What a fabulous book. I wasn’t sure what to expect, and it’s not a book I would necessarily pick up, but something about it just appealed, and it turned out to be wonderful.

Sven is a beautifully crafted character – vulnerable, complicated, intelligent, frustrated at the choices life has to offer. The descriptions of his moods, thoughts and feelings are as beautifully done as the descriptions of his environment. There are, of course, parallels between Sven and his environment, one a mirror for the other, and in another writer’s hands this could have felt too obvious, or clumsy even, but here it works so well.

We are taken on a journey through bleak, beautiful landscapes, from lone cabins in the wilderness to settlements clinging to the bleakest places, settlements full of the best and worst of humanity. Here, Sven finds acceptance, friendship, even love. These sections, with their larger than life characters, reminded me a little of Angela Carter’s ‘Nights at the Circus’, although the novels are so different to each other. I loved too the references to World War 1 and the war poets; it’s so cleverly done, and so surprisingly relevant.

This is an unusual book, clever without pretension, beautiful, human, and there are dogs! What’s not to like?

This is a novel I’ll remember for a long time, and I’m so looking forward to reading whatever the author publishes in the future.

The Arctic has always seemed to me to be a terrifying, forbidding place, which sounds very much like I’m not going to enjoy “The Memoirs of Stockholm Sven”, doesn’t it?
Well, wrong.
Fascination and terror seem to often walk hand in hand in my reading. There’s no way that I’d willingly go to these freezing, inhospitable places, but that’s no reason not to read a novel about it.
And what a novel this is.
Sven, who unsurprisingly comes from Stockholm, has always stood out from others and wants to go to the Arctic to seek adventure. But when he does go he finds himself working in a mine. Back-breaking, dangerous work, that ultimately ends in disaster for him. The result is a face that makes him even more of an outcast. But it also seems to attract the people who will be his friends. People who will help him to learn to live in the frozen north independently: Tapio, the Finn who teaches him to trap animals, shows him what to eat and when to eat it; Charles MacIntyre, a Scottish geologist who helps him to find his way back to life after the accident.

This is all written in the first person, and it really does feel like a personal account. You could be forgiven for thinking it’s a true story - in fact it is a very human story. Sven’s determination to survive and learn to be self-sufficient is touching, funny at times and always life affirming. Sven experiences great highs and achievements, as well as terrible lows.

I’m so glad that I read this.

Interesting read, this. But I can't help wondering which bits are based on truth and how much has been imagined to fill in the blanks. It might be that the ARC was a little hard to read in places, so it felt disjointed in parts, but I still found Sven to be a fascinating character and well worth the read.

Thank you.

I am not one who is usually well served by hype. I tend to not 'get' what people are finding exciting from a particular book making its rounds. When I do understand the point and join my voice with all those clamouring, it is a joy all on its own. This is one such book.
I initially wanted to read it because it was based in a country I haven't read much about and a time which I cannot even fathom. This book is an ode to all those who find themselves just outside the circle of the 'norm'. People who want something in life, which is hard-fought and sometimes not even possible, if, that is, one knows what that thing is in the first place. Sven is born in a time and place which provides him with very few opportunities to trace his own path. He breaks from tradition when he comes to his sister's aid, and then she returns the favour. Although Sven wants to be a trailblazer (without the publicity or fanfare), he acknowledges his luck in finding the right people at the right time.
I tried to talk about its content to a couple of people before writing this review and know that it sounds bland. The writing and the people are what this entire experience of reading hinges on.
This is Sven's life story or saga. A kind of narrative, when well written, I am always a fan of. It was not as dark as I expected it to be, although it had its moments. The focus is all on the emotions of everyone. I stomached a few things easier than I expected to because of the framework in which it was presented. The harshness as well as the beauty of the land in which Sven lived and worked, and his own small family that assembled around him over time warmed my heart multiple times over.
The imagery triggered by the narrative is very potent, which is about the best way I can put it. I actually highlighted a few quotes that spoke to me but had to stop after a point. There are two main ones below:

"Any Artic explorer or common sailor can tell you this. So you must make the best choices you can, knowing that they may lead you astray, but proceeding boldly lest your life become one long monotonous drift between death and your least interesting choice." - The best part is that I would not usually concur with such an emotion, but in the book, it strays so far from one that is universally thrust upon society, that it made sense.

"What did he make of my perforated smile.." - Something that revealed the depths of emotion that Sven felt when seeing a friendly face.
I am usually not moved to make this extra effort. Even when I really get into a book, I often do not mark things. This is a book I still feel even my husband (who does not read much fiction) would enjoy. It is one that I am seriously considering adding to my physical collection and rereading, slower this time.

The strangest thing about my reading experience, one that very clearly marks it apart from a few others, is that my advance review copy was horrible. There was something wrong with it, and every sentence had numbers next to it. So on any given page, the narrative was punctuated by a hundred or more numbers littered in between the paragraphs(in red and black colours)! I found myself able to ignore them beyond a point which was fascinating to me because I am usually not that focused!
I highly recommend this to anyone who wants historical fiction with emotional overtones and adventure in its heart.
I received an ARC thanks to NetGalley and the publishers, but the review is entirely based on my own reading experience.

I absolutely loved this book. It was beautifully written. I did need to look up many words for their meaning; as the authors use of language was as enlightening as the plot.
Svens story was truly an insightful historical fiction inspired by a historical figure. The book is set in the wildness of the arctic. It details how life affects the humans who live there.
I am so grateful for my free copy because I was totally captivated throughout with the storytelling. A
I received a copy of this book from John Murray Press via NetGalley in return for an honest review.

An enjoyable read. Well written. A different type of book than I would normally read about a man who choices to life a very little independent and isolated life. Different but thought provoking.

A truly fascinating historical figure forms the inspiration for this epic tale of Sven Ormson aka Stockholm Sven. Disillusioned by life, he travels to Spitsbergen where he suffers a mining accident that leaves him disfigured. Unable to work he moves further north and gradually life becomes more and more focused on survival. With virtually no human interaction, he describes himself as stone-like. Until one day his beloved niece, Helga, arrives, together with her baby girl, Skuld.

Their relationship saves them both and together with their good friends, McIntyre and Tapio, a family with an unbreakable bond is formed.

This is a slow paced story, made to be read slowly and savoured, for there are lines of such devastating beauty within that deserve our full attention.

his story is an atmospheric and insightful historical fiction inspired by a historical figure. The book captures the raw wildness of the arctic setting and how it affects the humans who live there. The research into the place and time is apparent throughout. Coupled with clever storytelling, this is an absorbing read.

I received a copy of this book from John Murray Press via NetGalley in return for an honest review.

I loved this book. Sven is a fascinating characters and this was a book that made me wish I could choose his type of life and see the places.
The author is a good storyteller and I liked the descriptions and the characters.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

In 1916, Sven Ormson leaves a restless life in Stockholm to seek adventure in Svalbard, an Arctic archipelago where darkness reigns four months of the year and he might witness the splendor of the Northern Lights one night and be attacked by a polar bear the next. But his time as a miner ends when an avalanche nearly kills him, leaving him disfigured, and Sven flees even further, to an uninhabited fjord. There, with the company of a loyal dog, he builds a hut and lives alone, testing himself against the elements.
The teachings of a Finnish fur trapper, along with encouraging letters from his family and a Scottish geologist who befriended him in the mining camp, get him through his first winter. Years into his routine isolation, the arrival of an unlikely visitor salves his loneliness, sparking a chain of surprising events that will bring Sven into a family of fellow castoffs and determine the course of the rest of his life.

This is a brilliant read.
Wonderful well written plot and story line that had me engaged from the start.
Love the well fleshed out characters and found them believable.
Great drama with wonderful world building.
Can't wait to read what the author brings out next.
Recommend reading.

I was provided an ARC from NetGalley and the publisher. This is my own hone\st voluntary review.

I enjoyed this book even more than I had anticipated, so much so that I read it in one day! The story really got going once Sven moved to Spitzbergen and his character was allowed to become more evident. I found the characters to be believable for the time and even likable, despite their obvious weaknesses and faults. The only one who I found to be a bit annoying was Sven's niece. The life that is carefully described for any of the characters is far from easy, this is partly due to the environment, but also because of the social and global political situation, never the less, I was transported back one hundred years to a snow covered landscape and loved every moment of it.

During this pandemic, who hasn’t thought about removing to a more remote location, away from the risks of contamination..
I often think about moving to somewhere remote in the Scottish Highlands, where the scenery is rugged and the population sparse but the story of Sven living in the Arctic fjords of Svalbard makes me reconsider..
Early in his story, Stockholm Sven becomes a miner. After a landslide leaves him with one eye and very badly disfigured, he decides to remain in the remote hinterlands of Scandinavia to avoid the reactions of pity and horror at his appearance. He learns to become a trapper and builds his own hut.
I loved the setting and the descriptions of the snow clad mountains around a few clustered settlements. The characters were well drawn and imbued with a life that made the reader want to stay with them.
Everyone needs companionship, however, and the story is filled with warmth and joy when he interacts with visitors such as MacIntyre, Tapio, the Finnish socialist trapper and his niece and child, whom he brings up as his own daughter.
With a tale set between 1916 and 1946 and based around a real person, if you like Jack London or adventure stories of explorers in the polar wastes, then you will enjoy this.

Almost to my surprise, I really loved this book. It took a little while to find the rhythm, but once I did I loved travelling with Sven and the disparate people he met who then became like family, and of course, his true family. The author's writing is wonderfully descriptive and I really felt I was experiencing Arctic landscapes and the visceral experiences Sven endured. I did feel there was a slight tedium in the middle of the book, but so worth persevering!


Thank you to netgalley and John Murray press for an advance copy of this book.

In 1916, Sven leaves his hometown of Stockholm for a remote mining camp in the Arctic circle. An accident leaves him physically disfigured and in search of complete isolation.

This is a tale of life at the outer reaches of civilisation, peopled by characters who, for various reasons, do not fit in with societal norms. Despite the characters’ self-inflicted withdrawal from society, the outside world insists on interrupting their isolation.

On themes of friendship (human-human and human-canine), life and survival.

Miller’s writing is sublime. He captures nature’s beauty and ferocity, the harsh climate and barren landscape of the Arctic, and the effects of these elements on those who choose to live there. The novel’s middle third loses momentum, but overall, the narrative has tremendous verve.

My thanks to NetGalley and John Murray Ltd for the ARC.

Although presented with easier options, one unique man chooses a different life, or perhaps I should say a distant one, actively pursuing punishing terrain and abbreviated happiness instead of expectedly following the crowd and fitting in.

Sven appears to be a proverbial ‘square peg in a round hole’ and the challenges he faces are punctuated by a small, yet stealthily observant network, and their far-reaching selfless acts of uncommon goodness.

While some of us merely live, exist, adapt, or even resist, Sven simply appears to just ‘be’, and his peculiar tale with its highs, exceptional lows, but mostly the perceptive actions of others, could melt even the most glacial of hearts.

*** ACTUAL RATING 3.5 / 5 ***

My thanks to Nathanial Ian Miller, John Murray Press and Net Galley for the ARC of THE MEMOIRS OF STOCKHOLM SVEN.
I wasn't sure what to expect when I was offered this novel to read, but I have to say that I am very glad I read it because it is totally unique. It is wonderfully written, the descriptions of the topography of the Arctic are spell-binding and one can actually feel the freezing temperatures and grimy, inhospitable conditions in which Sven lives and works.
I like Sven. It occurred to me that he did not like the company of others and that he is happier alone with his books, particularly when disfigured in a mining accident, yet at times needs company. and feels abandoned when there is no one near, which often continues for years on end. He lives in such a remote place on his own hunting land, that the only people he sees are sailors who deliver his mail and supplies, He would fit into my family beautifully as we're an autistic family and I think we would all sympathise with Sven and totally understand him. Loved it.

What a wonderful read. I loved this book. Learning about Sven and how he came to live alone and become a trapper. Reading about his life, his friends, his family and his dogs.
A wonderful inspir8ng book revealing the person known as Stockholm Sven.

It took me time to get into this .. a gloomy character who lives in isolation ..we hear abt his final decisions .. mostly focused on his sister Helga ..her children and family .. and death of a prostitute whose lovers band together for revenge in final moments .. what surprised me is the narrator's warmth despite his hermit existence in Scandinavian cold .. looking after his sister's children after doing all he could to alienate her and husband with healthy dose of self loathing .. but tracking where that desire for connection takes him is tbe drive we follow ..so I became engrossed. Powerful twist... writing spot on .. rewarding in the end to stay with it for sure

Thank you Netgalley and John Murray Press for the ARC. I was looking forward to this book. Unfortunately the layout on Kindle was so bad I couldn't read it and removed it from my collection.

In 1916 aged 32, Sven Ormston a victim of a mining accident in Svarlbard that disfigures him, heads further north to Raudfjorden in the even farther north. He is a loner and a trapper and this is his ‘memoir’. He’s born in Stockholm (obviously!!), his father is a tanner but Sven is always restless, he is obsessed with the polar north and when his unenthusiastic attempts at working yields nothing but dismissals he decides to test his will against the cold. He recounts his experiences, the sometime companionship of Tapio, a Finn who teaches him to trap and the marvellously eccentric Scottish geologist Charles MacIntyre who certainly livens things up. He tells the story with humour, resolve and fortitude and there are plenty of surprises in store!

First of all, this is so well written in the style of the times with some beautiful descriptions especially of the far north so you can imagine yourself there with all its harshness, the glaciers wildlife and the Northern Lights and so on. The writing is lively and despite describing himself as ‘Sullen Sven’ and yes there are times when he is downright miserable, he remains an interesting narrator throughout. I love some of the phrases the author uses and the frequent use of humour to break up the grind of the life. It’s full of adventure, there is plenty of atmosphere, there are some fantastic larger-than-life colourful misfits in particular eccentric Charles and it demonstrates that you can find the most surprising things in remote out of the way places. It’s a harsh tale a lot of the time but it also succeeds in being touching and heartwarming which takes skill as a writer. The historical context is excellent with key events such as both world wars and the Russian Revolution impacting in various ways on Sven’s life.

Overall it’s a very different book which I like and if you are seeking something out of the ordinary and this may fit the bill.

With thanks to NetGalley and especially to John Murray Press for the much appreciated arc in return for an honest review.