The Iceberg Hermit

Title: The Iceberg Hermit
Author: Arthur Roth
Major Themes: Arctic Ocean, Whaling, Eskimos, Polar Bears, Survival
Synopsis: When he finds himself the only survivor when his whaling ship crashes into an iceberg, Allan must find a way to survive alone in the Arctic Ocean.

Several years ago, a friend loaned me a book titled Avalanche. She thought my sons might enjoy this story of a boy surviving burial in an avalanche. They did! Recently, a different friend said something about a book she had titled The Iceberg Hermit, and when I heard that it was written by the same person, I knew we wanted to read it!

Allan Gordon signed on to a whaling ship headed for the Arctic Ocean from his hometown in Scotland when he was only 17, because he wanted to earn enough money to provide a good home for his sweetheart. Things went very well and the ship was full of whale oil—until they struck an iceberg as they were starting for home. Allan found himself marooned on the iceberg as the ship sank with the rest of the crew still on it. Now what was he to do with no food, no weapons, and no way to keep warm? 

Over the next seven years, Allan found ways to take care of himself. He nearly went insane at first from the loneliness, but when he realized a creature was depending on him for care, he had a reason to survive. His greatest wish, of course, was to return to Scotland—how could he find a way back? Would he ever see another whaling ship? Or would the iceberg break up before he could reach land?

What a story! We were enthralled by The Iceberg Hermit. What I liked best about it was that it is based on a story that was told and written down in the 1700s. The entire last chapter is the author’s notes about the historicity of this account. There are a lot of rather ugly scenes, as detailed in the warnings, but they feel quite authentic, given the setting and the time. For anyone who enjoys survival stories, this book is an excellent choice.

WARNING: Chapter 1: Description of a terrible accident on board a ship, “blast your clumsy claws.” Chapter 4: Depression so deep as to wish for death, drunkenness, whistling at girls, bears eating dead men. Chapter 5: Cursing, killing a polar bear. Chapter 8: Cursed the captain. Chapter 12: Killing a polar bear. Chapter 19: Eating dogs to keep from starving, dog eating a baby. Chapter 22: Infanticide

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