A bleak, beautiful coming of age tale set in NW Alaska and Anchorage during the last quarter of the 20th c. ( )

This was a great read. Cutak and his family are living as natives in Alaska, but they are White, from Chicago, and therefore they face ridicule and serious discrimination. Their father, an artist, has them living off the land in a sod dwelling, and their mother has long fled back to the States. Their way of living is very outdated compared to the Indigenous children they encounter in town on infrequent visits, and they are mocked, bullied and worse because of this and their being White. It was very interesting because when I began reading it felt like the story was set a century earlier than it was, and that realization illustrated the oddness of this family's lifestyle. When Cutak heads for the city he faces true culture shock and is very much adrift in modern society. He struggles to figure out where he "belongs". As a reader I feared for him, he is so naive and vulnerable.

The scenes involving hunting and the use of sled dogs were quite disturbing to me. I had always read/learned that the Indigenous peoples were very respectful of the animals who "sacrificed their lives" to feed them. Here it seems that modern methods of killing animals, including long range rifles, snowmobiles and helicopters, has made that "old-fashioned" way disappear. They kill for pelts, they kill violently and indiscriminately. The treatment of the sled dogs is horrific and disgusting. The rampant use of drugs and any possible version of alcohol is described and it is not pretty, as is the sexual violence towards women.

All that being said it was a moving story, well written and very thought provoking! ( )

Powerful powerful novel that went on a little too long. He didn't have to make his point quite so many times. But it's a profound read and very thought provoking. ( )

Very good. ( )

a very very harsh read about the clash between life in the outer regions of what we call "civilization" and civilization itself..... do not miss it. ( )