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A Dream in Polar Fog
A Dream in Polar Fog is at once a cross-cultural journey, an ethnographic chronicle of the people of Chukotka, and a politically and emotionally charged adventure story. It is the story of John MacLennan, a Canadian sailor who is left behind by his ship, stranded on the northeastern tip of Siberia and the story of the Chukchi community that adopts this wounded stranger and teaches him to live as a true human being. Over time, John comes to know his new companions as a real people who share the best and worst of human traits with his own kind. Tragedy strikes, and wounds are healed with compassion and honesty as tensions rise and fall. Rytkheu’s empathy, humor, and provocative voice guide us across the magnificent landscape of the North and reveal all the complexity and beauty of a vanishing world.
337 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1970
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1141 people want to read
About the author
Yuri Rytkheu
44 books34 followersIn Cyrillic: Юрий Рытхэу
Yuri Sergeyevich Rytkheu. He was a Chukchi writer, who wrote in both his native Chukchi and in Russian. He is considered to be the father of Chukchi literature.
Yuri Rytkheu was born on March 8, 1930 in the village of Uelen in the Far Eastern Territory (now the Chukotka Autonomous Okrug) in the family of a hunter-St. John's wort. His grandfather was a shaman. At birth, the boy was given the name Rytkheu, which means "unknown" in Chukchi. Since the Soviet institutions did not recognize the Chukchi names, in the future, in order to obtain a passport, the future writer took a Russian name and patronymic, and the name "Rytkheu" became his last name.
Rytkheu graduated from a seven-year school in Uelen and wanted to continue his studies at the Institute of the Peoples of the North, but due to his age he was not among those who were seconded to this university. Therefore, he decided to independently go to Leningrad for training. This path stretched over several years. In order to earn money for travel and life, the future writer was hired for various jobs: he was a sailor, worked on a geological expedition, participated in the hunting game, was a loader at a hydro base.
Rytkheu studied at the literary faculty of Leningrad State University from 1949 to 1954. The writer was a little over 20 years old when his stories appeared in the almanac "Young Leningrad", and a little later in the magazines "Ogonyok", "Young World", "Far East", the youth newspaper "Smena" and other periodicals. In 1953, the publishing house "Young Guard" published his first collection of short stories in Russian "People of Our Coast" (translated from Chukotka by A. Smolyan). During his student days, Yuri Rytkheu was actively involved in translation activities, translated into Chukchi the tales of Alexander Pushkin, the stories of Leo Tolstoy, the works of Maxim Gorky and Tikhon Syomushkin. In 1954 Rytkheu was admitted to the Writers' Union of the USSR. Two years later, in Magadan, his collection of stories "The Chukotka Saga" was published, which brought the writer recognition not only of Soviet, but also foreign readers.
Yuri Sergeyevich Rytkheu. He was a Chukchi writer, who wrote in both his native Chukchi and in Russian. He is considered to be the father of Chukchi literature.
Yuri Rytkheu was born on March 8, 1930 in the village of Uelen in the Far Eastern Territory (now the Chukotka Autonomous Okrug) in the family of a hunter-St. John's wort. His grandfather was a shaman. At birth, the boy was given the name Rytkheu, which means "unknown" in Chukchi. Since the Soviet institutions did not recognize the Chukchi names, in the future, in order to obtain a passport, the future writer took a Russian name and patronymic, and the name "Rytkheu" became his last name.
Rytkheu graduated from a seven-year school in Uelen and wanted to continue his studies at the Institute of the Peoples of the North, but due to his age he was not among those who were seconded to this university. Therefore, he decided to independently go to Leningrad for training. This path stretched over several years. In order to earn money for travel and life, the future writer was hired for various jobs: he was a sailor, worked on a geological expedition, participated in the hunting game, was a loader at a hydro base.
Rytkheu studied at the literary faculty of Leningrad State University from 1949 to 1954. The writer was a little over 20 years old when his stories appeared in the almanac "Young Leningrad", and a little later in the magazines "Ogonyok", "Young World", "Far East", the youth newspaper "Smena" and other periodicals. In 1953, the publishing house "Young Guard" published his first collection of short stories in Russian "People of Our Coast" (translated from Chukotka by A. Smolyan). During his student days, Yuri Rytkheu was actively involved in translation activities, translated into Chukchi the tales of Alexander Pushkin, the stories of Leo Tolstoy, the works of Maxim Gorky and Tikhon Syomushkin. In 1954 Rytkheu was admitted to the Writers' Union of the USSR. Two years later, in Magadan, his collection of stories "The Chukotka Saga" was published, which brought the writer recognition not only of Soviet, but also foreign readers.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 96 reviews
December 8, 2021
A novel set in north-eastern Siberia during the years 1910-17. Canadian sailor John MacLennan finds himself stranded amongst the indigenous Chukchi people, whom he initially views with fear and contempt, believing them to be primitive savages with a revolting diet and disgusting personal habits. The novel charts his gradual adaptation to the Chukchi way of life whilst he struggles to survive in this harshest of environments.
I was quite surprised to find that this novel was originally published, in Russian, as long ago as 1970, as it generally paints a favourable picture of Chukchi culture. Nowadays it is commonplace for novels to portray indigenous cultures as more attractive than European or North American “civilisation”, but I would have said this was still uncommon in 1970, at least in the West - I can’t really comment on the Soviet Union. The author’s GR page indicates that he was born in 1930 in the village of Uelen, the closest Siberian settlement to Alaska, and that one of his grandfathers was a shaman. His portrayal of the lives of the pre-revolutionary Chukchi feels authentic, not just in their everyday activities but also in their religious beliefs. There can be few if any other writers who were as well-placed to describe this vanished culture. There are one or two sections of the book where I sensed he was trying to win the approval of the Soviet censors, but in general that aspect was quite muted.
The cross-cultural theme is generally one that appeals to me. I did feel that at times the author was a little heavy-handed in the way he got his message across, but in this case it didn’t spoil my overall enjoyment. There are some great descriptions of the arctic landscapes as well as some dramatic scenes, and whilst the author does accentuate the positives, he doesn’t shy away from how brutal life can be in such an environment. MacLennan observes that the Chukchi have taken the bit of the world that no-one else wanted - they didn’t ask for much and he comes to believe no-one should take their land away from them.
This book would have been worth reading even without its unique perspective, but that gives it extra value.
I was quite surprised to find that this novel was originally published, in Russian, as long ago as 1970, as it generally paints a favourable picture of Chukchi culture. Nowadays it is commonplace for novels to portray indigenous cultures as more attractive than European or North American “civilisation”, but I would have said this was still uncommon in 1970, at least in the West - I can’t really comment on the Soviet Union. The author’s GR page indicates that he was born in 1930 in the village of Uelen, the closest Siberian settlement to Alaska, and that one of his grandfathers was a shaman. His portrayal of the lives of the pre-revolutionary Chukchi feels authentic, not just in their everyday activities but also in their religious beliefs. There can be few if any other writers who were as well-placed to describe this vanished culture. There are one or two sections of the book where I sensed he was trying to win the approval of the Soviet censors, but in general that aspect was quite muted.
The cross-cultural theme is generally one that appeals to me. I did feel that at times the author was a little heavy-handed in the way he got his message across, but in this case it didn’t spoil my overall enjoyment. There are some great descriptions of the arctic landscapes as well as some dramatic scenes, and whilst the author does accentuate the positives, he doesn’t shy away from how brutal life can be in such an environment. MacLennan observes that the Chukchi have taken the bit of the world that no-one else wanted - they didn’t ask for much and he comes to believe no-one should take their land away from them.
This book would have been worth reading even without its unique perspective, but that gives it extra value.
March 29, 2020
Yuri Rytkheu is a Chukchi writer, a native of the Chukotka region of far northeastern Siberia.
Here he writes about John MacLennan, a crewman of a Canadian vessel, left for dead by his fellow crew after his ship was trapped in the ice, and he suffers an accident in trying to blast it free.
The native people offer to help him, but initially MacLennan isn’t very hopeful..
Gradually he understands and trusts the Chukchi people more.
There’s many things to enjoy here; the social life and culture of the Chukchi living in one the world’s most inhospitable climates, its richness and history, its compelling adventure element, but most of all, Rytkheu’s deft touch in painting the fantastical landscapes of the Arctic Circle.
Its quality armchair travel as we are taken across leagues of tundra weaving between jagged icebergs on the northerly seas. When the winter comes and the blizzards hit, the sense of being trapped in huts is very real, snowbound under the whale-oil lamp, chewing walrus and hoping for the slightest respite.
There’s a fascinating geographical element to this also, in just realising how remote this place is. The nearest town is Anadyr, just 800 km across the Bering Straits from Nome, Alaska. Incredibly, work is in progress on the Anadyr Highway, that will run 2300 km to the town of Magadan. Its likely to be more dangerous and remote than even the ‘Road Of Bones’ - the Kolyma Highway.
Here’s a link https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anady....
What a great route for a bicycle trip around the world...
https://en.m.wikivoyage.org/wiki/Anadyr
Here he writes about John MacLennan, a crewman of a Canadian vessel, left for dead by his fellow crew after his ship was trapped in the ice, and he suffers an accident in trying to blast it free.
The native people offer to help him, but initially MacLennan isn’t very hopeful..
Their faces don’t inspire my trust. These people are just too unsavory-looking. Unwashed and uneducated.
Gradually he understands and trusts the Chukchi people more.
There’s many things to enjoy here; the social life and culture of the Chukchi living in one the world’s most inhospitable climates, its richness and history, its compelling adventure element, but most of all, Rytkheu’s deft touch in painting the fantastical landscapes of the Arctic Circle.
Its quality armchair travel as we are taken across leagues of tundra weaving between jagged icebergs on the northerly seas. When the winter comes and the blizzards hit, the sense of being trapped in huts is very real, snowbound under the whale-oil lamp, chewing walrus and hoping for the slightest respite.
There’s a fascinating geographical element to this also, in just realising how remote this place is. The nearest town is Anadyr, just 800 km across the Bering Straits from Nome, Alaska. Incredibly, work is in progress on the Anadyr Highway, that will run 2300 km to the town of Magadan. Its likely to be more dangerous and remote than even the ‘Road Of Bones’ - the Kolyma Highway.
Here’s a link https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anady....
If you just want to get to Anadyr the cheapest way, go there by plane and don't even think about getting in overland, but if you seek for a serious adventure this could be what you are looking for. If you decide taking this path, you should prepare well, since you will be dealing with one of most unfriendly environment in world. There is a serious chance of death by many factors such as bears, large uncivilized area, no hospitals, lack of food and fuel etc.
What a great route for a bicycle trip around the world...
https://en.m.wikivoyage.org/wiki/Anadyr
June 2, 2019
A very interesting novel in the sense that so much has been written from the explorer's point of view, it's about time we heard a more "inside" perspective. Here, a Canadian sailor gets injured while in the Arctic and through unforeseen circumstances is then left behind by his ship. Cared for by the natives, he learns to live and respect their ways. Rytkheu seems to know intimately what life is like for the people of this region. His description of all the tools and rituals of daily living, of the hunts and the animals were detailed and vivid. (The one thing I wasn't sure about was whether John really would have been so worried about the rest of the world exploiting the land and people. It seems like a rather modern perspective than of someone living in those days. But perhaps I'm wrong.)
January 27, 2019
In the second decade of the 20th century, a young Canadian sailor, John MacLennan, comes to the far North to the northern tip of Siberia. His ship is stuck in ice and detonating charges to free it, he suffers terrible injuries to his hands. Three Chukchi tribesmen start to take him to the nearest hospital, miles and miles away, and on the way his hands turn gangrenous. So a shaman-woman amputates all but several fingers. Upon return to the Chukchi settlement, they find the ship has left without John, after a storm has broken up the ice. So he lives among them and takes up their customs. They help him and he finds, instead of being savages and frightening, they are trusting and really human, in the best sense of the word. Much of the book is a description of their daily lives--joys and troubles alike. John acculturates, adopts their customs, takes on a wife, and finally has to face a decision when his mother arrives: does he leave and go back to Canada a cripple or does he stay?
This was a marvelous book. Not only is there the description of a people, but the village elder Orvo, speaks much wisdom. Sometimes the writing was a bit awkward and clunky, but that could have been the translation.
Highly recommended.
This was a marvelous book. Not only is there the description of a people, but the village elder Orvo, speaks much wisdom. Sometimes the writing was a bit awkward and clunky, but that could have been the translation.
Highly recommended.
March 16, 2014
I’ve had the treat of just returning to Yuri Rythkheu’s novel A Dream in Polar Fog (trans. Ilona Yazhbin Chavasse; Archipelago Books, 2005) to teach it in my class this semester. If it were just an adventure story, one would not expect the book to have been published by a press with Archipelago’s literary credentials. And indeed, while plot is what drives the book forward, local color gives it depth. Add a dose of historical fiction, and the novel lopes briskly along on three legs without the need of a fourth, be it character depth or stylistic complexity. Searching for these will lead you down a side path in approaching this book, where you’ll likely lose sight of the emotional truth and compassionate understanding that lie at its core. (I've posted a more detailed review here: http://russellv.com/2014/03/16/a-book....
September 8, 2012
I love the Chukchi arctic materials--walrus leather, whale bone, fur, boiled nerpa... I even like how the adventure genre gives way almost entirely to melodrama, but a good deal of the storytelling is dealt with too heavy a hand. I wish it were a bit more dreamy and ambiguous, more spacious for the reader. I feel patronized when the author really leans on interpreting his own scenes.
July 22, 2011
In trying to place this wonderful text on one of my Goodreads shelves, I was pleased to discover that it doesn't exactly fit anywhere (I settled for "Russia" on geographical terms, but that's completely arbitrary). That's be cause A Dream in Polar Fog is kind of about everything--at least more so than most books I've read that have been given such a label.
On the surface, it's an engrossing travel tale about John MacLennan, a novice Canadian explorer that finds himself marooned amongst the Chukchi people of the Bering Sea after having lost his hands in an explosion. The narrative follows MacLennan's transformation from a stranger in a very unforgiving climate to a full fledged luoravetlan, the Chukchi term for a "proper person."
But A Dream in Polar Fog is not simply a story of personal metamorphosis, but one of an entire community's evolution. It's a meditation on our connection to our environment, no matter how forbidding. It's about the process of change. It's about learning to love a place and people that once seemed inhospitable. It's about understanding the ties that bind all of us together as well as embracing and preserving that which is truly unique within each person, each community.
Quite impressively, Rytkheu manages to fold all of the above themes into a tale that is engrossing and not the least bit pretentious or heavy handed. In other words, A Dream in Polar Fog is a very good book about a bit of everything.
On the surface, it's an engrossing travel tale about John MacLennan, a novice Canadian explorer that finds himself marooned amongst the Chukchi people of the Bering Sea after having lost his hands in an explosion. The narrative follows MacLennan's transformation from a stranger in a very unforgiving climate to a full fledged luoravetlan, the Chukchi term for a "proper person."
But A Dream in Polar Fog is not simply a story of personal metamorphosis, but one of an entire community's evolution. It's a meditation on our connection to our environment, no matter how forbidding. It's about the process of change. It's about learning to love a place and people that once seemed inhospitable. It's about understanding the ties that bind all of us together as well as embracing and preserving that which is truly unique within each person, each community.
Quite impressively, Rytkheu manages to fold all of the above themes into a tale that is engrossing and not the least bit pretentious or heavy handed. In other words, A Dream in Polar Fog is a very good book about a bit of everything.
March 27, 2024
Ein leises Abenteuer mit viel Charakterentwicklung, das tiefe Einblicke in das Leben der Tschuktschen gibt.
September 19, 2018
Outstanding story about cultural differences, understanding, compassion, selflessness, and self awareness. A fascinating perspective on the ability of some people to change for the better in their understanding and acceptance of people from vastly different cultures than their own. The novel also offered a unique glimpse into the world of the Chukchi and other native inhabitants of that cold, northern region of Siberia.
April 25, 2011
I can't stop thinking about this book. The language is beautiful, the story is compelling, and it really provided some amazing insights about culture, survival, nature, community, the environment, and what makes life worth living.
November 16, 2014
Took me a few chapters to get into this one, but once the scene was set I was captivated.
John MacLennan, a sailor from Ontario, finds himself abandoned among the Chukchi people of northeastern Russia in the early 20th century after suffering a devastating accident. The book chronicles the following eight years as he learns to adapt to his new reality, coming to terms with the results of his injuries and life in an entirely foreign culture. Through ingenuity and desperation, John comes to appreciate the gifts hidden in the tragedy.
Rytkheu deftly carries us along. Though the reader correctly anticipates certain segments (John will be aloof to the Chukchi initially, thinking them primitive; John will then learn the error of these thoughts) the author never presents John as a buffoon. The reader can sympathize with his initial fears; the respect John later develops does not come across as preachy. Instead we see him develop from a scared young man, swinging to near-idolization of his new community's way of life, but ultimately realizing that human faults and kindnesses are, in fact, universal traits irrespective of race and culture. Only then can he be fully honest with himself about his role among the Chukchi people as he chooses whether to return to the home he once knew or stay with the people of Enmyn. The last chapter felt a bit untidy... a necessary bit to tie up the loose ends, but I wasn't sure how realistic it truly was.
For anyone who has enjoyed books about life in the Arctic (Call of the Wild, Julie of the Wolves, Never Cry Wolf) or those interested in the lives of the North American aboriginals, this book is highly recommended.
John MacLennan, a sailor from Ontario, finds himself abandoned among the Chukchi people of northeastern Russia in the early 20th century after suffering a devastating accident. The book chronicles the following eight years as he learns to adapt to his new reality, coming to terms with the results of his injuries and life in an entirely foreign culture. Through ingenuity and desperation, John comes to appreciate the gifts hidden in the tragedy.
Rytkheu deftly carries us along. Though the reader correctly anticipates certain segments (John will be aloof to the Chukchi initially, thinking them primitive; John will then learn the error of these thoughts) the author never presents John as a buffoon. The reader can sympathize with his initial fears; the respect John later develops does not come across as preachy. Instead we see him develop from a scared young man, swinging to near-idolization of his new community's way of life, but ultimately realizing that human faults and kindnesses are, in fact, universal traits irrespective of race and culture. Only then can he be fully honest with himself about his role among the Chukchi people as he chooses whether to return to the home he once knew or stay with the people of Enmyn. The last chapter felt a bit untidy... a necessary bit to tie up the loose ends, but I wasn't sure how realistic it truly was.
For anyone who has enjoyed books about life in the Arctic (Call of the Wild, Julie of the Wolves, Never Cry Wolf) or those interested in the lives of the North American aboriginals, this book is highly recommended.
October 18, 2021
When I first read Yuri Rytkheu's two novels published (handsomely) by Archipelago Books, I preferred The Chukchi Bible because more entirely Chukchi; I felt a resistance to A Dream in Polar Fog's strategy to use the old adventure tale of a white man lost in the Arctic, and was impatient of the time given to John's point of view. On a second read I didn't put up that kind of resistance, and five-star this as I five-starred The Chukchi Bible from the first [https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...]
Also, I am so glad I misremembered the end. This novel being set in the 1910s, and a more conventional historical story, it has less of a note of the destruction of Chukchi culture -- more upon its discovery for John.
Also, I am so glad I misremembered the end. This novel being set in the 1910s, and a more conventional historical story, it has less of a note of the destruction of Chukchi culture -- more upon its discovery for John.
February 8, 2018
A captivating story, you don't want it to end. It stays with you...
February 15, 2019
There is a lot to like here, it’s a slow story with likeable interesting characters. Some of the dialogue is clunky and there is a tendency to make the conversations a lesson for the reader rather than to forward the narrative of the story. I do wonder if the translator struggled to translate a dialect that was present in the original. The descriptions of the setting and the Chukchi way of the life were the best bits.
May 11, 2024
I love it! <3
May 13, 2024
Wow this was such a beautiful story, it left me in tears at the end! which as not happened to me before in a loooot of years... The novel describes very well the tension and consequences of western influence and traditional/indigenous way of life. A good book for everyone to read who is critical about our global, kapitalist way of life in the west.
December 28, 2019
"People who live in cold climes must keep warm by kindness...I think that is how every person should be. Kindness - it's the same as having a head, a nose, a pair of feet...There are many nations living on the earth. Each of their people carries a seed of suspicion toward those not of their own tribe. Oftentimes, they won't even see the people of another tribe as real human beings. You think that the Chukchi people don't do this? It happens. I don't know whether its good or bad, but each Chukcha is sure, deep down, that it's he who is living the right way, that there is no language better than the Chukchi, and that nowhere in the world is there such a person as him...I lived a long time among white people, and I know that even between themselves they can't come to agreement, as for us, they don't see us as people at all. Your folk are well-known for being like that..." "...It would be far too simple, if everything hinged merely on the color of a persons skin." page 139.
That, and so much more. As noted by others, it's a mix of Melville and Jack London in spirit. I loved it for its honest beauty.
That, and so much more. As noted by others, it's a mix of Melville and Jack London in spirit. I loved it for its honest beauty.
May 12, 2020
Beautiful and lyrical, heart breaking and lovely. John MacLennan is an unforgettable character, and his adopted people, the Chukchi, are too.
November 15, 2022
A most enjoyable anthropological look at indigenous life on the Bering strait and their interactions with various white North Americans. I don’t hand five star ratings easily, but I lived every minute of this inside look.
Summary: John MacClennan loses his both hands and his old way of life when he is injured and rescued by Chukchi people in northern Russia. Discover what it takes for him to become a Luoravetlan, a true human.
Watch the slow transformation from his common western mindset to that of tribal northmen. The reader gets an inside look into life, death, illness, hunting of various species and the rhythm of life (and death) on the tundra.
I love the authors use of language and relationships in this story. It is humorous and heart wrenching. By the end, the title and some names come together to wrap the story up in a beautiful, meaningful ribbon. That is my jam. Well done.
Content: this would be a thought provoking book for young people encountering issues of race, waste and animal rights. Parents & teachers should be aware that while John is a guest in a family’s yaranga, he begins to look longingly at the woman of the house dressed in only a loin cloth. The author doesn’t describe at great length, but it happens and naturally so for a lonely man in the Arctic. There are some brief references to intercourse. (His Chukchi wife is surprised that everything works the same on a white man.) I think all of it is tasteful and natural in the course of the story, not added for interest. But I would preread to determine whether it’s an appropriate fit for your child/student.
For people of faith: John has a social faith in the white mans’ God. He doesn’t see any difference in the American God and the Chukchi gods, largely because he does not truly know the former. He wrestles with the Shamanism found in Chukotka and what he was told was “right”. This includes throwing a household idol outside in anger, participating in different Shamanistic rites and eventually abandoning his parents culture as an “imaginary god and hypocritical law”. A shaman woman is the person who saves his life by amputating his hands. A village shaman is a close friend and counselor.
Something I noticed (that saddened me) was the assumption by John (and maybe the author’s opinion) that all gods were fake. In reality, probably all the entities references were real- some good, some evil. There is so much more to learn about Shamanism (esp in the grand scheme of the supernatural realm and spiritual freedom); I found myself wanting a few more chapters. There is much I could say about this, but I’ll let the reader leave with their own wishes and prayers for the Chukchi.
Summary: John MacClennan loses his both hands and his old way of life when he is injured and rescued by Chukchi people in northern Russia. Discover what it takes for him to become a Luoravetlan, a true human.
Watch the slow transformation from his common western mindset to that of tribal northmen. The reader gets an inside look into life, death, illness, hunting of various species and the rhythm of life (and death) on the tundra.
I love the authors use of language and relationships in this story. It is humorous and heart wrenching. By the end, the title and some names come together to wrap the story up in a beautiful, meaningful ribbon. That is my jam. Well done.
Content: this would be a thought provoking book for young people encountering issues of race, waste and animal rights. Parents & teachers should be aware that while John is a guest in a family’s yaranga, he begins to look longingly at the woman of the house dressed in only a loin cloth. The author doesn’t describe at great length, but it happens and naturally so for a lonely man in the Arctic. There are some brief references to intercourse. (His Chukchi wife is surprised that everything works the same on a white man.) I think all of it is tasteful and natural in the course of the story, not added for interest. But I would preread to determine whether it’s an appropriate fit for your child/student.
For people of faith: John has a social faith in the white mans’ God. He doesn’t see any difference in the American God and the Chukchi gods, largely because he does not truly know the former. He wrestles with the Shamanism found in Chukotka and what he was told was “right”. This includes throwing a household idol outside in anger, participating in different Shamanistic rites and eventually abandoning his parents culture as an “imaginary god and hypocritical law”. A shaman woman is the person who saves his life by amputating his hands. A village shaman is a close friend and counselor.
Something I noticed (that saddened me) was the assumption by John (and maybe the author’s opinion) that all gods were fake. In reality, probably all the entities references were real- some good, some evil. There is so much more to learn about Shamanism (esp in the grand scheme of the supernatural realm and spiritual freedom); I found myself wanting a few more chapters. There is much I could say about this, but I’ll let the reader leave with their own wishes and prayers for the Chukchi.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 6, 2020
A haunting book. Beautifully written and translated from Russian, the author, a native of the Siberian Arctic, tells the story of a young Canadian sailor, John McLennan, who has a horrible accident while exploring the far north Arctic region as the winter of 1912 closes in. His only hope of survival is for the Chukchi people to dog sled him to get medical help. In the meantime, the ship has to leave as the waters start to freeze, leaving John behind.
It is about survival, adaptation, and learning to understand another’s culture, but from the perspective of the indigenous people. There is love, loss, and adventure interlaced with the amazing ways the Arctic people survive their incredibly harsh environment.
It is about survival, adaptation, and learning to understand another’s culture, but from the perspective of the indigenous people. There is love, loss, and adventure interlaced with the amazing ways the Arctic people survive their incredibly harsh environment.
July 8, 2012
In Enmyn im hohen russischen Norden legt eines Tages, Anfang des 20. Jahrhunderts, ein Schiff an, das vom Packeis getrieben und festgesetzt vorerst keine Chance hat, wieder auf Fahrt gehen zu können. Nach einigen Tagen wachsender Ungeduld bessert sich schließlich die Wetterlage. Um endgültig freizukommen wird John, einer der Matrosen, losgeschickt, um Sprengungen durchzuführen und so eine Fahrtrinne zu haben. Und dabei geschieht das Unglück: John wird stark verletzt, insbesondere an den Händen.
Der Kapitän ersucht die Einheimischen, John mit Hundeschlitten zum nächstgelegenen Krankenhaus zu fahren und ihn zu retten. Weder John selbst noch die Einheimischen sind zunächst begeistert, doch Geschenke (für die Einheimischen) und Versprechen nicht vor der Rückkehr abzureisen (an John) lassen die Stimmung kippen und so macht sich John zusammen mit einigen Tschuktschen auf die Reise. Obwohl John von dieser Reise schneller als gedacht (allerdings ohne Finger) wieder in Enmyn zurück ist, muss er feststellen, dass seine Kameraden den Anker bereits gelichtet haben ...
... und so wird John schließlich gezwungen, seine Abneigungen und Vorurteile gegen diese Wilden zu überwinden, um den Winter in Enmyn zu überleben. Toko wird sein Lehrer, der ihm beibringt, ohne die verlorenen Hände zu leben - und zu jagen. Insbesondere dieser erste Teil hat mir gut gefallen, da Juri Rychteu den Aufeinanderprall der beiden Kulturen nachvollziehbar und ohne zu überdramatisieren beschreibt. Diese ruhige Erzählweise zieht sich im gesamten Buch durch, manchem (emotional veranlagten) Leser ist sie vielleicht sogar etwas zu distanziert.
Im restlichen Buch beschreibt Rychteu wie John sich (teilweise mühsam) in die Gemeinschaft der Tschuktschen integriert und damit auch über das typische Leben in einer Tschuktschen-Siedlung, das auf den ersten Blick primitiv und wenig anziehend erscheint. In der zweiten Hälfte des Buches geht es dann verstärkt um den Einfluss der Weißen auf das Leben der Tschutschken, sowohl durch neue Konsumgüter und technische Neuerungen als auch dem altbekannten Streben nach Macht und Gold.
Das Ende hätte meiner Meinung nach weniger dramatisch ausfallen können, aber nun gut.
Der Kapitän ersucht die Einheimischen, John mit Hundeschlitten zum nächstgelegenen Krankenhaus zu fahren und ihn zu retten. Weder John selbst noch die Einheimischen sind zunächst begeistert, doch Geschenke (für die Einheimischen) und Versprechen nicht vor der Rückkehr abzureisen (an John) lassen die Stimmung kippen und so macht sich John zusammen mit einigen Tschuktschen auf die Reise. Obwohl John von dieser Reise schneller als gedacht (allerdings ohne Finger) wieder in Enmyn zurück ist, muss er feststellen, dass seine Kameraden den Anker bereits gelichtet haben ...
... und so wird John schließlich gezwungen, seine Abneigungen und Vorurteile gegen diese Wilden zu überwinden, um den Winter in Enmyn zu überleben. Toko wird sein Lehrer, der ihm beibringt, ohne die verlorenen Hände zu leben - und zu jagen. Insbesondere dieser erste Teil hat mir gut gefallen, da Juri Rychteu den Aufeinanderprall der beiden Kulturen nachvollziehbar und ohne zu überdramatisieren beschreibt. Diese ruhige Erzählweise zieht sich im gesamten Buch durch, manchem (emotional veranlagten) Leser ist sie vielleicht sogar etwas zu distanziert.
Im restlichen Buch beschreibt Rychteu wie John sich (teilweise mühsam) in die Gemeinschaft der Tschuktschen integriert und damit auch über das typische Leben in einer Tschuktschen-Siedlung, das auf den ersten Blick primitiv und wenig anziehend erscheint. In der zweiten Hälfte des Buches geht es dann verstärkt um den Einfluss der Weißen auf das Leben der Tschutschken, sowohl durch neue Konsumgüter und technische Neuerungen als auch dem altbekannten Streben nach Macht und Gold.
Das Ende hätte meiner Meinung nach weniger dramatisch ausfallen können, aber nun gut.
July 8, 2009
I found this very interesting book at the Mary Styles Library. A tale of survival of an American sailor who loses his hands and is abandoned by his ship, he is adopted by a tribe of Russian indigenous people related to the Eskimos. This tale is very detailed and describes a hard life of subsistence living in the arctic. Although a bit dated, it was still a fascinating read.
July 4, 2023
I actually find this book so boring, with little fragments of events thrown in the beginning of the book and in its end and the rest of it is just insignificant, with over-detailed daily practices; he goes to the hunt, fails, tries again, successes, goes back to the hut, reflects on his day and the food he is eating (repeated throughout the book), beside the fact that the end was a bit expected!
May 3, 2010
Jack London meets Margaret Mead in this charming novel, set in the Arctic in 1910. An American white man is left to make a life among the indigenous hunters of the north when he loses his hands in an explosion. Best read in the comfort of one's warm bed.
December 15, 2016
Easily the best book I've read this year. A a fascinating and poetic examination of colonialism that is told convincingly from both a western and an aboriginal perspective. Essential reading.
Also, here is a beautiful gallery of the Chukchi people:
http://www.beforethey.com/culture/chu...
Also, here is a beautiful gallery of the Chukchi people:
http://www.beforethey.com/culture/chu...
September 13, 2020
I don't think I've read anything about the Chukchi people before, so there was a lot of interesting stuff here, but it does get very dark in places and the writing style didn't really do it for me. Still, I'm glad to have read it.
September 13, 2024
Wonderful book, outstanding translation.
December 11, 2018
A Dream in Polar Fog, filled with arctic tundra and glittering Northern Lights, is the perfect winter read. Written by a member of the Chukchi tribe in northern Siberia, Yuri Rytkheu, the book tells the story of a white man who, in the early 1900’s, gets stranded in Chukotka after a dynamite accident leaves him close to death. The native people save his life, but he looses most of his fingers. Over 8 years, John, or Sson as the Chukchi call him, integrates into this native culture where he marries, fathers (and looses) children, learns to hunt and build and, in his opinion, become a true man, sloughing off the hypocritical mores of “civilized society”. The story was beautifully told and Rytkheu goes into great detail about her culture as it looked at the turn of the century—how they built their homes, planned and executed their hunts, structured their society, and the ill influence that brushes with white culture brought to their tribes. There was a strong aspect of what might be considered a romanticization of this time period, but as it is written from an Own Voices perspective, I imagine it is fairly accurate. Its romanticization of the simple and communistic social structure of the Chukchi is less orientalism and more longing for the purity of more instinctual society. Though historical, I would categorize this under the utopian genre for that reason. (SEE ADDITIONAL THOUGHTS ADDED BELOW)
This is an incredibly immersive book, so detailed and so beautifully written. Every moment moves by like a dreamscape, ice and fog and the dim twilight of sunless winter days. Absolutely beautiful to read and highly recommended to everyone, but especially anyone interested in native culture, lesser seen sides of Russian history, and anything arctic.
EDIT 12/11/2018: Additional thoughts. I keep coming back to this one detail within the story--how the white male protagonist, John, first begins to teach one of the village men, Tiarat, how to speak, read, and write English. Then when the other villagers begin to tease Tiarat, calling his writing a child's game, John has a revelation that the Chukchi should be left untouched as much as possible and therefore encourages his friend to give up the attempt to learn English--even though it was Tiarat who approached John in the first place to learn how to speak and write. In the context of the fact that Yuri Rytkheu, himself a Chukchi, has written more than 10 novels and story collections, this point in the story seems to reveal an underpinning narrative--that the white man comes to the indigenous land in search of himself, determines to become native and live simply, ends up finding his own peace, but still considers himself lord over all, hording knowledge as if he has the authority to decide the fate of a people. Yes, John considers his decision to withhold knowledge as something of a blessing, to keep the Chukchi as pure as possible, and the sentiment is "noble" (in white minds), but there are already forces which are pressing in on the Chukchi--the Russian revolution which will soon be sending delegates to the Chukchi to properly Russianize them; the gold discovered in their lands which will bring a crowd of white people in search of riches; the scientific expeditions which have already been crowding their shores. Objectively, the noblest and best thing for John to do for his new friends and family would be to prepare them with knowledge so they are not overrun by people who would do them harm. Yet he chooses to allow them their ignorance in the name of purity. From a white writer, this would be pure romantic orientalism, but from an indigenous writer, it is a powerful punctuation mark to underscore the whole, gorgeous tale: though the white man treasures the native ways, he will see them ruined without lifting a finger in the name of a purity he has never known.
What a powerful, beautiful novel. And a magnificent translation, as well.
This is an incredibly immersive book, so detailed and so beautifully written. Every moment moves by like a dreamscape, ice and fog and the dim twilight of sunless winter days. Absolutely beautiful to read and highly recommended to everyone, but especially anyone interested in native culture, lesser seen sides of Russian history, and anything arctic.
EDIT 12/11/2018: Additional thoughts. I keep coming back to this one detail within the story--how the white male protagonist, John, first begins to teach one of the village men, Tiarat, how to speak, read, and write English. Then when the other villagers begin to tease Tiarat, calling his writing a child's game, John has a revelation that the Chukchi should be left untouched as much as possible and therefore encourages his friend to give up the attempt to learn English--even though it was Tiarat who approached John in the first place to learn how to speak and write. In the context of the fact that Yuri Rytkheu, himself a Chukchi, has written more than 10 novels and story collections, this point in the story seems to reveal an underpinning narrative--that the white man comes to the indigenous land in search of himself, determines to become native and live simply, ends up finding his own peace, but still considers himself lord over all, hording knowledge as if he has the authority to decide the fate of a people. Yes, John considers his decision to withhold knowledge as something of a blessing, to keep the Chukchi as pure as possible, and the sentiment is "noble" (in white minds), but there are already forces which are pressing in on the Chukchi--the Russian revolution which will soon be sending delegates to the Chukchi to properly Russianize them; the gold discovered in their lands which will bring a crowd of white people in search of riches; the scientific expeditions which have already been crowding their shores. Objectively, the noblest and best thing for John to do for his new friends and family would be to prepare them with knowledge so they are not overrun by people who would do them harm. Yet he chooses to allow them their ignorance in the name of purity. From a white writer, this would be pure romantic orientalism, but from an indigenous writer, it is a powerful punctuation mark to underscore the whole, gorgeous tale: though the white man treasures the native ways, he will see them ruined without lifting a finger in the name of a purity he has never known.
What a powerful, beautiful novel. And a magnificent translation, as well.
April 25, 2018
I loved this book. It isn’t something I would pick myself, but it was a selection from my BookVoyage club.. If you love a quiet novel about community, humanity, friendship, adventure, and perseverance please pick this up! AND if you would like to add some translated fiction to your TBR, check out this book subscription. I learned so much from this book.
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“... The closer man is to nature, more free and untainted he is in his thoughts and in his actions.“
“Sson, this helpless, person would not have the slightest inkling of how a real man I to live, was gradually becoming an actual human being.”
“And if today you have killed your brother just because he does not look like you, then tomorrow… “
“True, true it’s easier for the whites not to consider us as people. You have power: guns, big ships, the many strange devices you’re so canny at making. But your arrogance – that’s the evil that can destroy you in the end.“
“ .... a man is always a man, however strange his customs and habits seem to another, however unusual his appearance. Don’t look at a man’s outside; look deep into his eyes, feel his heart – that’s where his true self will be found.“
“The thing that divides us from one another is stereotypes about others and wrong ideas about ourselves. “John said. “I think that the biggest mistake might be this: each nation thinks that it’s the only one that lives in the right way, and all the others have turned their back on this right away, for one reason or another. And itself, the idea is harmless. It even helps keep order in a society. When a nation tries to change another’s way of life forcibly, that’s where things go wrong”
Regarding man believing that man is the strongest and smartest and “that he is the only master of the earth.“ “But then, nature, Narginen, the Outer Forces, take away all the extraneous things – people who were born not out of need, but out of lust. They sent down diseases, famine, they destroy the food stores that breed laziness in people. This is the kind of storm that the Outer Forces used to clear away all that can lift man above them ...It’s as though Narginen is reminding us: I’m master here, and it’s only on my sufferance that man lives here at all… “
“If the resources that you spent on proving man’s ability to exist in the Arctic and in looking for new lands, have been used to plumb the soul of the northern man, all the world and humanity would be graced with the wealth much greater than any scrap of icy wasteland lost in the Arctic Ocean.“
****************************************************************************
“... The closer man is to nature, more free and untainted he is in his thoughts and in his actions.“
“Sson, this helpless, person would not have the slightest inkling of how a real man I to live, was gradually becoming an actual human being.”
“And if today you have killed your brother just because he does not look like you, then tomorrow… “
“True, true it’s easier for the whites not to consider us as people. You have power: guns, big ships, the many strange devices you’re so canny at making. But your arrogance – that’s the evil that can destroy you in the end.“
“ .... a man is always a man, however strange his customs and habits seem to another, however unusual his appearance. Don’t look at a man’s outside; look deep into his eyes, feel his heart – that’s where his true self will be found.“
“The thing that divides us from one another is stereotypes about others and wrong ideas about ourselves. “John said. “I think that the biggest mistake might be this: each nation thinks that it’s the only one that lives in the right way, and all the others have turned their back on this right away, for one reason or another. And itself, the idea is harmless. It even helps keep order in a society. When a nation tries to change another’s way of life forcibly, that’s where things go wrong”
Regarding man believing that man is the strongest and smartest and “that he is the only master of the earth.“ “But then, nature, Narginen, the Outer Forces, take away all the extraneous things – people who were born not out of need, but out of lust. They sent down diseases, famine, they destroy the food stores that breed laziness in people. This is the kind of storm that the Outer Forces used to clear away all that can lift man above them ...It’s as though Narginen is reminding us: I’m master here, and it’s only on my sufferance that man lives here at all… “
“If the resources that you spent on proving man’s ability to exist in the Arctic and in looking for new lands, have been used to plumb the soul of the northern man, all the world and humanity would be graced with the wealth much greater than any scrap of icy wasteland lost in the Arctic Ocean.“
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