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ovenbird_reads's review against another edition
5.0
i drank this book in. it was a complete and utter joy. Winter spoke to me like the north spoke to her.I hope to read this book over and over.
bookmadbarlow's review against another edition
adventurous
slow-paced
2.0
Kathleen Winter goes on a trip to the Northwest Passage and I expected to get a travel log / day to day life of the trip, but it was more commentary on her life, her interactions with people and how they had been affected by historical expeditions.
That in itself wouldn't stop me enjoying a book, on the contrary I would like to learn more, but this felt a slog in places and very dense to read.
That in itself wouldn't stop me enjoying a book, on the contrary I would like to learn more, but this felt a slog in places and very dense to read.
kitkat2500's review against another edition
2.0
A voyage through the high arctic which combines history, geography, natural beauty and a touch of the spiritual. Interesting read.
trulybooked's review against another edition
3.0
There is a lyrical and poetic dreaminess to this memoir, but I think that might work against it. I thought that I was going to be getting more of an adventure story, but instead there's a quiet and introspective trip with little danger.
The dream-like nature of the prose means that even when there's a potential polar bear attack and an ice emergency, it never feels hurried or like there's any real danger. To be fair to Kathleen Winter, she does admit that was how it felt to be there. She never felt the danger because the crew she was with were so experienced.
I also got lost with the internal reckoning of colonialism and how it fits with the rest of the novel. It feels out of place. It's the Showgirls problem where the work that's trying to draw attention to issues ends up exemplifying them. While calmly decrying colonialism and how we continue to perpetuate it on one page. Then on the next page, it speaks of the souvenirs and the way she wanted to know the names of the people who sold it and take pictures with them.
It's hard to say where the line is here, but I can at the very least say that the writing is beautiful and Kathleen Winter feels genuine and like she has the best of intentions.
The dream-like nature of the prose means that even when there's a potential polar bear attack and an ice emergency, it never feels hurried or like there's any real danger. To be fair to Kathleen Winter, she does admit that was how it felt to be there. She never felt the danger because the crew she was with were so experienced.
I also got lost with the internal reckoning of colonialism and how it fits with the rest of the novel. It feels out of place. It's the Showgirls problem where the work that's trying to draw attention to issues ends up exemplifying them. While calmly decrying colonialism and how we continue to perpetuate it on one page. Then on the next page, it speaks of the souvenirs and the way she wanted to know the names of the people who sold it and take pictures with them.
It's hard to say where the line is here, but I can at the very least say that the writing is beautiful and Kathleen Winter feels genuine and like she has the best of intentions.
lilliangretsinger's review against another edition
I did not finish this book either.
It didn't seem very coherent as the author jumps around in time.
Her descriptions of the scenery were lovely, and the stories about her father were sweet, it just wasn't enough to hold my attention.
It didn't seem very coherent as the author jumps around in time.
Her descriptions of the scenery were lovely, and the stories about her father were sweet, it just wasn't enough to hold my attention.
mactammonty's review against another edition
1.0
There is very little said about the North West Passage in this book. It is filled with the past experiences of the author with little relation to the place she is writing about.
There is so much potential, but very little of it is realized. This could be a great book If she did not meander through her personal memories as much.
There is so much potential, but very little of it is realized. This could be a great book If she did not meander through her personal memories as much.
schopflin's review against another edition
slow-paced
2.5
It takes a lot for me to struggle to read polar writing and I usually prefer books by writers than adventurers but honestly I hated this book. The actual writing is fine but what she writes ... Let's just say the hoary mysticism, unconvincing epiphanies and sneering at other tourists was not for me.