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Ordinary Wolves
Ordinary Wolves
Author: Seth Kantner
A stirring and vivid novel about a white boy raised among natives on the harsh Alaskan tundra, Ordinary Wolves depicts a life different from what most people have ever known. In its pages, Cutuk, a boy equally uncomfortable in the ways of whites and Inupiaq, tells of his youth and young adulthood: of his father, who brought his family to Alaska ...  more »
ISBN-13: 9781571310446
ISBN-10: 1571310444
Publication Date: 4/18/2004
Pages: 352
Rating:
  • Currently 4.2/5 Stars.
 5

4.2 stars, based on 5 ratings
Publisher: Milkweed Editions
Book Type: Hardcover
Other Versions: Paperback
Members Wishing: 0
Reviews: Member | Amazon | Write a Review

Top Member Book Reviews

reviewed Ordinary Wolves on + 5 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
Avoiding cheap romanticism or easy answers, Seth Kantner has crafted an amazing tale that is more than a coming-of-age story or an examination of the collision of cultures. Instead, with wry humor and insight, a keen turn of phrase, and an authenticity so pronounced that you can smell the moose heart for dinner and hear the shrews tunneling in the walls, in these pages are found the joys, somber realities, and consequences of being on the edge of an way of life that is disappearing under the bombardment of popular culture, âprogressâ, and consumerism. The writing is particularly vivid in details and its depiction of both the glories and downfalls of human nature. I did struggle with the sometimes abrupt transitions in action. For example, a gripping scene of an accident resulting in one sibling under the ice, another frantic to reach her, and the father desperately running to aid is abruptly transitioned to a later point in the story. This scene is literally breathtaking, and turning away from the drama at such a moment is disorienting and (for me) disappointing. It is a sign of how fine the writing is that I did not want to miss even a moment of this struggle.
reviewed Ordinary Wolves on + 22 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
From the book jacket: "I've not read anything that so captures the contrast between the wild world and our ravaging consumer culture. Ordinary Wolves is painful and beautiful" - Louise Erdrich
This is a beautiful, unique, wonderful read.
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nascargal avatar reviewed Ordinary Wolves on + 352 more book reviews
This a beautiful book about life in rural Alaska.


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