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.

The Memoirs of Stockholm Sven - Marmalade and Mustardseed

Klara and the Sun

In Klara and the Sun Kazuo Ishiguro has produced a novel investigating a future dystopian world where robots known as AFs (artificial friends) are created to become friends of children and young people. We meet Klara in a store where AFs  are available to be sold to families requiring them. The robots are moved to various locations within the store, however the window is the prime location. It is when Klara and Rosa have their turn in the window that Klara first encounters Josie, a young girl who seems attracted to this robot. Eventually Josie persuades her mother to purchase Klara to be her special AF.

Klara soon learns that Josie is unwell but she is diligent in looking after her young charge. For much of the time Josie is dedicated to her AF but at times she is in a mood and ignores her. Klara, however, remains faithful and endeavours to take care of Josie.

We learn that Josie has been lifted (genetically modified) when younger so that she can achieve at college and in life in general. Unfortunately being lifted has resulted in the illness she now suffers. Her special friend, Rick, has not been lifted and is shunned by the guests at a party at Josie's house. Klara carefully watches what is occurring in the house and is surprised at how Josie's attitude can change in different situations.

Before Klara went to live with Josie she had observed how the Sun had healed a beggar and his dog when they appeared to be dead. Klara, with Rick's help plus the assistance of Josie's father, is determined to persuade the Sun to help her friend.

The novel looks at a variety of relationships including how people can behave in times of crises. It also takes us into another world where robots have become part of the life of some families but gradually become feared by a large part of the general community. Through Rick's story we also learn about the acceptance of the gifts we have rather than trying to be something we aren't.

Klara and the Sun is the book read by the Monash Alumni Book Club in August.

The Way We Are: Lessons from a lifetime of listening

Social psychologist, Hugh Mackay, provides a summary of observations regarding issues affecting the lives of Australians in the twenty-first century based on many years of research. 

In this book the author looks at seven trends that he believes are currently eroding social cohesion and leading to social fragmentation - shrinking households with the result that many people are alone or lonely, high rate of relationship breakdowns, falling birthrate, sharp decline in religious faith and practice, increasing mobility, relentless busyness and incessant use of information technology and social media. Much of this can result in the lack of sense of community. 

Hugh Mackay includes chapters on our use of information from a variety of resources - reliable and unreliable; the flood of opinions that we face daily; true gender equality; poverty in Australia; the legacy of the baby boomers; declining role of religion in people's lives: the importance of kindness and the need for all of us to develop our listening skills. The final chapter looks at how the author has conducted his research over the years. A detailed list of references plus an index completes the book.

The Cryptic Clue

Hazel, Betty, Irene and friends still meet for a lunch break to discuss their life as tea ladies and life in general. It is 1966 and change is in the air. There is concern among the ladies that they may soon lose their jobs as some firms are replacing tea ladies with machines to dispense hot drinks. The ladies decide to call their friends to organise some direct action to try and save their jobs. In the factory where Hazel works there is also a move for a change of leadership in the firm, making most of the staff uneasy.

Irene learns that her husband died in prison and left her a cryptic message in a book which Hazel manages to decipher. This leads to an expedition to the Blue Mountains to follow the clues.

Meanwhile Hazel has met Oscar who has come from Denmark to Australia to work on the opera house building project and they become friends. Oscar helps the tea ladies when they uncover a mystery at the local church which leads them to discover a plot threatening national security.

The Cryptic Clue is a sequel to The Tea Ladies by Amanda Hampson. It is another cosy crime novel with several mysteries to solve as well as dealing with themes of friendship, dyslexia plus changes occurring in Australia in the mid 1960s.  

Storm Child

Sometimes you read a book that you just want to keep reading until the end. Storm Child by Michael Robotham is one of those books. Cyrus Haven and Evie Cormac both experienced trauma when children and are both coming to terms with past events in their lives. Cyrus is now a forensic psychologist working with the police as well as lecturing at a university. Evie has blocked out many of the events that occurred in her childhood but Cyrus attempts to help her to remember the past so that she can regain control of her life and her future.

A relaxing stroll along the beach turns into tragedy when bodies from a boat that has crossed from France to England are washed up on to the shore. Cyrus attempts to save some of the refugees and then discovers that Evie has disappeared. The sight of the bodies in the water has stirred up memories from her past. 

When Cyrus finds Evie she is eventually able to tell him more, but not all, of her story about how she and her mother and sister attempted to come to England many years ago. Cyrus decides that Evie learning more about these boat people may help to unlock her missing memories.

A major theme of the book is about boat people and people smuggling, an issue creating concern throughout the world. Cyrus meets a woman who has received text messages from one of the men who was on the boat stating that the refugee's boat was rammed by another vessel. When this information is passed on to the police, Cyrus becomes involved in finding the boat and crew. Another theme is the decline of the fishing industry, especially in Scotland. 

The first part of the book is set in England and the second part in Scotland.  The story is revealed through the eyes of Cyrus and of Evie. A strength of the book is the emphasis on the development of the characters as the story progresses. The build up of tension makes the reader want to keep reading making this novel a great addition to the Cyrus Haven series.

The Lightkeeper's Wife

Mary wants to return to Bruny Island before she dies. It was on the island that she met her husband, Jack, and where they lived for many years when he was the lighthouse keeper. There are so many memories - good and bad. Mary arranges to rent a cabin where she can watch the ocean and the passing birds. Leon, the park ranger, calls in each day to ensure that she is OK.

Her son, Tom is trying to work out how how wants to live his life. While he was on a field trip to Antarctica, nine years earlier, his marriage broke up and he had been unsettled ever since. He visits his mother whenever he can, particularly as he feels guilty that he was overseas when his father died. Tom has a job as a mechanic which he enjoys but he still has Antarctica in his system and considers returning for another field trip.

The Lightkeeper's Wife by Karen Viggers is about memories of the past plus dynamics within a family and deciding what is really important in life. Mary wants the end of her life to be on her own terms. She also has a secret which she finds difficult to reveal. Much of the novel describes the environment where the story is revealed - Bruny Island and Antarctica.

When America Stopped Being Great: a history of the present

Nick Bryant in When America Stopped Being Great looks at American politics from the time of Ronald Reagan to Joe Biden and examines how the political system allowed the rise of Donald Trump. The book was revised in 2021 to include events in 2020 including COVID-19 and the results of the election which Trump appears convinced was stolen.

Nick Bryant spent time in the USA when a student and returned as a corespondent for the BBC in time to witness the ascent Donald Trump to the White House. There was surprise by many when Trump won the election, however Bryant argues that the growing political divide now apparent in the USA had been developing over many years. 

Trump used this political and economic divide to his advantage. As well as promoting showmanship over statesmanship, Trump also utilised the many new social media tools at his disposal to publicise his latest idea and encourage the growth of conspiracy theories. It was not until after the election that the mainstream press realised the extent of the following Trump had for his views.

Trump was very good at pointing out problems affecting the lives of his supporters and encouraging them to show their approval for him at rallies, especially by chanting slogans. One of Trump's campaign slogans was Make America Great Again. 

Since the 1980s America had faced economic downturns, changes in technology that caused a downturn in employment opportunities, changed foreign relations, increased influxes of immigrants, racial unrest, terrorist attacks and a growing divide between the supporters of the two political parties as well as the way younger and older people voted (or didn't vote). The USA had become a divided country and the advent of Trump and his ideas only increased that division. 

Nick Bryant provides a detailed and informative study of the increasing divisions in American society and the consequent decline in American politics.

The Radio Hour

When I was a child in the 1950s, radio was an important part of our life. Listening to Kindergarten of the Air was a must before I went to kindergarten each day. When I was older I would listen to Billy Bouncer (Norman Swain) read children's stories on the 3KZ breakfast program before I went to school. I was also aware of the quiz show programs on the radio and of course the serial programs broadcast at various times each day. The best known of these programs was Blue Hills written by Gwen Meredith and broadcast twice a day on ABC radio. When we visited my grandmother everyone in the house remained silent so that she and my great aunt could listen to Blue Hills.

The Radio Hour by Victoria Purman is set at the ABC radio station in Sydney where Martha Berry works as a secretary. Martha is fifty, lives with her mother who is unwell and at work is generally unappreciated as she fills in, working in a variety of jobs as required, in the drama department. The year is 1956 and television is coming to Australia later in the year. It is important that when this happens people can still listen to their favourite programs on the radio.

When a new radio serial, As the Sun Sets, is to be created, Martha is appointed as secretary to the producer of the new show, a young man in his mid-twenties with no experience in producing a radio show. The novel deals with the challenges faced by Martha, and women in general, working in a male dominated world in the 1950s. The men made the decisions and, in most cases, expected their female staff to be at their beck and call. Some of the men also behaved inappropriately with their female staff and the women were generally told to live with it. It was the men who made the decisions and took the credit for work done in their departments.

Martha soon realises that the new program will not go to air unless she steps in and starts writing the scripts for each episode. As shows such as As the Sun Sets are largely listened to by women, Martha begins to insert issues of particular concern to women into the program. Soon the radio station is inundated with letters regarding the program and providing suggestions for other themes that could be included. 

Meanwhile, Martha's boss happily takes credit for the success of the show though as he is almost always perpetually drunk he is unaware of how women, in particular, are reacting to the program. The actors know the true story and they band together to support Martha achieve the credit she deserves.

This is a work of historical fiction though the names of some of the staff working at the ABC at the time appear from time to time. Gradually times have changed and it is becoming accepted that women can work in management roles. The idea that women must leave the workforce if they marry has disappeared. However, unfortunately some of the attitudes of men towards women in the workforce, as described in this novel, still exit in some workplaces today.

The unofficial history of Blue Hills radio serial - ABC

Norman Swain celebrates 21 years in radio - YouTube

A Refiner's Fire

A Refiner's Fire by Donna Leon begins slowly with the first section dealing with a confrontation between two groups of young teenagers one night. The boys are taken to the police station where their details are taken and their parents are notified to collect them. 

When there is one boy left Commissario Claudia Griffoni offers to ensure that the fifteen year old arrives home safely. Later, she and Commissario Guido Brunetti learn that there appears to be a mystery about the boy's father and decide to investigate. During the novel we follow the investigations of Guido Brunetti and his team as they endeavour to discover what really happened in in Iraq twenty years earlier. 

The novel also reflects on the growth of youth crime in Venice and restrictions placed on police when attempting to interview young offenders under 18. Guido Brunetti and Claudia Griffoni use contacts to monitor social media sites used by some of the 'baby gangs' to announce their next planned activity.

Another well crafted novel by Donna Leon providing the reader with a glimpse into life in the city of Venice as well as the lives of Guido Brunetti and his family.