an illustration from one of her childhood books: the wolf in Little Red Riding Hood.
This powerful little book was just what I needed to get away from the stress of the end-of-semester crunch. It grabbed me from the beginning, and I wolfed it down quickly. I will be looking for more of Jansson's adult work.
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LibraryThing member Marensr
I am a fan of the Finnish author Tove Jansson, who is best known for your children's series about Moomintrolls, so I was delighted to get early reviewer copy of her book The True Deceiver, in an English translation from the New York Review of Books.
Jansson as truly been neglected by American
The True Deceiver is her story of Katri Kling, an outsider in her small village and protector to her developmentally disabled brother. Her actions and those of the reclusive children's book illustrator Anna Aemelin form the crux of the novel.
In spite of very little action the book is evocative of the frozen Scandinavian winters in which the interplay of individuals may be the entire drama of a season for a whole village. Jansson's understanding of human behavior, the miscommunication between them and how people can casually harm each other are stunning and she evokes them with elegance and subtlety. The tensions between the two women about a dog, a boy and a boat are palpable. She asks the reader to examine what behavior is honest and what is kind and how an unthinking act of kindness can harm.
I find it fascinating that these themes run through both her works for children and those for adults. It is perhaps what makes her books for children so effective. True Deceiver is not quite the masterpiece another of her novels for adults, The Summer Book, but it is a fascinating and haunting read.
She truly merits a wider audience and I am so glad New York Review of Books is publishing her works.
Jansson as truly been neglected by American
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audiences. Her works are a masterpiece of subtlety and delicate but brutally honest character analysis. The True Deceiver is her story of Katri Kling, an outsider in her small village and protector to her developmentally disabled brother. Her actions and those of the reclusive children's book illustrator Anna Aemelin form the crux of the novel.
In spite of very little action the book is evocative of the frozen Scandinavian winters in which the interplay of individuals may be the entire drama of a season for a whole village. Jansson's understanding of human behavior, the miscommunication between them and how people can casually harm each other are stunning and she evokes them with elegance and subtlety. The tensions between the two women about a dog, a boy and a boat are palpable. She asks the reader to examine what behavior is honest and what is kind and how an unthinking act of kindness can harm.
I find it fascinating that these themes run through both her works for children and those for adults. It is perhaps what makes her books for children so effective. True Deceiver is not quite the masterpiece another of her novels for adults, The Summer Book, but it is a fascinating and haunting read.
She truly merits a wider audience and I am so glad New York Review of Books is publishing her works.
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LibraryThing member wordtron
Rec'd early reviewer ARC of this, just after reading Jansson's THE SUMMER BOOK (thank you, LibaryThing & NYRB). As in THE SUMMER BOOK, the writing here is as unadorned and crystal clear as the environment in which the story is set--in this case a cold, lonely winter in a small Swedish village. The
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"action" revolves around a young woman, Katri, who ingratiates herself into the solitary life of an older woman, Anna, a children's book illustrator, who lives in the largest house in the village. Through the course of year, I think, the two profoundly affect each other's understanding of themselves, unintentionally, helplessly. This was a very fast, absorbing read that really got under my skin. It's mythic, mysterious, tense, beautiful, unsettling, startling, deep. NYRB is doing english-speaking readers a great favor by bringing out Jansson's non-Moomin books. Show Less
LibraryThing member RobinDawson
An excellent novel which deserves to be better known and more widely read. Very atmospheric – unsettling, mysterious, odd, icy, brittle, subtle, and full of surprises. The novel has lots of cross currents and opposing elements. The characters appear outwardly calm, yett the machinations and
The title is perfect, with its inherent contradiction. It reads very well – the prose is sharp and clear – all credit to the translator.
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struggles going on underneath the surface generate a sinister tension.The title is perfect, with its inherent contradiction. It reads very well – the prose is sharp and clear – all credit to the translator.
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LibraryThing member saratoga99
A little gem of Scandinavian literature, though succinct speaks volumes. An intriguing psychological perspective about Katri, an obscure woman talented in "the maths" and respected for her intuitive abilities who rejects monetary compensation to counsel villagers in financial and personal matters,
Tove Jansson's literary brilliance lies in her deft facility to utilize not only the harsh winter settings to embellish each character's personality and dialogue, but also as vivid pivotal contrasts in the dramatic transformations in Anna, Katri, Mats and the dog.
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and with her mentally encumbered brother Mats and her unnamed curious beast of a dog remain illusive outsiders in their small isolated village. Katri carefully constructs a stealthy plan to manipulate Anna, an ostensibly frivolous, though wealthy and talented illustrator of children's books in an attempt to secure financial and physical refuge for her brother and herself.Tove Jansson's literary brilliance lies in her deft facility to utilize not only the harsh winter settings to embellish each character's personality and dialogue, but also as vivid pivotal contrasts in the dramatic transformations in Anna, Katri, Mats and the dog.
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LibraryThing member janeajones
Once upon a time in northern snowy Swedish climes there was a woman who every morning before dawn took a walk with her wolf-like dog, that had no name. Katri Kling has a head for numbers and a driving ambition: to move with her brother Mats into the mansion of Anna Aemelin, a children's
Jansson's novel is an exquisite gem exploring the mysteries and vagaries of human relationships. At the beginning of the novel each of the three major characters seem to encased in a bubble of their individual personalities. Katri needs to control all the variables of her world; Mats is lost in the romance of sea-faring ventures; and Anna, a keen observer and intimate detailer of the world of the forest floor, is driven by her youthful fans to include flowery bunnies in her otherwise otherwise naturalistic woodscapes. Subtly each character each character evolves and influences the perceptions and actions of the others as the long Scandinavian winter begins to give way to spring. Jansson does not tie the novel up with a neat conclusion -- the ending is unsettling, but the reader leaves the book with a heightened awareness of how interconnected we all are.
I'm sure I shall revisit this book often , and I've already ordered the other books by Jansson that are affordably available in English.
THE TRUE DECEIVER by Tove Jansson, a Finnish novelist who wrote in Swedish, was originally published in 1982. The ARC of the NYRB 's English translation by Thomas Teal does not contain the introduction by Ali Smith that will be included with published version.
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illustrator. Once ensconced in a position as housekeeper/companion to the aging artist, she is determined to pay for the building of a boat that Mats has designed.Jansson's novel is an exquisite gem exploring the mysteries and vagaries of human relationships. At the beginning of the novel each of the three major characters seem to encased in a bubble of their individual personalities. Katri needs to control all the variables of her world; Mats is lost in the romance of sea-faring ventures; and Anna, a keen observer and intimate detailer of the world of the forest floor, is driven by her youthful fans to include flowery bunnies in her otherwise otherwise naturalistic woodscapes. Subtly each character each character evolves and influences the perceptions and actions of the others as the long Scandinavian winter begins to give way to spring. Jansson does not tie the novel up with a neat conclusion -- the ending is unsettling, but the reader leaves the book with a heightened awareness of how interconnected we all are.
I'm sure I shall revisit this book often , and I've already ordered the other books by Jansson that are affordably available in English.
THE TRUE DECEIVER by Tove Jansson, a Finnish novelist who wrote in Swedish, was originally published in 1982. The ARC of the NYRB 's English translation by Thomas Teal does not contain the introduction by Ali Smith that will be included with published version.
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LibraryThing member marplebookworm
I absolutely loved this book.On the first reading I enjoyed it but didn't quite "get it`" but, like an elusive thought, it kept playing on my mind.
Katri and her dog were as one: alone, different, isolated in a hostile and uncomfortable world that they have difficulty fitting into. They learn to
As the book goes on I was both alarmed and appalled initially at her deception. But why, when so many of us are blinded to the truth, unable to even see it, let alone to confront it, to know what we truly want from life. And so we go on acting, playing a part that is expected of us, hiding behind superficial veneers, unable to confront and talk about the truth because it is too uncomfortable, too painful, too cruel?
Jansson gradually strips away the layers. Here is a book that appears, at first, to be simple but as soon as you dig below the surface and the snow starts to clear, the true nature and feelings of the main protaganists can be revealed. So the truth, the cruel and uncomfortable truth of their real identities (and so too ours) , their real ruthlessness and their real personalities are allowed to reveal themselves. The snow melts and everything is there to be discovered, but only if we are able to open our minds to reality and the freedom to see things as they really are, as they could be if we can only confront our inner selves.
Katri learns to play, to love, to hug, to feel and therefore becomes less different, less alone. She doesn't nee d the dog to protect her anymore but is able to connect with real people on a level previously denied to her. Yes, she has always loved Mats instinctively as a natural mother on an animal level of protecting, caring and nurturing but she has never really talked to him. Giving him the boat is a symbol of her true love; the boat will allow him to escape and sail away, to discover his true self as all our children should be allowed eventually to do.
Anna, on the otherhand, has always lived isolated and alone, apparently happy in her cocooned, idealistic and ridiculously unreal little world at the rabbit house. She has squirrelled herself away. Unable to even look at real meat (let alone eat it), she has been perhaps even more isolated and alone than Katri. Oh yes, people like her, because she has learned how to play her part well and with apparent success. Unlike Katri, material wealth has come easily to her and with a great deal of inherited luck. But how many of us can afford the luxury of such luck? She doesn't like real children. She has never had a real animal. She has always deceived herself that her parents were kind. It is only when her relationship with Mats and Katri allows her to confront the truth of her petty life, is she able to strip away the layers of deception and see the truth. With her piles of possessions lying on the ice, waiting to sink into the deep, she can be cleansed, released and liberated to develop. Katri has made her confront her true nature, her true self. She isn't really sweet or nice or even clever. She has just found a way of surviving her lonely existence through her talent for painting. By entering the real world, I believe she becomes a deeper, more real and fully rounded human being, able to connect to her inner and spiritual self.
Good Art should challenge us, should make us uncomfortable with ourselves so we can evolve, becoming better people in the process where we can truly connect with each other.
Words, art, symbols are essential to allow us to free ourselves from reality and connect to something higher and more meaningful outside and within our true selves. Only by confronting our past, can we release ourselves to explore the future. When Anna finally puts her only "friends" letters on the ice and revisits the reality of her past and her parents she is able to realise how very unimportant she was to them. Only then can she truly connect with Mats and Katri. In the end, they are alive, they are here now, they need love, material comfort and help, and by giving she receives true help, the comfort and the companionship that would have been denied her if Katri's circumstances hadn't forced her to connect with her.
We all need other people to survive. We all deceive because we have to in order to survive. And in the end that is what life is all about surviving and trying, on occasions, to take something a little higher, a little better and a lot more loving from the abyss.
The True Deceiver can be a life changing book if you can allow yourself to connect with it!
Katri and her dog were as one: alone, different, isolated in a hostile and uncomfortable world that they have difficulty fitting into. They learn to
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play a part that allows them to survive, straightjacketed perhaps from reality and from their true selves, their true natures. Katri has learned to "show her teeth" but doesn't appear to know how to smile. Is this deceit or survival? Her yellow "different" eyes widen when alarmed and for a moment we are allowed to glimpse her true identity, her inner soul.As the book goes on I was both alarmed and appalled initially at her deception. But why, when so many of us are blinded to the truth, unable to even see it, let alone to confront it, to know what we truly want from life. And so we go on acting, playing a part that is expected of us, hiding behind superficial veneers, unable to confront and talk about the truth because it is too uncomfortable, too painful, too cruel?
Jansson gradually strips away the layers. Here is a book that appears, at first, to be simple but as soon as you dig below the surface and the snow starts to clear, the true nature and feelings of the main protaganists can be revealed. So the truth, the cruel and uncomfortable truth of their real identities (and so too ours) , their real ruthlessness and their real personalities are allowed to reveal themselves. The snow melts and everything is there to be discovered, but only if we are able to open our minds to reality and the freedom to see things as they really are, as they could be if we can only confront our inner selves.
Katri learns to play, to love, to hug, to feel and therefore becomes less different, less alone. She doesn't nee d the dog to protect her anymore but is able to connect with real people on a level previously denied to her. Yes, she has always loved Mats instinctively as a natural mother on an animal level of protecting, caring and nurturing but she has never really talked to him. Giving him the boat is a symbol of her true love; the boat will allow him to escape and sail away, to discover his true self as all our children should be allowed eventually to do.
Anna, on the otherhand, has always lived isolated and alone, apparently happy in her cocooned, idealistic and ridiculously unreal little world at the rabbit house. She has squirrelled herself away. Unable to even look at real meat (let alone eat it), she has been perhaps even more isolated and alone than Katri. Oh yes, people like her, because she has learned how to play her part well and with apparent success. Unlike Katri, material wealth has come easily to her and with a great deal of inherited luck. But how many of us can afford the luxury of such luck? She doesn't like real children. She has never had a real animal. She has always deceived herself that her parents were kind. It is only when her relationship with Mats and Katri allows her to confront the truth of her petty life, is she able to strip away the layers of deception and see the truth. With her piles of possessions lying on the ice, waiting to sink into the deep, she can be cleansed, released and liberated to develop. Katri has made her confront her true nature, her true self. She isn't really sweet or nice or even clever. She has just found a way of surviving her lonely existence through her talent for painting. By entering the real world, I believe she becomes a deeper, more real and fully rounded human being, able to connect to her inner and spiritual self.
Good Art should challenge us, should make us uncomfortable with ourselves so we can evolve, becoming better people in the process where we can truly connect with each other.
Words, art, symbols are essential to allow us to free ourselves from reality and connect to something higher and more meaningful outside and within our true selves. Only by confronting our past, can we release ourselves to explore the future. When Anna finally puts her only "friends" letters on the ice and revisits the reality of her past and her parents she is able to realise how very unimportant she was to them. Only then can she truly connect with Mats and Katri. In the end, they are alive, they are here now, they need love, material comfort and help, and by giving she receives true help, the comfort and the companionship that would have been denied her if Katri's circumstances hadn't forced her to connect with her.
We all need other people to survive. We all deceive because we have to in order to survive. And in the end that is what life is all about surviving and trying, on occasions, to take something a little higher, a little better and a lot more loving from the abyss.
The True Deceiver can be a life changing book if you can allow yourself to connect with it!
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LibraryThing member JimmyChanga
I really wanted to like this book. Instead, I just admired it. It is an incredibly subtle, well told story that explores abstract ideas. The slow progression of the story and the characters is so well done as to be barely noticeable, like a plant that moves imperceptibly towards the sun over
However, I could never really fall for the book. I really disliked the Katri character. I found her to be manipulative, and her over emphasis on facts and figures to be a bear. Also, the way that she tried to change Anna was so annoying. She was pushy and wouldn’t leave her alone.
Anna’s character wasn’t any better in terms of faults and flaws. She had the opposite flaws. She was overly naive. I’m sure this would’ve irked some people the way Katri irked me, but I found her pleasant at the beginning of the novel. I guess I really don’t mind overly naive people. And in fact, I found it a pity that she slowly lost her charm as Katri’s cynicism moved into her house.
Although, about that last point, Katri would say that she lost her naivete a long time ago, and that now she was just lying to herself. Self deception. Perhaps. I don’t know if I buy that.
One thing about Katri, though, was that she was supposed to be honest, honest to the point of being unpleasant, frowning upon social niceties. And yet she lied. She lied about her intentions when carrying out her plan to move into Anna’s house. Her whole plan was deceptive from the start. Does she really think her type of deception is better than Anna’s self deception?
And at the end of the novel, when Katri said she lied about the people who she claimed had cheated on Anna, was it because she really did lie about it? Or was it because her conscience felt bad because she had made Anna distrust everybody in town? Or was it because she realized that the truth (of the objective sort) wasn’t the most important thing in the world.
The changes in the characters as the novel went on were impressive in their believability and in the way they took effect in slow shifts. The characters are still who they were, but are somehow affected by the other ones. I feel like this is how people really are. They aren’t entirely changed the way they are in some novels (with revelations! tada!) but are... contaminated. Their core being gets muddied up with what they realize they aren’t, or can’t be. They realize their shortcomings and they are sad and concede a little, but really they are still the same. Just less sure of themselves.
This book made me think, and it is truly a stellar book. But I can’t lie to myself and say I enjoyed reading it. It was a little too dark for me, and I needed a little more light. Not the book's fault, but mine.
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several weeks. The simplicity of her style, which in her other books created a deceptive openness, creates the opposite effect here by making everything veiled, hidden, mysterious and ominous. So little is known and so little revealed that the reader is constantly wondering if he is the one being deceived (as well he should).However, I could never really fall for the book. I really disliked the Katri character. I found her to be manipulative, and her over emphasis on facts and figures to be a bear. Also, the way that she tried to change Anna was so annoying. She was pushy and wouldn’t leave her alone.
Anna’s character wasn’t any better in terms of faults and flaws. She had the opposite flaws. She was overly naive. I’m sure this would’ve irked some people the way Katri irked me, but I found her pleasant at the beginning of the novel. I guess I really don’t mind overly naive people. And in fact, I found it a pity that she slowly lost her charm as Katri’s cynicism moved into her house.
Although, about that last point, Katri would say that she lost her naivete a long time ago, and that now she was just lying to herself. Self deception. Perhaps. I don’t know if I buy that.
One thing about Katri, though, was that she was supposed to be honest, honest to the point of being unpleasant, frowning upon social niceties. And yet she lied. She lied about her intentions when carrying out her plan to move into Anna’s house. Her whole plan was deceptive from the start. Does she really think her type of deception is better than Anna’s self deception?
And at the end of the novel, when Katri said she lied about the people who she claimed had cheated on Anna, was it because she really did lie about it? Or was it because her conscience felt bad because she had made Anna distrust everybody in town? Or was it because she realized that the truth (of the objective sort) wasn’t the most important thing in the world.
The changes in the characters as the novel went on were impressive in their believability and in the way they took effect in slow shifts. The characters are still who they were, but are somehow affected by the other ones. I feel like this is how people really are. They aren’t entirely changed the way they are in some novels (with revelations! tada!) but are... contaminated. Their core being gets muddied up with what they realize they aren’t, or can’t be. They realize their shortcomings and they are sad and concede a little, but really they are still the same. Just less sure of themselves.
This book made me think, and it is truly a stellar book. But I can’t lie to myself and say I enjoyed reading it. It was a little too dark for me, and I needed a little more light. Not the book's fault, but mine.
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LibraryThing member japaul22
As I was reading this book, I kept coming back to one word - enigmatic. Jansson's story of a brother and sister, Mats and Katri, inserting themselves into the home of Anna Aemelin is never straight forward. Even the narrator shifts from third person to first person from Katri's point of view
I liked this book with it's interesting characters and relationships, but something about the enigmatic quality kept me at arm's length. I found it a good book, but not a great one.
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throughout the novel. The setting is part of the story here - the small town is blanketed with snow and it's dark most of the day and night in this northern town. Katri wants something from Anna, but Anna is not just a victim here. She has her own needs and wants that she subtly takes from Katri and Mats. I liked this book with it's interesting characters and relationships, but something about the enigmatic quality kept me at arm's length. I found it a good book, but not a great one.
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LibraryThing member oldblack
This Swedish author is famous for her children's books. She has decided to extend her repertoire to adult fiction. Unfortunately she seems to write in such a way that it seems like a children's author writing for adults. OK, I'm not the sharpest knife in the drawer, and so the story is probably
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full of symbols and deep meanings that are hidden from my sight. So it's probably a much "better" book than I give it credit for; but I can't really award much credit at all. It doesn't seem to me to be a very subtle story; the characters are all caricatures, and the plot itself seems fairly thin and unlikely. It reads very much like an 'adult fairy tale'. The good thing about it is that it's only 200 lightly written pages. Show Less
LibraryThing member tixylix
I read this book quickly, not just because it's only 200 pages and published in a fairly large print on pages with nice wide margins - but because the writing and story were gripping and enveloping. The plot is concerned with Katri, a young woman with yellow eyes, who befriends an old woman who has
Jansson writes with crisp, clear prose and uses one sentence where other writers might use five. The characters are developed even though the reader is not allowed access to all aspects of their lives. Occasionally we get first person narration but mainly it's in the third.
Jansson's writing is refreshing and challenging because it often deals with the less attractive sides of people's characters - there is little to like about Katri. I found this novel really engrossing and think it would benefit from a second or third read - despite its sparse style, there is so much in it that I think it would be even better the next time round.
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illustrated many children's books with rabbits covered in flowers. Katri is known as an honest person, although she is also outspoken and not well liked. Jansson writes with crisp, clear prose and uses one sentence where other writers might use five. The characters are developed even though the reader is not allowed access to all aspects of their lives. Occasionally we get first person narration but mainly it's in the third.
Jansson's writing is refreshing and challenging because it often deals with the less attractive sides of people's characters - there is little to like about Katri. I found this novel really engrossing and think it would benefit from a second or third read - despite its sparse style, there is so much in it that I think it would be even better the next time round.
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LibraryThing member RandyMetcalfe
Anna Aemelin is an elderly reclusive illustrator of children’s books. Her downcast gaze lovingly recreates the forest floor revealed each spring as the winter snows recede. If fluffy bunnies appear in each of her paintings, that is solely at the insistence of her publisher, from whom she also
Katri Kling is a piercingly yellow-eyed astute young woman who looks after her younger brother, Mats, and protects herself from the same abusive shopkeeper, the town busybodies, and the horde of children who chant, without rebuke, that she is a witch. She sees Anna as a potential benefactor for Mats. She embarks on a plan to secure Anna’s allegiance. To do so she will need to open Anna’s eyes to those who take advantage of her. But the revelation of deception can itself be a form of deceit. And the wolfish chase of the prey can have unlooked-for consequences.
Jansson’s exquisitely subtle and precise prose resists narrative drive. It pauses. It changes direction. It migrates its narrative voice. And at every turn, it reveals new layers in Anna and Katri and Mats. At times it seems as though Anna and Katri are in a life and death struggle. But do either of them even know what a winning outcome might look like? At times it seems as though they are vying for the care and guardianship of Mats. At times Katri is caught out as, perhaps, just another bully of Anna, but Anna too is caught out, slyly obstructing Katri’s aims, even to the point of subverting her relationship with her constant companion, a purposefully unnamed wolfhound.
It’s an intricate dance and I find it entirely fascinating. I would be hard-pressed to come up with two more singular adversaries (or friends), and yet throughout the tone remains consistently cautious, inconclusive, even tentative. This is a novel that thoroughly deserves to be reread. Possibly immediately. Recommended.
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receives the text of the books she illustrates. She is fragile and susceptible to abuse, from publishers and marketing executives, and even from the local shopkeeper.Katri Kling is a piercingly yellow-eyed astute young woman who looks after her younger brother, Mats, and protects herself from the same abusive shopkeeper, the town busybodies, and the horde of children who chant, without rebuke, that she is a witch. She sees Anna as a potential benefactor for Mats. She embarks on a plan to secure Anna’s allegiance. To do so she will need to open Anna’s eyes to those who take advantage of her. But the revelation of deception can itself be a form of deceit. And the wolfish chase of the prey can have unlooked-for consequences.
Jansson’s exquisitely subtle and precise prose resists narrative drive. It pauses. It changes direction. It migrates its narrative voice. And at every turn, it reveals new layers in Anna and Katri and Mats. At times it seems as though Anna and Katri are in a life and death struggle. But do either of them even know what a winning outcome might look like? At times it seems as though they are vying for the care and guardianship of Mats. At times Katri is caught out as, perhaps, just another bully of Anna, but Anna too is caught out, slyly obstructing Katri’s aims, even to the point of subverting her relationship with her constant companion, a purposefully unnamed wolfhound.
It’s an intricate dance and I find it entirely fascinating. I would be hard-pressed to come up with two more singular adversaries (or friends), and yet throughout the tone remains consistently cautious, inconclusive, even tentative. This is a novel that thoroughly deserves to be reread. Possibly immediately. Recommended.
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LibraryThing member BayardUS
In The True Deceiver, Tove Jansson depicts the world views of realism/cold truth and blissful ignorance/naiveté attempting to coexist, with the results you might expect. Katri Kling represents realism and truth, her head for numbers means she's never cheated, and she knows how to deal with those
With their very first interaction Katri's unwillingness to conform to polite social convention begins to open Anna's eyes to the world, making her realize that she no longer likes coffee and perhaps never did. As their lives get more entwined Anna's ignorance is stripped away layer by layer, as Katri reveals to her that the many people in her life have been cheating her through small things that have escaped her notice and that the story of her past that she's built up in her head doesn't necessarily match reality. Along with Anna's ignorance, however, her bliss is also stripped away: old friends are recategorized as meaningless, pettiness and distrust rise to the surface, and even her art suffers. Katri, for her part, doesn't escape from the confrontation between the two world views unscathed, her dog that was once obedient only to her devolves into a wild animal when torn between the structured old life and this new mix of order and emotional chaos. Firm control or constantly ignoring it might keep the beast in check, but half measures drive him wild. The truth has many benefits, but it is not without its costs. Likewise, naiveté is not without its virtues.
I'm not sure exactly where Mats fits into this dichotomy- I believe he represents innocence and true goodness, as even in the one instance where he loses his temper he takes only the most harmless revenge in the heat of the moment, and bears no grudges. Both Katri and Anna try to help Mats as much as they can, albeit in different ways. Katri tries to protect him, better him, and give him what he wants no matter the cost to herself. Anna likewise wants Mats to be happy, and gives him gifts both large and small, from letting him choose books first to trying to give him his greatest dream almost on a whim. Nevertheless, Mats doesn't seem to have a perspective of his own to contrast with the other two on display, he mostly seems to content to sit and observe.
Overall the dynamic depicted in this book is an interesting one, bolstered by solid writing even in translation. Some of the symbols are excellent and striking as well- after they move into Anna's house, Mats puts much of Anna's old and forgotten furniture and other junk onto the ice, to sit there and wait for the spring thaw to melt the ice and send it sinking into the lake or floating off into parts unknown. The village setting is also well fleshed out for a book of this length- it doesn't feel quite complete, but almost there. Also, despite how much time I've dedicated to writing about what the characters in The True Deceiver represent, that symbolism doesn't subsume who they are. Unlike The Pilgrim's Progress, these are characters in addition to symbols, as Jansson gives us scenes like Katri describing how individualists need to hide in a pack even more than the others so that people do not realize that they are different. This anecdote comes from the character of Katri, not just the abstract idea of truthfulness, and the book is stronger because it melds characters and their philosophies in ways that complement each.
Why, then, the 3 star rating? Despite the fact that I found the central conflict of this story interesting, there ultimately wasn't anything interesting that this book had to say about this conflict. Because of their interactions Anna is left more cynical and lonely than she was before Katri came into her life, and Katri attempts to undue the changes she has wrought as best she can, even if that means putting kindness before the truth. The ending makes it seem as though she will be successful, at least when it comes to this specific attempt, but it leaves up in the air what Katri is going to do next. So what is the lesson here? That sometimes the truth should be softened, as its cold hard nature can sometimes do more harm than good? Or that deception, even self-deception, can be a beneficial thing in some instances? Sure, those things are true, but they aren't great insights. It may be because I'm not 100% sure how Mats plays into the message of the book (though I don't think so), but I didn't come out of The True Deceiver with any new insights into the nature of truthfulness or deception, or of human nature in general. Still, this is one of those 3 star books that are worth reading and which I'd have no problem recommending, and I'll be checking out Jansson's other longer work, The Summer Book, sometime in the not-too-distant future.
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who try. She takes advantage where she sees an opening (even using deception to do so, because truth isn't the same as honesty) and is good at getting what she wants, but her tendency to tell it exactly how it is wins her few friends and makes her more than a few enemies. Anna Aemelin represents blissful ignorance, her career as the illustrator of children's books allowing her to live an unexamined life of comfort, even while being taken advantage of her softness and lack of concern in ways she doesn't grasp. When Katri identifies Anna as a path to comfort for her and, more importantly, her brother Mats, the conflict is inevitable.With their very first interaction Katri's unwillingness to conform to polite social convention begins to open Anna's eyes to the world, making her realize that she no longer likes coffee and perhaps never did. As their lives get more entwined Anna's ignorance is stripped away layer by layer, as Katri reveals to her that the many people in her life have been cheating her through small things that have escaped her notice and that the story of her past that she's built up in her head doesn't necessarily match reality. Along with Anna's ignorance, however, her bliss is also stripped away: old friends are recategorized as meaningless, pettiness and distrust rise to the surface, and even her art suffers. Katri, for her part, doesn't escape from the confrontation between the two world views unscathed, her dog that was once obedient only to her devolves into a wild animal when torn between the structured old life and this new mix of order and emotional chaos. Firm control or constantly ignoring it might keep the beast in check, but half measures drive him wild. The truth has many benefits, but it is not without its costs. Likewise, naiveté is not without its virtues.
I'm not sure exactly where Mats fits into this dichotomy- I believe he represents innocence and true goodness, as even in the one instance where he loses his temper he takes only the most harmless revenge in the heat of the moment, and bears no grudges. Both Katri and Anna try to help Mats as much as they can, albeit in different ways. Katri tries to protect him, better him, and give him what he wants no matter the cost to herself. Anna likewise wants Mats to be happy, and gives him gifts both large and small, from letting him choose books first to trying to give him his greatest dream almost on a whim. Nevertheless, Mats doesn't seem to have a perspective of his own to contrast with the other two on display, he mostly seems to content to sit and observe.
Overall the dynamic depicted in this book is an interesting one, bolstered by solid writing even in translation. Some of the symbols are excellent and striking as well- after they move into Anna's house, Mats puts much of Anna's old and forgotten furniture and other junk onto the ice, to sit there and wait for the spring thaw to melt the ice and send it sinking into the lake or floating off into parts unknown. The village setting is also well fleshed out for a book of this length- it doesn't feel quite complete, but almost there. Also, despite how much time I've dedicated to writing about what the characters in The True Deceiver represent, that symbolism doesn't subsume who they are. Unlike The Pilgrim's Progress, these are characters in addition to symbols, as Jansson gives us scenes like Katri describing how individualists need to hide in a pack even more than the others so that people do not realize that they are different. This anecdote comes from the character of Katri, not just the abstract idea of truthfulness, and the book is stronger because it melds characters and their philosophies in ways that complement each.
Why, then, the 3 star rating? Despite the fact that I found the central conflict of this story interesting, there ultimately wasn't anything interesting that this book had to say about this conflict. Because of their interactions Anna is left more cynical and lonely than she was before Katri came into her life, and Katri attempts to undue the changes she has wrought as best she can, even if that means putting kindness before the truth. The ending makes it seem as though she will be successful, at least when it comes to this specific attempt, but it leaves up in the air what Katri is going to do next. So what is the lesson here? That sometimes the truth should be softened, as its cold hard nature can sometimes do more harm than good? Or that deception, even self-deception, can be a beneficial thing in some instances? Sure, those things are true, but they aren't great insights. It may be because I'm not 100% sure how Mats plays into the message of the book (though I don't think so), but I didn't come out of The True Deceiver with any new insights into the nature of truthfulness or deception, or of human nature in general. Still, this is one of those 3 star books that are worth reading and which I'd have no problem recommending, and I'll be checking out Jansson's other longer work, The Summer Book, sometime in the not-too-distant future.
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LibraryThing member arubabookwoman
This short novel is set in remote Northern Scandanavia during winter. Katri Kling is unpopular in the small village, largely because she is brutally honest and lacks tact. The village children taunt her as a witch. Her primary concern is caring for and protecting her brother Mats, who is
Katri insinuates herself into the life of Anna, a reclusive, well-to-do children's book author who lives in the village. As Anna comes to rely on Katri, Katri convinces her that she is being taken advantage of by the villagers and by her editors and publishers. As Anna begins to question her trust in the basic goodness of people, she also begins to fear that she will be unable to write the whimsical children's books she is noted for.
The intricate psychological study of these three characters forms the heart of this book, which is very dark, and beautifully written. The cold, bleak atmosphere, and the starkness of the winter village create a perfect backdrop for the interaction of the characters.
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intellectually challenged, although he is a master boat builder.Katri insinuates herself into the life of Anna, a reclusive, well-to-do children's book author who lives in the village. As Anna comes to rely on Katri, Katri convinces her that she is being taken advantage of by the villagers and by her editors and publishers. As Anna begins to question her trust in the basic goodness of people, she also begins to fear that she will be unable to write the whimsical children's books she is noted for.
The intricate psychological study of these three characters forms the heart of this book, which is very dark, and beautifully written. The cold, bleak atmosphere, and the starkness of the winter village create a perfect backdrop for the interaction of the characters.
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LibraryThing member Goldengrove
I found this a strange and disturbing book. It has an underlying thread of great unhappiness.
LibraryThing member madhatter22
How exciting to discover that one of my favorite children's book authors wrote more than the Moominland stories that I've loved for years! And even better to discover that her writing for adults is just as good as her children's tales.
This is a beautiful book. The story - a young woman, Katri
This story and these characters will stay with me for a long time.
(This book was translated from Swedish to English by Thomas Teal. Not being able to read the book in the original, I don't know how much of his voice was added, but I'm sure he must deserve some credit for the beautiful cadence and language of this book.)
This is a beautiful book. The story - a young woman, Katri
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Kling, insinuates herself into the life of well-known children's book illustrator Anna Aemelin in order to benefit the younger brother she is responsible for - is told in a deceptively simple manner. Jansson's writing is as clean and stark as the snowy landscape in which the story is set, and the story's pace is as quiet and unurgent as life in this little town seems to be. But this is a story about deception - the lies that Katri and Anna tell each other to get what they want, and the lies they tell themselves about who they are. The characters and the story may seem outwardly calm, but the machinations and struggles going on underneath the surface fill the book with tension and an almost sinister feeling of suspense. This story and these characters will stay with me for a long time.
(This book was translated from Swedish to English by Thomas Teal. Not being able to read the book in the original, I don't know how much of his voice was added, but I'm sure he must deserve some credit for the beautiful cadence and language of this book.)
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LibraryThing member Tinwara
This is the perfect winter read. Tove Jansson situates her story in an isolated coastal Swedish village, in the midst of winter. All is white, blue, snowy and freezing. It's a village of fishermen, boat builders, boredom and gossip. The village houses two eccentric outsiders: yellow-eyed Katri, a
The story concentrates on the relation between Katri and Anna, between the wolf and the rabbit. However, confronted by each other, the women find neither of them is pure rabbit or wolf.
It's a smart, slow paced story, with well developed characters. In a way it is almost like a theatre play, that analyses the intricate relationship between the women and the gradual change of position. Besides, it's well written, its language is pure as an icy snowflake. Recommended.
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smart young woman, who doesn't seem to be interested in small talk or gossip and is always accompanied by a wolfish dog. And the sweet tempered - naive - illustrator of children's books, Anna, who lives on her own in a giant rabbit shaped house on the edge of town.The story concentrates on the relation between Katri and Anna, between the wolf and the rabbit. However, confronted by each other, the women find neither of them is pure rabbit or wolf.
It's a smart, slow paced story, with well developed characters. In a way it is almost like a theatre play, that analyses the intricate relationship between the women and the gradual change of position. Besides, it's well written, its language is pure as an icy snowflake. Recommended.
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LibraryThing member priamel
1) On Some South African Novelists
You praise the firm restraint with which they write -
I'm with you there, of course:
They use the snaffle and the curb all right,
But where's the bloody horse?
Roy Campbell
2) What's all the fuss about?--I'm sure Katri and I would have got on just fine.
3) If you like
4) Yes, this one passed me by completely!
You praise the firm restraint with which they write -
I'm with you there, of course:
They use the snaffle and the curb all right,
But where's the bloody horse?
Roy Campbell
2) What's all the fuss about?--I'm sure Katri and I would have got on just fine.
3) If you like
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this kind of thing, surely Lars Gustafsson does it a lot better?4) Yes, this one passed me by completely!
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LibraryThing member kvanuska
I love stories of hermits and outcasts. I think it dates back to my first exposure to Heidi and her hermit grandfather. From the minute Heidi appeared on his doorstep, I knew his hermit days were over, but I never tire of his journey. This weakness of mine made me particularly vulnerable to the
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charms of The True Deceiver by Tove Jansson. The Summer Book had well-prepared me for Jansson's lovely-in-their-oddness characters. Yet Katri's journey in The True Deceiver, still surprised me by the degree to which she was left broken by her decision to abandon her independence to help her brother Mats build the boat of his dreams. The brittle dance between Katri and her co-conspirator Anna (a children's book author and illustrator ) seems to have all the steps carefully choreographed, but just when you think Katri is doing all the leading in this Tango, Anna takes over the lead and turns the story in unusual ways. Additionally, having read as many Russian novels I have, I thought I was used to snowy tales, but The True Deceiver's remote wintry Swedish setting made me yearn for the snow in the same way I did when I read Smilla's Sense of Snow many years ago. Jansson is gifted at making both characters and setting crackle with life's hardness and fleeting moments of warmth. Don't less this book pass you by! Show Less
LibraryThing member MeisterPfriem
It is hopeless trying to better the perceptive analysis of Ali Smith in her introduction to Tove Jansson’s intense psychological drama, written in a simple, matter of fact voice, that is played out in a dark wintry snowed-in claustrophobic hamlet. Ali Smith says that Jansson writes in a
(XI-10) **** (If I don’t give it 5* it is not meant to be judgemental, it simply reflects personal taste)
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‘lightness that proves deceptive, an ease of surface like […] ice’ over a hidden depth; deception, as she points out, works at many levels here. It is also a ‘novel about art’s place in the dark’ and of the artist’s responsibilities and again of deception in avoiding and fulfilling (!) these. The snow and ice, the frozen landscape, play a large part and as with spring the ice breaks, so have the set worlds of the two opposed protagonists, Katri and Anna.(XI-10) **** (If I don’t give it 5* it is not meant to be judgemental, it simply reflects personal taste)
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LibraryThing member magentaflake
Loved this book. It goes along at a great pace. How one woman deceived another.
LibraryThing member albertgoldfain
Psychologically potent. Even with a small number of characters, a short time frame ( the span of one winter), a straightforward narrative, and sparse symbolism, it still manages to be a profound novella. I can't believe this is the same author of the Moomin books.
LibraryThing member iansales
Jansson is of course best-known for the Moomins, but she also wrote a number of novels for adults, and in recent years they’ve been translated into English. In The True Deceiver, a young woman in a remote Finnish village – but Swedish-speaking, I think – organises her way into the life of an
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older woman who illustrates children’s books. Katri is something of an outsider in the village, partly due to her colouring, partly due to her independence and unwillingness to compromise that independence. She has a younger brother, who seems to have a learning disability, and works unpaid at a boat-builders. Katri persuades Anna, who lives in the “rabbit house”, named because she paints rabbits for children’s books, and who is also the richest person in the village, to allow her to help her, and then slowly takes over her affairs. She moves in, at Anna’s invitation, with her brother, but her plan is to stay on in the rabbit house after Anna has died, and provide for her brother. But Katri is scrupulously honest, and she ensures Anna is not being cheated by local merchants, especially the shop-owner. She is so honest, and so good at maths, that her advice is sought by people, even those who dislike her. There are levels of deception here, which is what the title refers to. Katri: to herself, the villagers, most of all Anna. Even Anna herself, although the victim of her deception is… herself. The prose is clean and clear, although it has a tendency to drift into a sort of story-telling mode, as if the author were directly addressing the reader. Given that the story is framed as if it were a fable, it seems appropriate, even if the contents are not especially fable-like. Worth reading. Show Less
Awards
Best Translated Book Award (Shortlist — Fiction — 2011)
Language
Original language
Swedish
Original publication date
1982
Physical description
208 p.; 5.02 inches
ISBN
1590173295 / 9781590173299