Nunavut Books

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Nunavut Books

1thornton37814
Ago 18, 2009, 10:54 am

This is a thread for listing and discussing books with a Nunavut setting.

2Nickelini
Sep 9, 2009, 3:18 pm

I've been instructed to come over here and speak up, so here I am. I'm not positive, but am pretty sure that Consumption is set in Nunavut.

3starfishian
Editado: Sep 9, 2009, 11:58 pm

>2 Nickelini: Rankin Inlet - yes indeed!

Oh wait - are you thinking it wasn't Nunavut when the book was set? I was just thinking the same could be true of The Terror. Hmmmm. Maybe we need a group judgement call?

4Nickelini
Sep 10, 2009, 11:01 am

Yeah, that's what I'm thinking. I don't know how important it is, in the grand scheme of things. I'll try not to stay up nights over it. :-)

5mathgirl40
Sep 22, 2009, 9:19 pm

In case anyone else is doing the challenge with their kids, Inuksuk Journey by Mary Wallace is a children's book (for ages 9-12) set in Nunavut. It's a non-fiction book consisting of journal entries with artwork and photographs about the author's summer trip in Nunavut.

6RidgewayGirl
Oct 24, 2009, 8:25 pm

I found one today! The Voyage of the Narwhal takes place, according to the blurb, on Baffin and Ellesmere Islands, which are part of Nunavut. It looks interesting, too, being about a 19th century arctic expedition.

7michellereads
Oct 25, 2009, 8:37 am

Good going, Ridgeway Girl!

8cbl_tn
Dic 4, 2009, 8:55 pm

One of the December Early Reviewer titles seems to be a Nunavut book: Death on the Barrens. (Sorry, touchstone didn't work.) It's only available to U.S. requesters, though.

9cbl_tn
Mar 18, 2010, 8:16 pm

For mystery/thriller readers, there's Darkness at the Stroke of Noon by Dennis Richard Murphy. Part of the action takes place elsewhere, but the heart of the action is at Victory Point, King William Island, Nunavut. History lovers might enjoy this book's tie-in with the Franklin Expedition.

10VivienneR
Editado: Mar 19, 2010, 2:47 pm

I enjoyed Darkness at the Stroke of Noon. It combined current topics with history very nicely. I think it might help to know something of the Franklin Expedition to start with. The author mixes fact and fiction. The mystery grabbed me in the first few pages, although I thought the ending was a bit odd.

11cbl_tn
Mar 18, 2010, 11:05 pm

>10 VivienneR: I agree that the ending was odd. I felt like there were some loose threads left, too. Maybe the author intended for it to be the first of a series and planned to follow some of those threads in future books. I guess we'll never know since he died shortly after completing the book.

12Bcteagirl
Editado: Jul 21, 2010, 7:23 pm

Others here have said that a lot of Farley Mowat's work was set in Nunavut... Waiting on mount TBR for Nunavut I have:

The Snow Walker

Never Cry Wolf

As I work through them I will try to confirm their geography. These are books that should hopefully be available through local libraries.

13Bcteagirl
Editado: Sep 21, 2010, 5:31 pm

Ok I finally attempted to draw in the new Nunavut/NWT border on my map of Mowat books. There are a few that are on the border, so without reading them I will not guess where they are (They may of course be in both).

A few that are clearly Nunavut are:
The snow walker
The desperate people
Ordeal by Ice
The curse of the viking grave
Most likely Never cry wolf as well.

Edit: I now have it on good authority that People of the Deer is in Nunavut.
On the border:
Lost in the Barrens

14Yells
Jul 21, 2010, 9:13 pm

Cool! Thanks for that! I finally gave up and merged Nunavut and NWT together in my challenge because I was getting confused but I would still like to read enough to know that I truly have both covered.

15VivienneR
Sep 29, 2010, 8:40 pm

I just wrote on another thread about The Proper Use of Stars by Dominique Fortier. The French edition was shortlisted for the Governor General's award (in 2008 I believe). This English translation is excellent, I can recommend it highly. It is a fact-filled fictionalized account of the Franklin Expedition and includes portions about Lady Franklin life in London. My copy is an ARC (review posted today) and I'm not sure when it will be in stores. Watch out for it.

16Bcteagirl
Sep 29, 2010, 9:57 pm

Oooo that sounds great! And the tea cup on the cover is a bonus. :) Will add this one to my wishlist.

17vancouverdeb
Editado: Oct 19, 2010, 5:12 pm

Thanks for the info on Nunavet and the NWT. I think I will merge those two places as well. I think I've decided that Never Cry Wolf takes place in Nunavet/ NWT. At least I hope so, because I purchased a copy last night.I'm embarressed to say that I"ve never read anything by Farley Mowat before!!!

18Nickelini
Oct 19, 2010, 5:48 pm

I'm embarressed to say that I"ve never read anything by Farley Mowat before!!!

I know--it's so unpatriotic, isn't it! I remember my school library used to have lots of copies of The Dog Who Wouldn't Be and Owls in the Family and others, but I was never interested even though teachers and librarians always pushed them. I finally read Owls in the Family to my daughter when she was about four. It was okay, but I can see that I wouldn't have liked it when I was a kid. I didn't read Anne of Green Gables until I was an adult either. I know, I know--time to hand in my passport and leave the country.

19VivienneR
Oct 19, 2010, 6:41 pm

I read and enjoyed books by Farley Mowat - back in their day - but haven't read any for a long time. I have a feeling they might have become dated. I haven't read Anne of Green Gables. My excuse is that I didn't grow up in Canada and haven't got around to most Canadian children's books. Maybe it's time to start.

20fmgee
Oct 19, 2010, 7:04 pm

17: Even after reading Never Cry Wolf I found it hard to say exactly where is was set but I got the general impression it was a little in Manitoba and mostly in Nunavut.

19: Of the books I have read so far I am surprised at how undated Farley Mowat's books are. That being said I can imagine they are not to everyones likings.

I too have not read Anne of Green Gables. I am currently getting my hands on all sorts of Canadian kids books for my own kids (okay for me now and them when they get there).

21Bcteagirl
Oct 19, 2010, 9:06 pm

If we are doing Canadian Literary confessions I feel rather unpatriotic in that I don't really like short stories.. which seems to be a mainstay of our Canadian authors.

Stuart McLean of Vinyl Cafe is an exception. Actually broke down today and bought tickets to see him tomorrow! :)

22VivienneR
Oct 20, 2010, 2:24 am

Bcteagirl: You are so lucky to see Stuart McLean and Vinyl Cafe. I love to listen to the podcasts. Although he visits many small towns, I don't expect to see him in mine.

fmgee: Enjoy the kids books. I love to look at the great children's section of the library but then feel like I'm depriving a child if I borrow any.

23vancouverdeb
Editado: Oct 20, 2010, 5:52 am

Okay - another Canadian Literary confession here - please don't make me hand in my birth certificate!!!;)

I never did like Margaret Atwood, nor Margaret Lawrence. How's that for a shocker!!! I think they made me read too many of them back in highschool and I found them all so depressing that I swore off them for life. But maybe now that I am older - perhaps I could try again!

BcteaGirl - ooh! I hope you enjoy seeing Stuart McLean in real life. I've loved his books.

As for Anne of Green Gables I did read every book - I think - that Lucy Maud Montgomery wrote when I was in my teens. Perhaps for that you will forgive me my Canadian Literary transgessions .

I do think that Farley Mowat looks like he may have some fascinating books. fmgee - I can see what you mean about his being still very current.

24VivienneR
Oct 20, 2010, 1:24 pm

Now, I've always been a fan of Margaret Laurence but haven't read anything by Margaret Atwood since A Handmaid's Tale. Maybe I was lucky not to go to school in Canada :)

25Bcteagirl
Oct 20, 2010, 2:03 pm

I'm not really understanding the merging of the territories.. by the same convention we should then be able to merge all the prairies together, and all the maritimes and only have to read a few books. I don't understand why if you were reading a cross Canada tour you would leave out two areas. Would make more sense to me to merge Sask and Manitoba (And I a from Sask lol).

26Nickelini
Oct 20, 2010, 3:41 pm

I may be the wrong person to answer this because it hadn't even occurred to me to merge the territories, but I'll make a guess. Nunavut is such a recent formation, that there isn't a lot of literature that's actually from there. Anything written before it got territorial status was at that time NWT. Further, this is a political formation that may not have any relevance to the works written while it was the NWT.

I find it simplest just to use the political distinctions, but that's just me. Some also split Labrador and Newfoundland, which I'm not going to do either. The one province includes both regions. But there are no LT police, so each reader can make her or his own decisions.

27Bcteagirl
Oct 20, 2010, 3:55 pm

That is true.. And in some cases the books may be harder to come by. It just seems odd to me to do it that way rather than combine by regions overall.

28mathgirl40
Oct 20, 2010, 4:55 pm

I think people might be tempted to merge regions just because it's really difficult to find a large selection of literature from certain regions. Apart from the northern regions, I had a hard time finding books from PEI not written by L. M. Montgomery!

I figure everyone in this group can just choose their regions in a way that works for them. The boundaries are rather arbitrary anyhow. My goal is simply to read books from a number of culturally and geographically diverse regions. Of course, I can also do that by reading a book set in Toronto and one set in rural Ontario. :-)

29Yells
Oct 20, 2010, 6:26 pm

I merged the territories but I am trying to read enough stuff to attempt to cover both. I am finding it hard to pin down exactly where certain things take place or else it's something like Never Cry Wolf which took place in NWT (at the time it was written) but now it's Nunavit. Where does it go?

I find stuff from the maritimes (and lesser so the prairies) really differs depending on which province it takes place in so I would never dream of merging those together. The overall flavour of stuff written in/about the territories is similar enough that I can justify combining it.

30RidgewayGirl
Oct 20, 2010, 9:10 pm

I've found it fun to figure out where a book takes place, Nunavut or NWT, often while I'm reading them. Maps are fun, and the splitting of the territories have added to the challenge.

31vancouverdeb
Oct 24, 2010, 6:09 am

I'm currently reading a non -fiction book by Farley Mowat. It is called High Latitudes:An Arctic Journey. It has a map of the Canadian North inside the cover - and the exact journey's that he took over a period of two years. He goes to many spots in the High Arctic - Frobisher Bay - now Iqulauit of Nunavut, Whitehorse, Cape Dorset, Yellowknife etc. So far I am finding it rather fascinating as Farley Mowat travels by Twin Otter - a plane that my two younger brothers used to fly in the High Arctic. They went to many of the same places as Farley Mowat.

I am finding Farley Mowat to be a real crusader in many ways. Interesting fellow!

32auntmarge64
Oct 30, 2010, 10:17 am



The Trudeau Vector by Juris Jurjevics **** 10/24/10

(It took me a while to decide exactly where in the Canadian Arctic this takes place, but all hints, as well as author acknowledgments, place it in Nunavut. As well as the dark and cold of the winter, mentioned below, there is a major character who is Inuit and who discusses his heritage, and there is an Aleut burial ground with mummies which the characters explore.)

A solid thriller which takes place in the high Arctic winter, which in itself is a tense addition to the suspense. At a Canadian research facility, internationally staffed, three scientists die nasty deaths for which no one can find a cause. All died at exactly the same time, out on the ice in the dark, from what appears to have been a new pathogen or chemical. A fourth scientist with them kills himself. The Canadians bring in an American pathologist who is known for luck and intuition, and she is delivered to the facility just before winter closes the facility to normal transportation until spring. Meanwhile the Russians search for a missing sub bringing home a 5th scientist from the lab.

The science is very interesting, and the cold and dark permeate the story. The tension mounts throughout the book, with only small detours for personal dramas. As is typical in novels in which experts are being portrayed to a general readership, there is a bit too much explaining of details you'd think the characters wouldn't have to spell out for each other, and the fact that a Russian submarine can get to the station but no one seems to think the scientists can get rescued nagged a bit. But overall, this is an delicious way to while away a few hours, especially if you're warm.

(I found this on the dollar shelf at Borders - it's so nice to take a chance and be rewarded! If anyone is interested, I've listed the book on BookMooch.)

33arrwa
Ene 6, 2011, 4:16 pm

I highly recommend Hugh Brody's book The Other Side of Eden. It was published in 2000 so technically takes place in Nunavut but i'm sure most of his research and writing were done while it was still the North West Territories.

34countrylife
Abr 5, 2012, 10:29 am

There is a spectacular sense of place in Consumption by Kevin Patterson, a Canadian author. One of the tags on the book says 'Alaska', but that's incorrect. The setting is Rankin Inlet in Nunavut. His characters are very well done, flawed but true to their character. When a nickel mine opened in the late 1950s, Inuits came off the tundra for steady jobs. In their newly close confines, tuberculosis spread. This story is about the changes which came to the native population with the leaving of their old ways, and with 'aid' from below, including stocked store shelves - diabetes. Not at all preachy. But a story very well told.

35LibraryCin
Feb 3, 2014, 9:44 pm

I'm just now looking at this thread.

I really enjoy Farley Mowat, although I don't think I read anything by him until just a few years ago. Nothing - at least that I remember - from when I was a kid. I love animals, though, so any of his book having to do with animals, I am drawn to.

Confessions: I'll agree with someone who already mentioned they don't like short stories. I'm not a big fan, either. Because of that, I've never read any Alice Munro. I believe she does have one novel, and I hope to give that a try at some point.

36VivienneR
Feb 4, 2014, 1:48 am

>35 LibraryCin: I really think Alice Munro's short stories are well worth trying. I'm not fond of short stories, but Munro's are a treat.

37LibraryCin
Feb 4, 2014, 10:52 pm

Thanks, Vivienne. We'll see. I'll probably still start with the novel, then decide from there.

38LibraryCin
mayo 10, 2016, 12:15 am

I'm in the middle of People of the Deer and went to wikipedia to see if I could figure out if it fit better in Nunavut or NWT. According to wikipedia, the Keewatin area is mostly in Nunavut, with only a small strip in NWT, so Nunavut, it is. I came to this thread to confirm if anyone else agreed with that and I see it is mentioned, so yay!

39LibraryCin
Dic 17, 2016, 9:32 pm

The Three Snow Bears / Jan Brett
3.5 stars

This is an Inuit retelling of Goldilocks and the Three Bears, but in this case, it’s a little Inuit girl, Aloo-ki, who is looking for her dogs who floated away on a piece of ice and she stumbles upon the igloo where three snow bears live. She goes inside to investigate, while the bears are out.

3 stars for the story, 4 stars for the artwork. It’s a cute story, but one that’s been told. But, the pictures in the book are amazing. The Inuit setting is a nice change and it makes for beautiful pictures. It reminded me of some graphic novels where there is a border. The pictures in the border were following the dogs and the bears, while the main story with text followed Aloo-ki. I read my first picture book by this author last year and I am reminded of the wonderful pictures with her stories.

40LibraryCin
Oct 10, 2021, 10:06 pm

The Terror / Dan Simmons
3.25 stars

In 1845, two ships sail from England looking for the Northwest Passage. The Terror and the Erebus later become stuck in ice for three years, as the men manning the ships died not only from starvation, cold, and scurvy, but there is something stalking them. Something… they don’t know what it is but it’s white, and much bigger than the white bears they have seen. It seems to appear out of nowhere to kill, maim, or maul.

This is a mix of survival, historical fiction, and (some) horror. The horror (the “thing” out there), I found was minimal. The focus was on the survival aspect. The book is very long, and I had a hard time getting interested until the last 1/3 of the book – that last 1/3 is what brought my rating up ¼ star. And it would have been nice for the book to be much shorter. The book is told from multiple points of view at different points in time, occasionally jumping back and forth in time. By that last bit of the book where I was more interested, it was chronological.

There were a lot of men on the two ships and, although, I was able to keep what each of them did straight (at least those whose viewpoint we followed), I wasn’t able to keep straight who “belonged’ on which ship. The end was a bit vague in a couple of cases, I thought. Descriptions of the ships and workings of the ships were less interesting to me. A bit horrifying, but more interesting was the description of what happens as someone develops scurvy. Anyone looking for horror, though, this didn’t fit the bill for me at all, unfortunately. It was not scary, in my opinion.

There was a brief author’s note at the end that really just provided citations for his research. It hinted at the fact that this – the “Franklin Expedition” really happened, but I still wasn’t sure, although “Franklin Expedition” did sound familiar to me. Other reviews tell me it did, and I’ve just read a bit on wikipedia about it. That is, the two ships set out to look for the Northwest Passage and disappeared. I guess this partly explains the vagueness of the ending.

41LibraryCin
Dic 9, 2021, 4:36 pm

Frozen in Time: The Fate of the Franklin Expedition / Owen Beattie, John Geiger
4 stars

This book first looks at the Franklin Expedition in the mid-1800s to find the Northwest Passage. Franklin and his entire crew of 129 people and two ships disappeared. In the years following, others set out to find them or some clue as to what had happened. In the early 1980s, Owen Beattie, a forensic anthropologist, and a team of others set out to the graves of three of the expedition members on Beatty Island to dig them up to do autopsies to see if that would tell them what had happened.

Surprisingly, I found the second half more interesting than the first. I guess all of it was potentially interesting to me, but I was surprised to be more engrossed in the parts as the modern-day scientists dug up the graves to find extremely well-preserved bodies and to read the details of their testing and what they found. Be warned that there are photos of the bodies that were dug up; of course, there are other interesting photos, as well.