Broken Window Shopping #ToveTrove

A descent into Tove Jansson’s most disquieting apocalyptic vision “Kristian lay on his mattress listening as Emily barricaded them in and he couldn’t stop thinking that she was enjoying herself – almost enjoying herself.” – Tove Jansson (Shopping) In this post I should like to offer something a little different from the usual Tove Trove fare. I am going to discuss one of Tove Jansson’s short stories as a stand‑alone entity rather than delve into the full collection from which it has been taken – that being most certainly for another time. The story I have chosen to share with you was written at some point in the late 1980s, when Jansson was exploring psychological landscapes rather than the fantastical worlds of the Moomins. However, in this instance I am lifting the fictional piece from The Dedalus Book of Finnish Fantasy – and not from the collection in which it first appeared. Shopping1 was originally part of Travelling Light (or Resa med lätt bagage in its earliest…