The Memoirs Of Stockholm Sven by Nathaniel Ian Miller

 

Sven grows up in Stockholm and can't wait to leave.  He is an introvert and lives the life of the mind, not finding fellow souls in his social circle.  He leaves to take a mining contract in Svalbard but a cave-in leaves him disfigured and without an eye.  Fleeing further, he first works as a cook for the miners and hunters and then with the help of a trapper, flees humanity for an isolated fjord where night comes for four months and people are not to be seen.

This then, is the story of Sven's isolation.  He occasionally sees sailors bringing him supplies but can go months without a human face or voice.  He has a dog for company and there is enough game that he need not ever go hungry.  His friends write and sometimes send books and Sven is content.

Then one day a boat arrives and he is shocked to find his sister's daughter arriving with a baby.  She is determined to stay with Sven and he agrees although he doesn't think for a minute she will be able to handle the isolation.  But she stays for several years, finally going but leaving her child behind for Sven to raise.  

This is a debut novel and I'm interested to see what the author will do next.  This book is based on a true story of a man who lived in isolation for almost his entire life in the Artic Circle.  Few of us can imagine such a life although the recent shutdown due to covid gave many of us a taste of it.  We now read stories of how depression has risen in our young people due to that isolation and most had their families around them so it is hard to imagine how Sven handled this for years of his life.  This book is recommended for readers of literary fiction.