Sun Dog

Finished May 13
Sun Dog by Deborah Kerbel, illustrated by Suzanne Del Rizzo

This picture book is about Juno, a young husky who lives with a family near the Arctic Circle. Juno finds the endless days of the summer make it hard to settle down to sleep, and one night, she leaves the house in search of playmates. She finds only that she feels lonely without her boy, and vulnerable to those creatures who look for food during this time. When she returns to her house and finds danger there as well, the big dog that Juno knows exists inside her comes alive as she raises an alarm.
This is a lovely story of the connection between Juno and her boy, but also of the high Arctic days, and the animals who call that part of the world their home.
The illustrator of this book uses polymer clay as one element of the illustrations and I loved the effect. She brings alive Juno's playfulness (I particularly liked the picture with the sock) and the beautiful environment Juno and her boy live in. The flowers look so real, I wanted to smell them!
A great book, especially for youngsters with their own special dog.

Strange Things

Finished November 29
Strange Things: Clarendon Lectures in English Literature 1991 by Margaret Atwood

This book contains four lectures Atwood did at Oxford in 1991. They explore how aspects of the Canadian North are used in literature. Each lecture focuses on a specific aspect to do with the North. The first lecture looks at the folklore derived from the disastrous Franklin expedition and the mystery surrounding what happened to the men on it. The second lecture focuses on white writers going native, using Grey Owl, a white man who took on the persona of a native and was only revealed as white after his death. The third lecture looks at the myth of the Wendigo as shown in literature. The fourth looks at women in the Canadian north.
Throughout the lectures she looks at the retelling of stories, the themes and how they come up in different ways, and how the idea of the wilderness as a character in its own right is portrayed. Sometimes the north is shown gendered, often female and predatory. Sometimes it is shown neutral. Sometimes it is shown positively, as a force that brings good in characters lives.
The series offers interesting insights into uniquely Canadian literature themes. I quite enjoyed it.

Neversink

Finished July 7
Neversink by Barry Wolverton

This children's novel is set in the Arctic in the lands of Neversink, Tytonia, and Ocean's End.
Auks live on Neversink. There are different kinds of Auks, and puffins are one kind. Lockley is a puffin and he and his mate Lucy are waiting for her to lay her egg this season, hoping that this time they will be successful. Owls rule Tytonia and consider themselves in charge of Neversink as well, although a peace treaty was signed many years before.
Recently Egbert, a walrus has come to live on Neversink, as has Ruby, a tiny hummingbird blown off course who now returns every summer.
On Tytonia, Rozbell, leader of the opposition, has the grand aim of ruling and takes things into his own wings, using force, intimidation, and rumours to gain leadership. When Egbert invites owls to his party, Rozbell uses the opportunity to take back control of Neversink, subjugating the auks.
The auks are afraid to fight back, and things go from bad to worse. Can Lockley do what needs to be done to save his colony and protect his own?
With inferences to literature and language, this book has humour, myth, and a good story.

Hoarfrost and Cherry Blossoms

Finished October 23
Hoarfrost and Cherry Blossoms by Susan Bainbridge
This novel is set in a small community in northern Canada called Everet in the 1970s. It revolves around a circle of friends who live in the community. The main characters are Brian, who works at the local fuel depot, and his girlfriend Mary, a school teacher. We also see other people in the community, the majority of whom have come from the south and don't stay in the Arctic their whole lives. These include the local RCMP officer, Jackson Pedley; the local priest, Father O'Reilly; the owners of the local hotel and restaurant, Bob and Sandra; and Brian's boss Jim.
The book is a collection of experiences taken over the course of about a year. They range from finding a local man frozen to death while on a cross-country ski expedition, to pranks at the expense of the nearest neighboring town, to harrowing airplane rides. At first the book seems light-hearted capturing the moments that highlight the lives of these people, but before the end we start seeing the underlying depression one of the characters fights against, and how even those close to them don't recognize it for the torment that it is.
This is a story of friends, people who care about others, and a close community that rallies together.

Coppermine

Finished August 7
Coppermine by Keith Ross Leckie
Based on real events, this historical novel begins in 1913 when two Catholic priests disappear into a remote Arctic area known as the Coppermine. Three years later, RWMP officer Jack Creed is sent to find out what happened to the priests and hires a young Copper Inuit, Angituk McAndrew to serve as interpreter.
Their journey is a long one, and often difficult both physically and emotionally. Near the mouth of the Coppermine on the Arctic Ocean, the two discover the remains of the priests and Creed is able to determine from the remains that the priests were killed. After talking with local Inuit the two find and arrest two Inuit hunters. The four make their way back to Fort Norman and from there to Edmonton for the trial. The journey is long and dangerous and along the way Creed becomes friends with the Inuit and begins to understand their way of life and beliefs.
In Edmonton, the Inuit find everything very different and look to Creed for reassurance and information. We see the trial, the media interest and Creed's own issues around justice.
This is a book that looks at the historical relationship between the white man and the Inuit and about tolerance for others culture. We also see issues related to the First World War and how man treats man. Creed's character develops over the course of the book. I really enjoyed this story and respect the research involved.

Canadian Fiction

Finished September 9
Late Nights on Air by Elizabeth Hay
I read this book for my bookclub (our first book) and enjoyed it, but not as much as I enjoyed Hay's "A Student of Weather".
I really enjoyed the descriptions of the north and what life was like in Yellowknife during the time period in which this book was set.
I found Gwen the most likeable character and enjoyed watching her grow in the book.
The book looks at the characters who work at a radio station in Yellowknife in the late 70s. Harry is an old hand at radio, who tried television and didn't do well there and now has come back to where he started twenty years ago. He sometimes seems older than he is (in his forties). Dido and Gwen are women in their twenties who came to the north for different reasons, but both end up working at the radio. Dido is from the Netherlands and has a beautiful voice. Gwen is interested in a behind the scenes job, but ends up on air, and grows into her job.
Eleanor is the receptionist, who plays an important role at the station, and in the book.
Besides the life in Yellowknife and at the radio station, the book also encompasses a six-week trip (hiking and canoe) by four of the book's characters, and that trip really does a lot for Gwen in particular.
The book sometimes moves slowly, but is always drawing one on, wanting to see what develops for the characters.