Currently Reading #34

[littlerdog.livejournal.com]

I'm about halfway through Ada Blackjack: A True Story of Survival in the Arctic by Jennifer Niven, which tells the story of the disaster that overcomes an expedition of four young white men and Ada, an Inuit woman hired to sew for them, when they venture to colonise Wrangel Island in 'The Friendly Arctic'. They've been sadly misled by expedition founder Vilhjalmur Stefansson into believing life on Wrangel will be easy. You'd think at least the one member of the expedition who'd been to Wrangel before--and nearly died there of starvation--wouldn't be taken in. But Stefansson (born Stephenson) seems to have a charismatic hold over those he meets. Even when he knows perfectly well he hasn't got the money to send the relief ship on which the expedition is depending, he blithely reassures the families that all is well, and that their relatives are in no greater danger than they would be at home. Ahem.

This book is a fascinating read. Niven's obviously researched the story thoroughly, and she makes no attempt to gloss over the more reprehensible behaviour of the people involved, or to gift Ada with a hagiography. I do wonder if she's not sometimes tempted to label Stefansson a dangerous fantasist, but she never does. Perhaps she's content merely with allowing us to deduce this for ourselves.

There's a harrowing account of one expedition member's experiences with scurvy and of Ada's confrontations with the polar bears of which she's terrified. Even though I know things are not going to end well, I can't resist reading on. A compelling, well-researched story.