amyc00per 's review for:

The Voyage of the Narwhal by Andrea Barrett

4.0

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This book is many things- romance novel, historical fiction, action/adventure... and succeeds on all levels. I found myself totally caught up in rooting for the protagonist in spite of his relative meekness, timidity, and lack of gusto. He keeps getting wronged, keeps failing to stick up for himself, and yet somehow that makes the ending even more compelling. The arctic exploration parts, especially narratives of the Inuit/explorer interactions and the "arctic fever" of ordinary Americans during this period, are really interesting.