Hearts of the Arctic
Embedded deep in the Scandinavian world is an indigenous people whose culture heavily depends on reindeer herding. In "Stolen," author Ann-Helen Laestadius shows us life through the eyes of the Sami experience. It is a harsh existence made harder by the bigotry permeating their everyday life. The book explores many other of their issues: complications brought about by climate change, the culture's strong male chauvinism, suicide and its lasting impact, mental health struggles and the stigma associated with counseling.
The plotline initially focuses on Elsa, a nine-year-old girl who stumbles upon a man who has just brutally murdered her reindeer, Nastegallu. Throughout the course of the book we live the frustration of Elsa and her people as they are virtually ignored in their attempts to have the authorities stop the persistent attacks on their herds. We see Elsa challenging her fears as she grows from that frightened child to a woman who refuses to accept the injustices she sees.
The bulk of the book develops detailed portrayals of complex characters and slowly builds up to an inevitable confrontation. The final chapters then surge with some exciting page turning encounters. Overall, a very good novel you may want to read before its upcoming treatment by Netflix.
Please be warned: much of this is based on real-life events and there are some very explicit animal cruelty passages which are hard to take. This brutality is at the heart of the matter, however, and is in no way gratuitous. It would be difficult to gloss over these despicable acts.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
Embedded deep in the Scandinavian world is an indigenous people whose culture heavily depends on reindeer herding. In "Stolen," author Ann-Helen Laestadius shows us life through the eyes of the Sami experience. It is a harsh existence made harder by the bigotry permeating their everyday life. The book explores many other of their issues: complications brought about by climate change, the culture's strong male chauvinism, suicide and its lasting impact, mental health struggles and the stigma associated with counseling.
The plotline initially focuses on Elsa, a nine-year-old girl who stumbles upon a man who has just brutally murdered her reindeer, Nastegallu. Throughout the course of the book we live the frustration of Elsa and her people as they are virtually ignored in their attempts to have the authorities stop the persistent attacks on their herds. We see Elsa challenging her fears as she grows from that frightened child to a woman who refuses to accept the injustices she sees.
The bulk of the book develops detailed portrayals of complex characters and slowly builds up to an inevitable confrontation. The final chapters then surge with some exciting page turning encounters. Overall, a very good novel you may want to read before its upcoming treatment by Netflix.
Please be warned: much of this is based on real-life events and there are some very explicit animal cruelty passages which are hard to take. This brutality is at the heart of the matter, however, and is in no way gratuitous. It would be difficult to gloss over these despicable acts.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
