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At home, we have a "class library" space. It’s a shelf where my roommates freely leave and take books. I found a Moomin book there and decided to give it a read. The writing was astonishingly simple, and I finished it in just two days or so. The translation was by Ryuuichi Shimomura.
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One evening, black rain falls on Moominvalley. The Moomin family learns from Mr. Muskrat that the end of the world is near, the universe isn’t blue like the sky but pitch black, and Earth is a tiny star. Moomintroll and Sniff are completely terrified. To reassure them, Moominmamma and Moominpappa send the children on a journey to the observatory. Their mission? To confirm whether the universe is indeed “pitch black, and Earth is a tiny star,” as Mr. Muskrat claims.
Moomintroll and Sniff set off on a raft, heading downriver toward the Observatory on the Lonely Mountains. Along the way, they meet Snufkin, and the three of them continue the journey together. At the observatory, they learn that a comet will crash into Earth in four days. The group hurries back to warn everyone.
During their return, they encounter the effects of the comet’s approach: the scorched and transformed land, extreme weather obstructing their path, and new companions like the Snork siblings and Hemulen joining their party. At last, they return to Moominvalley, where they take refuge in a cave and wait for the crisis to pass. Just when it seems the comet will collide, it veers off course at the last moment, sparing Earth from destruction.
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What a happy ending. I think the purpose of this story isn’t so much to depict the events or their outcomes, but to illustrate the world of Moominvalley itself. Just as you can understand someone’s character by observing how they react to events, the author likely intended to portray how the “character” of Moominvalley (metaphorically speaking) responds to the comet’s arrival.
By the end of the story, even though the narrative casually introduces species names like Moomintrolls, Mymble, Hemulen, and Stinky with little explanation, we intuitively grasp the nature of this world.
Incidentally, I’d seen this story as a movie before, so I already knew the plot. I was surprised by how many elements were changed from the original book. For example—where’s Little My!?
Scenes Cut from the Movie
- The encounter with the large garnet lizard.
- Visiting the refreshment stand and the dance hall.
Scenes Changed in the Movie
- In the original book, the journey is taken by raft, not on foot.
- In the book, Hemulen is much larger. No wonder Sniff is called “little Sniff.”
- The Snork species changes color based on their emotions in the original.
The children’s motivation to embark on the journey to the observatory seems quite rational, doesn’t it? They’re afraid of the unknown, so they set off on a journey to understand it. Such journeys can be tough and harsh, but they lead to new friendships and make home feel all the more precious. It reminds me of this exchange:
- “Moomintroll, you used to only talk about how wonderful faraway lands must be.”
- “Yes, I did. Back then.”
I have several favorite lines from the book, most of them belonging to Snufkin. How is this Mymble so effortlessly cool?
- “Don’t sweat the small stuff. If the difference is that minor, it means our calculations are correct.”
