The True Deceiver

If The Summer Book shows Jansson at her warmest, The True Deceiver shows her at her coldest. Set in a small, snow-bound village, it tells the story of two women: Anna, an elderly children’s book illustrator living alone, and Katri, a sharp, calculating outsider who slowly works her way into Anna’s life and home.

Why This One

This is a darker, more psychologically tense Jansson. The novel is a study in manipulation, self-deception, and the gap between how we see ourselves and how others see us. It is short and tightly wound, and Jansson never tells you who the “true deceiver” really is.

What to Expect

A winter novel, both literally and emotionally. The prose is stripped back and cold, matching the frozen landscape. Jansson withholds more than she reveals, and the tension builds through silence and implication rather than action. Winner of the Best Translated Book Award in 2011.