Book Review: Rankin Inlet by Mara Feeney
Mara Feeney’s novel, Rankin Inlet is a beautifully written piece of Canadian literature that truly captures the spirit of the north. The Arctic is a place of harsh terrain and skilled survivors; it may be geographically isolated but the connections between the inhabitants are deep and lasting.
The story is presented from the point of view of several characters in the form of diary entries, letters and oral history, spanning nearly 30 years. It all begins in March of 1970 with Alison a British nurse/midwife, who finding jobs scarce in England, chooses the adventure of administering healthcare to the Inuit people in an isolated community in Canada’s Northwest Territories. One of her Inuit patients, Kublu is comatose and is visited frequently by her father, Nikmak. It is through the stories he tells to try and awaken his daughter that the culture, values and fierce devotion of the peoples of Rankin Inlet are revealed. Kublu’s older brother, Ivaluk the brilliant hunter is another key voice. He represents the generation of youth beginning to break away from the old ways.
As the story progresses the lives of these people become intertwined. Alison falls in love with Ivaluk and must commit to a new way of life, learning to raise a family in the sometimes desolate Canadian Arctic. Coming to terms with cultural practices proves to be challenging as does stretching resources to provide for a growing family. Ivaluk often communicates his frustrations and joys with his adopted brother, Thomasie, who takes an important role in government, helping to bring about the creation of the province of Nunavut. As their family grows, we are introduced to Alison and Ivaluk’s youngest daughter, Ukaliq who treats us to the perspective of an Inuit youth with a bright future. The threads of all of their stories create a wisely woven tale that shows us that all people, no matter how diverse their backgrounds may be, are connected by the common thread of love.

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Author Info
Mara Feeney travelled and worked extensively in Northern Canada, becoming acquainted with the land, people and culture of the Northwest Territories. She has a degree in Anthropology and has a career in socioeconomic consulting. Rankin Inlet (2009) is her first novel, published by Gaby Press. This book is available through http://www.gabypress.com/ or through http://www.amazon.com/. ( )

I find it incredible that this is a debut novel, it is so well-written. Mara Feeney has written a wonderful novel taking place in a part of Canada few people know about. The characters and descriptions of life in Rankin Inlet are so real that it is difficult to realize this is a novel and not a true story. Ms. Feeney has personal experience to draw from. The book is written with a very compelling knowledge of life in the isolated north, and no doubt at least some of her characters are based in some small part upon real people, or a combination of individuals she has known or met. To this Canadian reader I felt a connection to this far northern village through this book.

The story begins in 1971 when our heroine, Alison, comes from Liverpool, England to be a nurse in this remote location. After waiting for weather to clear she is on her way north in a small plane flown by a bush pilot, arriving in a village that looks completely alien to her.

The book is written as a diary by Alison, some pages devoted to the stories of the patients themselves, some to the families of patients. The stories are told in the voices of the characters. Historical and accurate, this is the first book I have read of this particularly remote area and am very glad I did. This is a delightful read with the characters bringing us from the old ways via a grandfather talking to his critically ill daughter, and later to his grandchildren. The novel continues to update right through the creation of Nunavet, the newest of the northern Territories of Canada in 1999.

The "first hand" stories of the entire family of Nikmak, the grandfather, give the reader insight impossible to get without an actual non-fiction biographical work. When Alison marries into the family we really begin to see the changes as they occur in the lives of the Inuit. Using the true Inuktitut words in many cases adds to the authenticity of the book. Although explained as the words are first used, there is also a glossary at the back of the book.

It is a tale of hardship, family, lifestyles old and new. The coming of electricity, skidoos, and finally television and computers, while still trying to maintain some tradition in their lives becomes more difficult as time goes on. Children in the old days were sent away to school, later they were able to be schooled in Rankin Inlet. Many of the Inuit children are now able to go on to university in Manitoba and become a part of the evolution of the north while trying to protect the rights of the "people of the land". Alison's own sons and daughters become very active in the environment, the growth, and the government of Nunavet.

I would definitely recommend this book to any age group as a glimpse of the Arctic and its contribution to the development of this country, to the mix of ethnicities of Canada, and among the first peoples of Canada. ( )

I love reading books that help me discover a new culture or country. Although I am Canadian, I felt I discovered for the first time part of my country with this novel set in Rankin Inlet in Nunavut, formerly the Northwest Territories. It’s the Canadian Arctic after all and very different from my own multi-cultural Montreal.

The story begins with Alison Clark, a young British woman who in 1970 leaves England to work as nurse-midwife in the remote village of Rankin Inlet. She experiences a sense of community belonging there and falls in love with the land and its people. It's a moving story of love and losses, changes and adaptations, ingrained beliefs and traditions.

The story is told through diary entries and correspondence of several of the characters, mainly Alison, as well as Ivaluk and Nikmak—both Inuit man. Through Ivaluk (Nikmak’s son) and his letters to his adopted kid brother Thomasie, we learn what the life of an Inuit is like, their joys, struggles, beliefs and customs. Through Nikmak, an Inuit elder, we get a true sense of the older generation and the changes and adaptations they experienced throughout the years into our modern era. Feeney also explores such topics as alcohol, inter-racial marriages, depression, and the influence of modern technology on a traditional people.

The beginning of the novel is a little confusing as Nikmak’s entries are initially seven months ahead of Alison’s and Ivaluk’s, but when theirs catch up to his, their stories intertwine beautifully. I feel the author truly grasped the voice of the Inuit people and brought them to life through the Inuktitut language and expressions. For example:
Snowflakes fat as ptarmigans are spinning down from the sky now. p.190
My legs feel as weak as a newborn tuktu calf. p.234
Nikmak’s entries would always end with a sing-song expression such as Aiyayayaaiieh and I could clearly hear in my mind his deep male voice singing.

As the story evolves and spans thirty years, we see the changes that take place among the Inuit people who went from hunt-gatherers to wageworkers. Positive political and cultural changes were brought about with the 1993 Land Claims Agreement Act that finally entitled Inuit with certain aboriginal rights. Because of this, the Inuit culture, beliefs and customs are now taught in Canadian schools so that I was somewhat familiar with some of the things I read in this novel, such as the food called bannock. My daughter came home with the recipe one day from her Social Studies class.

There are some sex scenes in this novel, but they are short and not explicit. One is described briefly but does not involve the main character.

Mara Feeney is a talented writer who has written a novel that kept my interest throughout, with believable, remarkable characters and a setting unlike any I have read before. I would certainly read another novel by this author. ( )