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Astrid Lindgren, Book Review, Children's Book Review, Evelyn Ramsden (translator), Seacrow Island, Stockholm Archipelago, Sweden, Swedish
More innocent times, more innocent places: extreme charm without saccharine
I had not encountered Swedish author Astrid Lindgren as a child (Pippi Longstocking) and I have no idea why she fell below my radar (or parental radar) at the time that I would surely have loved her. Nonetheless, I was delighted to read the reissued Seacrow Island after hearing Lindgren’s daughter, Karen, (for whom Pippi was created) talk about her mother.
Seacrow Island has left me with an extreme sense of loss that I didn’t read it in-the-day of childhood. Published in 1964 I can see its connection to childrens’ writing I was devoted to – Ransome’s Swallows and Amazons, as there is a lot of messing about in boats, but Lindgren, writing this in the 60s not the 30s, would have had an immediate allure for me (had I found it) because she was writing from such a different world, and the exoticism would have appealed – the Stockholm Archipelago.
It is her characters and setting which most enchanted me – though the writing itself is wonderful, here in an unobtrusive translation by Evelyn Ramsden, and the ‘storyline’ believeable and with the right amount of drama, page turn, and rest-and-look-around-you – it was the island itself I fell in love with (like her central characters). And I also utterly surrendered to the wayward charms of her characters, particularly the triumvirate of the three youngest ones, Pelle, Tjorven and Stina.
Stockholm Archipelago Photo by John Sodercrantz
The Melkerson family, who are headed by an accident prone, not quite practical father, Melker, an author, have rented an unseen cottage on a far island, Seacrow, for the summer. ‘Mother’ to the family is Melker’s beautiful, strong daughter Malin, aged 19, who had to assume this role when her youngest brother Pelle, now 7, was born, as their mother died in childbirth. Malin, always being fallen in love with by besotted youths and men, also has to manage and mother Johan and Niklas, 13 and 12, her middle brothers, similar and different in nature – one more practical and steady, the other more of a reflective dreamer.
Seacrow is a tight knit community, invaded in the summer months by tourists renting cottages.
There are also resident island children and other ‘incomers’. The most important of these are the three children of the local shopkeeper. Teddy and Freddy, 13 and 12 are exact matches in age, temperament and adventurousness to Johan and Niklas, except, as island dwellers they are far stronger, tougher and more resilient in such matters as sailing boats, fishing and trekking than the city-dwelling Melker boys.
The four almost adolescents have their adventure companions; Malin, apart from keeping every one together has her tribe of wannabe swains, but the real central characters are the youngest ones.
Flicr Commons, Photo by Per Ola Wiberg : Midsummer in Stockholm Archipelago
Pelle Melker is a little like Dickon in Frances Hodgson Burnett’s The Secret Garden, in that he has a special relationship with animals of all kinds. He is exceedingly tender–hearted and cannot even bear to disturb the wasps from nesting in the eaves of their holiday cottage. Nor can he go fishing, as he is too empathetic to put worms on hooks. Pelle is enchanting, and a very strong minded little boy because of his tender regard for the suffering of others.
Perhaps the most memorable character however is bossy, obstreperous, fiendishly precocious, warm-hearted, volatile Tjorven. She is the youngest child of the shopkeepers, Teddy and Freddy’s little sister, Pelle’s contemporary.
She looked like a well-fed sausage…round and wholesome. The face which was visible under the raincoat was, as far as he could see through the smoke, a particularly clear, charming child’s face, broad and good-humoured with a pair of bright, inquiring eyes. She had the enormous dog with her, which seemed even more colossal indoors than out. He seemed to fill the whole kitchen
And the final child of great note and uniqueness is dreamy Stina, Tjorvald’s great friend and nemesis, aged 5. The two little girls jealously vie for ownership of Pelle, and also jealously vie for ownership of, and friendship with, a variety of animals – a raven, a lamb, dogs and puppies, a rabbit and, most valued of all, a rescued baby seal.
Little Stina, who has managed to lose all her front milk-teeth simultaneously, presenting the world with a perfectly gummy smile, is a natural story-teller, obsessed with myths and fairy tales, and more than half-convinced all the tales are true. There is much humour to be had from this. Frogs feature delightfully.
This is an utterly enchanting book – it needs no fantasy, no magic, no superpowers – the enchantment is firmly set in the reality of small island life in the far North. Its reality also means that things don’t always go well, there can be danger, sorrow, anger, loss, as well as fun, games and happiness
Despite the fact that the central three characters are between 5 and 7, I would surmise this is most suitable for children 8-11. Boys and girls will find characters to identify with and there is an effortless, rather than a tickboxy, avoidance of gender stereotyping, though I would suggest this comes from Lindgren’s ability to see each child as unique and complex, rather than a strapped on PC consciousness
If I HAD to pick a favourite, it would probably be lovable and annoying, bossy, sassy little Tjorvald. I suspect a lot of little girls (not to mention grown women) will be able to identify with this spirited little girl. But choosing between any of the youngest is impossible.
I received this as a review copy from Amazon Vine UK
PS I know some of the readers of this blog have extremely sensitive dispositions, so, 
hopefully this won’t be regarded as any kind of spoiler, but I do want to reassure you than fur-traders and the like do NOT make any kind of appearance within these pages. All Seacrow Islanders seem to be remarkably united in their love of animals, tame or wild, and live in harmony with the creatures gambolling through these pages. Except, perhaps for herrings, which seal-pups eat a lot of . Perhaps tender-hearted herringophiles may find this book a bit upsetting. Though rest assured, Pelle will also empathise with your fishy friends.
Oh yes, I loved this book! Love Astrid Lindgren. An under-appreciated writer, at least in America.
I was so enchanted by this, and not in a fey or whimsical way – really charming, warm and real
Did you know it was originally a TV series in Sweden? One can see the cinematic potential of some of the scenes…
That is fascinating to know Lory! Indeed it is very filmic/visual. The descriptions are very strong and I did feel I could ‘see’ the characters and the landscape. Strong narrative with interesting images – like Melker when he tries to get a bit modern with the water supply – that would have been a wonderfully funny scene
This sounds absolutely wonderful Lady F! Like you I grieve I didn’t read it as a child, but I will definitely be seeking it out now, especially since one of the characters reminded you of my favourite book from childhood – The Secret Garden. And nothing untoward happens to the seal pup – phew!
I put that in (no brutality to seal pups) JUST for you Madame Bibi – Secret Garden was mine, too, and Tjorvald is even stroppier than Mary, and Pelle as tender hearted and kind as Dickon, but far less of a pushover. The little girls are his friends, but at times he just wants to be Greta Garbo with the wasps, and all other animals. In fact, he’s probably a very young Swedish David Attenborough
Thank you for thinking of me & my delicate sensibilities 🙂 A Swedish David Attenborough/Dickon? This is sounding like my ideal book!
I won’t deny there are a few snivelling moments, (it isn’t a purely saccharine book) but there’s nothing like the dreadful Bambi moment. I suspect worm, herring and wasp lovers will suffer the most, thinking about nests being bashed down, and speared worms on hooks, never mind fish further caught. It’s only Pelle who cares about THEIR suffering. What a boy! I wouldn’t be as happy with a wasp landing on my toast and jam, I can tell you!
Mind you, I’m not sure I’d enjoy a baby seal sitting on my toast and jam either, however adorable it might look
First the Moomins and then this! I thought I had had a wonderful childhood with my Blytons, but I’m beginning to wish I’d read a little more widely at an early age…. :s
I think my childhood was deprived of children’s lit which wasn’t English Children’s lit. Possibly because English was not my mother’s first language, though she adored English, I think I was soaked in some quite old fashioned Children’s lit classics. I discovered Moomins all by myself, almost at the point I was too old for them – except, you can’t EVER be too old to fall under a Moomin spell
PS Did anyone else have a moment where, because of the way the font is written on the cover, where they briefly thought the book was called Sexcrow Island…..Oh, Ok then, just me.
How wonderful! I missed this one too when I was young, and too bad, because my mother’s family was Swedish. I will have to check her out – great post!
Thank you, Valorie
Perfect! I’ll buy it, read it and then gift it to my young niece for Christmas! I’m looking forward to this gentle story.
It is a real delight, for young nieces, and their aunts!
I never read her as a child, either, though was aware of Pippi. Is there a lot of animal sadness in this (apart from the poor herrings, of course). I did love your mention of the no seal-fur-traders.
There is some sadness, I can’t deny, but she is careful not to let this be too unbearable, for a sensitive little -or big – one
I missed out on this as a child, and as I read I shared your feelings exactly. Reality can be so much more magical than magic, and I think I shall have to investigate further.
I now want to read more of her, she captured all the characters beautifully, and, particularly, I am left wishing I could go back in time, be very small, and meet the 3 youngest children. Pre-adolescence, children inhabit a very different world from the one we all know as adults, once puberty happens and hormones begin to make themselves felt, not to mention the way more rational, rather than imaginative and even magical thinking can be dominant in a small child. I certainly remember weaving extremely imaginative fantasies as a child – magical, fairy story stuff, which felt on one level absolutely real – the border between fantasy/reality being more fragile. So I loved little 5 year old Stina’s ability to live in a fairy tale, and look extremely kindly on frogs, who, as we know, are princes under an enchantment.
There is a sense of the importance of place and “ordinary” family in Nordic writers and Astrid Lindgren is one of the best for children.
That’s a really useful comment, thank you knlistman. I really liked the sense of the magic of ordinary realism in this, as opposed to ‘magic realism’
Great review. This would make a great cosy winter read. Dont you think such books are so much happier in their content that the recent releases?
Sighs. Yes I Do. And, curiously it isn’t even that the less happy stuff is always ‘real’. Much of it is a feeding of sensationalism and a blunting of nuance. This book really is charming, but charm doesn’t mean the absence of loss and sorrow. It’s just that she doesn’t indulge. Of course the fact that she writes beautifully is not inconsiderable!
What a wonderful post! I grew up with “Vi på Saltkråkan” on TV. 🙂
Isn’t Google translate wonderful ‘We On Seacrow Island” I have, (if Google is right) now learned my first Swedish phrase!
Well done! 🙂
Ha det bra! (that’s Norwegian …) 🙂
Ha det bra, vi snakkes!