Tove Jansson embraces the sweet madness of impromptu itineraries.
This work of wisdom, never before published in its entirety in French, imbues all its protagonists with a moving humanity. A man who has listened too much to his fellow human beings decides to flee them by sea, a moralistic little boy puts his host family to the test on a Finnish island, two old men fight over a bench in a greenhouse for weeks on end, two ex-patriates in Spain clash with knives in the middle of a carnival parade, and an old maid borrows another’s memories.
At the height of her literary powers, Tove Jansson manages, in Voyages sans bagages, with marvellous ease and a smile on her face, to express quite simply the fears, embarrassments and joys of each of her characters.
