Narrator of [b:The Enchanted|18090147|The Enchanted|Rene Denfeld|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1373991244l/18090147._SX50_.jpg|25146823] most beloved book.

The subtitle to this book is “An Eskimo Saga” which indicates that it was written before the present day when the indigenous peoples of the Canadian north were called Eskimo, not Inuit. One might conclude that the author was a white person who did not value the indigenous perspective. But “one” couldn’t be more wrong. Yes, James Houston was white but he was the first white person who seriously started collecting Inuit art and, in his writings, he shows how the native people survived and thrived in a harsh climate before the intrusion of Europeans.
Houston says in his Author’s Note that the events chronicled in this book are based upon true events which were told to him during the 12 years he lived in the Eastern Arctic. A whaling ship from Massachusetts was hunting right whales off the coast of Baffin Island in 1896. One of the boats that went out to harpoon the whales was hauled off by the whale and the fog and ice prevented finding the boat. Of the six men on board, two fell into the water and one died soon after the boat was abandoned. The other three were found by a small tribe of Eskimos and they were nursed back to health. The story of the next year is told by Avinga, a young man who lived with the family of the chief, Sarkak. Avinga’s mother was married to Sarkak but it was thought that some other man fathered Avinga. When Avinga was very young he was attacked by dogs and badly injured so that he could not walk very far. He says he was basically a slave in Sarkak’s household but he was not mistreated and he ate just as well as any other member. Avinga was one of the people who first saw the white whalers. He and his half-brothers were retrieving meat from a cache when they found the deceased man and then followed the tracks of the others. On their return to camp they told Sarkak who commanded them to go out and find the others. This was a life changing decision for Sarkak and all his people. Avinga was able to observe how the white men interacted with his own people because Sarkak had them added to his own household.
The three white men were the third mate, Billy, the harpooner who is only called the Portuguese and a sailor by the name of Daggett. The Eskimo called them respectively Pilee, Portagee and Kakuktak (which means the white-haired one because Daggett was blonde). Kakuktak was the white man who made the most effort to learn the Eskimo ways. He learned words in their language and went out hunting with the native hunters. All three of the men took Eskimo girls to bed but Kakuktak was very serious about his girl, Neevee, whom he asked to go to America with him if their ship returned. Pilee had two girls sharing his bed and their antics were a source of wonder to the Eskimo women who came to watch them in bed. Portagee was very popular with all the women and he probably even slept with Sarkak’s second wife. Sharing wives with visitors was a common occurrence but it had to be done with the consent of the wife and the knowledge of the husband. Avinga asserts that the women in the village were very much involved in matters regarding the tribe and had at least as much power as the men although they wielded their power diplomatically.
The three white strangers impacted Sarkak’s tribe in small ways and big ones. They introduced new games and new positions for intercourse. They started a fashion of sticking pictures made from sealskin to the inside of igloos. However, they also made liquor from berries which caused many people to become drunk for the first time in their lives. They talked back to Sarkak and refused his orders which none of the Eskimo had ever thought of doing. These white strangers changed the way of life that had existed for years. They were also changed but read the book to find out how. ( )

Six-word review: Clash of cultures threatens group's survival.

Extended review:

Baffin Island is a land mass in the Arctic Circle of Canada, between the mainland and Greenland. This forbidding territory is home to the Inuit (Eskimo) people, whose ancient culture has taught them how to thrive in a land of snow and ice. This is the setting of The White Dawn, James Houston's fictionalized account of what happened when members of two profoundly different cultures tried to live together in this extreme environment.

One day in 1896, a small party of Inuit encounter three strangers lost and half dead at the edge of the frozen sea. The men have become separated from their New Bedford whaling vessel, and only their timely discovery by chief Sarkak and his sons saves them from certain death.

Nursed back to health in the Inuit camp, the three outsiders have much to learn of the strong, enduring traditions that enable the people of the far north to survive. But their presence upsets the balance of leadership and cooperation in the camp and thus destabilizes the society. Irreversible changes follow.

This book is so beautifully and convincingly written that I forgot many times that I was reading fiction, and moreover fiction written by someone who was not native to the narrator's culture. I found it deeply moving and in many ways enlightening, as if the experiences had happened close to me.

I read The White Dawn immediately after finishing The Enchanted, an intense, brilliant, disturbing novel (reviewed here) whose main character cherishes The White Dawn as his favorite book. Numerous books have led me to other books, but I think this is the first time I've read one on the recommendation of a fictitious character. Beyond the bare fact of the role that one book plays in the other, the connection between the two is not obvious. Since finishing The White Dawn, I've been pondering the mysterious link that joins them. I think it exists not where mind meets mind but where myth touches soul. ( )