The Memoirs of Stockholm Sven

In 1916 Sven Ormston decides to leave Stockholm to take up mining near Svarlbard. Unfortunately there is an accident when an avalanche impacts the mine and he is seriously injured. In time he recovers physically but his face in particular is severely disfigured. He leaves the mine to find a job as a steward at another camp further north for part of the year and learns to be a trapper during the winter.

When he writes his memoir later in his life Sven recounts not just his experiences and the harsh environment in which he lives but his relationships with the few people that he befriends - Scottish geologist Charles MacIntyre, a Finnish trapper Tapio, his niece Helga and her daughter Skuld plus Ludmilla and his sister Olga. But his greatest friends are his dogs, Eberhard and Sixten.

In The Memoirs of Stockholm Sven, Nathaniel Ian Miller has based the character of Sven on a real Spitsbergian hunter. Unfortunately little is known about the person who inspired the character of Sven but  what is known about him allowed the author to create this story about Sven and his challenges. The novel also sets the story in the historical context of Russia moving into other European countries as well as the impact of war, even on the lives of people living in isolation.

This is a story not only about pain but also about various forms of love as people strive to survive in difficult circumstances. As the plot is revealed we come to know, respect and enjoy the company of the characters as they attempt to make the most of what life offers. Certainly a book worth reading.

This book was one of three books selected as a possible title for the Monash Alumni Book Club in February-March 2025.

The Memoirs of Stockholm Sven - Marmalade and Mustardseed

Gloucester Crescent

Me, my Dad and other Grown-ups, the sub-title for the book, Gloucester Crescent, provides an accurate indication of the subject matter of this book.  Gloucester Crescent is situated in Camden Town, a London suburb and is on the border of Primrose Hill. In this area, when William Miller was growing up, lived a large number of residents involved with the arts - books, plays, films and television.

William's father, Jonathan Miller, studied medicine but largely worked as an actor, author, a director of plays and operas as well as writing for television. His work on the television show, Beyond the Fringe, made him famous. The television series, The Body in Question, was another of his projects. William's family had a number of friends who stayed at the house or regularly called in for a meal.

Across the road lived Alan Bennett, playwright, author, actor and screenwriter who was a constant visitor at the Miller house. The Lady in the Van (of book and film fame) took up residence in Gloucester Crescent, finally locating the van in Alan Bennett's driveway.

This is the environment in which young William grew up. He tells his story of growing up in Gloucester Crescent in three time frames - age 11, age 16 and age 18, largely as he is attending different schools. The final section is when he looks back on the effects of his upbringing as an adult.

The book provides an interesting inside view of the sometimes claustrophobic lifestyle in this small part of London in the 1970s and 1980s. William and his friend, Conrad, were often bullied at the secondary school they attended and William spent much of his adolescence learning to make his own decisions rather than doing as directed by his father. William finally discovers his own identity and independence from his family.