NYRB books are always safe gambles, and a NYRB book recommended by a staff member at Type Books is the safest of gambles. That’s how I came to read Fair Play by Tove Jansson.

It’s 100 pages long, and was published in Finland in 1982. It’s a series of vignettes about Mari and Jonna, two women who live in the same building, in apartments that are connected through an attic passageway. They do things, they talk, they have adventures, but not serious or stressful ones. This is a gentle book about people finding ways to enjoy each other for who they are, to be independent together.

There isn’t a lot to say about this book, it’s like a series of moments that sometimes seem a little meandering until the last few paragraphs. Some read like parables, with a moment at the end where the central idea or metaphor becomes clear, or sometimes it doesn’t, and it’s just a simple, ambiguous episode.

The writing and translation are lovely, and the women’s characters are crystallized and unforgettable by the end. They’re quirky, but they understand each other, accomodate each other and challenge each other.

Then there’s this:

I won’t say much more. Just one thing — and now, my friend, you must give me your complete attention. It is simply this: do not tire, never lose interest, never grow indifferent — lose your invaluable curiosity and you let yourself die. It’s as simple as that.

NYRB’s undefeated streak continues.

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