Ordinary Wolves
Seth Kantner, who himself grew up in a sod igloo in Alaska, writes his first novel about a boy with a similar background. Cutuk's father, a white man from Chicago, fell in love with the region on a visit and remained there with his wife to raise a family, living off the land. Cutuk's mother, disillusioned with the rigors of their life, has been gone for years, and now his siblings are forsaking their heritage as well: his brother moves away, and his sister goes off to college to become a teacher. Cutuk is coming of age, and must decide what he wants from life. Part of his dilemma is that he is a white in a native Alaskan culture, to which he feels both lifelong ties and an inescapable alienation--and he experiences painful instances of discrimination from the Native Americans. In Cutuk's attempts to reconcile his love of the land with his attraction to the city--including some humorous instances of culture shock--Kantner has written not only an absorbing story of a young man growing up in a challenging environment, but a probing look at the effects of modernity on the vanishing natural landscape and its people. Copyright (C) Muze Inc. 2005. For personal use only. All rights reserved.
List Price: $14.95
Your Price: $9.66
