Sivulliq: Ancestor

by Lily H. Tuzroyluke

In the spring of 1893, arctic Alaska is devastated by smallpox. Kayaliruk knows it is time to light the funeral pyres and leave their home. With her surviving children, she packs their dog sled and they set off to find family.   Kayaliruk wakes with a bleeding scalp and no memory of the last day. Her daughter was stolen by Yankee whalers, her sons say. They begin chasing the ship, through arctic storms, across immeasurable distances, slipping into the Yankee whalers' town on Herschel Island, and to the enemy shores of Siberia.   Ibai, an African American whaler, grew up in New Bedford, Massachusetts among the long-standing whaling industry. This is his first whaling expedition. He learned the names of the whaling ships, counted their barrels, whalebone, and baleen, memorized stories of seafaring heroes overcoming great odds, while his father crafted harpoons for captains. In anguish, he learns whaling ships will obtain oil at any cost. The lives of Kayaliruk and Ibai become intertwined on this journey, both witnessing colonial horrors upon their Peoples.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Indigenous, Fiction, Book Club, American

276 pages, Paperback

Published January 10, 2023

Reviews

[Ula]

i may not be as amazed as most people who read this book seem to be, but still thought it was pretty great: fantastic writing definitely helps with solid character portraits you can find in "Sivulliq." all of the main characters have clear motivations that combined with well-constructed development create a page-turning and at times unexpectedly warm story (yes, i am talking about the last two or three pages of the book, i was waiting for that last thing the entire time, thank you very much)

honestly there aren't many thoughts in my head, it's great; if you're into historical fiction - go read it

[RK · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love Alaskan books written by Alaskans and this one doesn't disappoint.

It was a smidge slow in the middle, but I think that's a me-problem and not the book's problem.

Overall I enjoyed the glimpse into the historical lives of whalers and Alaska Natives.

[A Rush Of Emotions · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book as part of a readers group on Instagram (Indigenous Reading Circle) and I enjoyed it so much.

It begins with a guy punch of a scene, where we find the heroine caring for her family members who are dying of smallpox. Their Alaskan community has been affected by the new disease and so many of her relatives have past away.

This story is about how she fights to survive afterward. With her young children by her side, she had to do it all: hunt, cook, care for them, teach them their ways of life, carry on what her ancestors have taught her, all while grieving and living in a perpetual state of fear that the disease could come back at any time.

When her daughter gets taken by some whalers, she and her boys go on a mission to save her. They come across so many unique people but none is as unique as the older woman, Nasau, who begins helping them.

My favorite part of this book was how the heroine and Nassau are such strong, fierce women. They battle the cold and unseen forces and are determined to get her daughter back. Their characters really gave me hope that the girl would be found, and I carried that hope through the tumultuous moments in this book.

I really enjoyed this book, and like most historical fiction books, I feel like I learned something amazing about how things used to be. I found myself yearning for a time when things were simpler, harder sure, but simpler.

[Laura Hoffman Brauman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sivulliq is an excellent work of historical fiction. When the novel open in 1893 in the northern Arctic of what is now Alaska, Kayaliruk is caring for family members who are dying of smallpox. After the last death, she takes her three surviving children and seeks out family. When her family encounters whalers, they steal her 5 year old daughter following an attack on the children. From here, the narrative weaves two stories - one of Kayaliruk and her journey to follow the whalers and reclaim her daughter, and the other of Ibai, an African American whaler out of New Bedford MA. This is a fast paced tale of strength and the love of a mother for her daughter as she pushes against the same colonialism and racism that Ibai is experiencing on the ship. Highly recommend - this one deserves more attention.

[Erin || erins_library · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a great historical fiction novel. Tuzroyluke really evoked the feeling of being in the arctic on the land. I felt like I could feel the snow and the ice beneath my feet, the vastness of the tundra in all directions. And there's so much important history that is the foundation of this story, that she did an excellent job of making real for the reader. And the story moved at a great pace, always driving toward the end. Looking forward to her work in the future!

*Read for @IndigenousReadingCircle on Instagram

[Lori · Rating 4 out of 5]

This historical account of whaling and life in northwest Alaska is brutal. The characters of Kayaliruk and Ibai help to soften those edges; in words from the book, they are recognized as real human beings. And while the characterizations may hew a bit toward trope, I nonetheless found them interesting. While the storytelling is deft, I did wonder if some of the white men's language was too modern for the time period.

[Care · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one kept me engaged the whole way through. Very exciting narrative propelled by a gripping writing style.

content warnings
Graphic: Death, Racial slurs, Racism, Violence, Kidnapping, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Gun violence, Trafficking, and Pandemic/Epidemic

[Emma Much · Rating 5 out of 5]

Incredible

[Cherime MacFarlane · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing read

Get thus book and prepare to read in one sitting. This is a marvelous tale of love and family. Don't hesitate to grab it five stars are not enough

[Nirkatze · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting read, though at times a bit confusing--the changing 1st person narrators each chapter made me wish for an audiobook with different narrators for each chapter, and the contrast between fast dialogue and slow lush description at times also meant my eyes were sometimes going faster than my mind, and forced me to backtrack.

I loved that the book made me more curious about the history--had me googling tidbits like Captain Healy and whether aaka was "mother" or "grandmother" or both. Both, sometimes. Would love to learn more Inupiaq. Also looked up the title of the book--"sivulliq," according to google, means "the first" and sometimes "the first to the goal will win." The "Ancestor" part isn't really revealed until the very end, and I'm not sure that I bought it or that it worked for me, but it was thought-provoking. The whole book had a lot of great thought-provoking moments.

I really loved seeing some of the Inupiat culture--seeing how every person Kaya came across helped her made me think of how a culture that grew up in such a harsh environment would develop such community compassion. Especially compared to the crudeness of the white whalers, taking and not giving back.

The adventure story was blood-riling. I found myself cheering every time Kaya took out another one of the crew... though I was also a bit curious as to why no one in the book (on any side) seemed to hesitate about taking a life. Not sure if that was a statement on the times, or just something the author didn't consider.

[Laura Norton-Cruz · Rating 5 out of 5]

I highly recommend this book. And because it goes to some really difficult places, and because an Alaska Native friend asked if it's too painful to read, I will add the caveat that I recommend it if you’re in a place where you can handle very sad and brutal history of colonization and racial violence -- but, handle that knowing that the story is also filled with very strong, resilient, heroic Iñupiaq people (especially women), and a story of justice. I was able to get through the painful parts because it was, ultimately, a story of justice and a story of a mother's love, a story of multiple adults caring for and pulling for a child. The history is not mine, the time period is not mine, but the story of a mother who would do anything for her children I could relate to powerfully and deeply, and I felt the protagonist in my bones. I felt too the community care for the child, the way that people rallied together to protect a child from colonial kidnap. The justice of this was so moving and so satisfying to read.

Lily Tuzroyluke clearly did exhaustive research to get all the details down. I learned so much about commercial whaling and about pre-colonization Iñupiaq hunting and lodging and travel and sewing. I find myself inspired and thinking about those details -- how twine is made from sinew, how many different kinds of seams are needed, how they netted seals, etc. days and days after reading them.

[Kasey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sivulliq is a unique and engaging story.

The book highlights themes of love, loss, family, grief, identity, hope, and survival. I give kudos to Tuzroyluke for tying these themes together without feeling too overwhelming.

The story is told through altering viewpoints of Kayaliruk and Ibai. Kayaliruk’s storyline focuses on her and her children racing through Alaska to find the Yankee ship that kidnapped her daughter. Ibai’s storyline is told from the Yankee ship and highlights how the whalers were treated and how they treated Natives.

Tuzroyluke was able to blend and showcase the many cultures that invaded Native regions and the clashes that often ensued.

My favorite character was Kayaliruk. I enjoyed her viewpoint the most and could empathize with her determination to retrieve her daughter.

This story is very fast-paced and keeps you wanting to see how the story will unfold. I felt the ending wrapped up nicely and left me satisfied.

I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of this book and liked it so much that I purchased it to add to my collection.

[earthshattering · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a gripping, action-packed book with a lot of really important themes and historical events woven into the story. A lot of the hard parts to read hit too close to home, so it took me some time to finish the book. It's not a black and white novel, the characters have dimension, even the really awful ones. One reading can't unpack all of the injustices of the whaling industry and colonization of America against the Alaska Native people. My favorite parts of the book were of Nasau and Kayaliruk and sons traveling across the arctic to the north. My least favorite parts involved the sailors on the ship, those men were disgusting. There are some really beautiful parts of this book, especially when Kaya is traveling with her family in the umiaqs.

[Keith Wilson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I hadn't heard of Lily H. Tuzroyluke, but heard about this book via the Writer's Block Alaska.

Tuzroyluk brought me right away to an Alaskan Arctic devastated by smallpox. The subsequent chapter placed me just as well into a whaling boat. The different narrators and perspectives and rhythms have the right balance of contrast and complement that keeps the story moving forward, across the water and over the snow.

The story has the patterns of suspense a thriller should have, but they are anything but predictable. At the same time, they are borne of lyrical prose in some places and beautiful simplicity in others.

I look forward to more books from this up-and-coming author.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book focuses primarily on two people. One is an Inupiaq woman, Kayaliruk, who with her three children has survived the smallpox epidemic which killed everyone else in her village. The other is Ibai, an African American whaler on a ship off of the coast of Alaska. Their lives become intertwined when the captain of Ibai's ship kidnaps Kayaliruk's daughter. We follow Kayaliruk and her children as they attempt to recapture her little girl, and we also see what Ibai's life is like on board the whaler. It is a grim tale, but in the end, we are left with hope for both of our main characters, and for Kayaliruk's family. I would love to read a book about what happens next.

[Abigail · Rating 3 out of 5]

This likely wasn't a book I'd have chosen to read on my own, but I liked the story and getting to experience a different period of history than I usually read. I found the dialogue hard to follow and there were a lot of typos that I couldn't get myself to ignore, but those could both just be me problems. I enjoyed the back and forth POV, but the whalers chapters made me so angry lol. The ending was fast paced and made up for how slow much of the middle was.

[Annie Pisarello · Rating 3 out of 5]

In 1893, leaving her smallpox devastated village, Kayalriuk begins to move her family North. Her daughter is kidnapped by Yankee whalers, who show no respect for the humanity of the Native peoples. Then begins the chase to the ship and the fight to get her family reunited. In the struggle she is helped by Ibai, and african american sailor who is disillusioned at learning the ships will obtain oil at any cost.

[Farnaz Fatemi · Rating 5 out of 5]

A page-turning story that deftly weaves two narratives together; I loved how I learned about the inupiaq world of the 1890’s and about the perspective of a young black American from New Bedford trying to change his life on a whaling ship. Great setting, characters, action, dialogue and so many good ancestor stories told by the main Inupiaq female character.

[Kara Mealer · Rating 3 out of 5]

The author has a distinct voice for certain. However, I find the antagonists in this story to be flimsy. They are the evil, capitalist white man vs the overly romanticized native american. It's lazy writing to me. When the whalers kill a bunch of walruses that's bad, when the natives kills a bunch of seals that's fine. The characters are simple cookie cutter versions of the human experience

[Daphyne · Rating 4 out of 5]

The setting is Alaska & the Yukon during the whaling days of the 19th century, and all the atrocities that accompanied that period are covered. But strip all that away and it’s really about a mother’s fierce love for her lost daughter.

[Meglie · Rating 5 out of 5]

LOVED this book. Read it while traveling in Nome and it was the perfect companion. The main character is the strongest and bravest and I appreciated the various narrative voices. Modern writing for a time past made it feel very contemporary. EXCELLENT!

[Molly Naaktgeboren · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a breathtaking and unapologetic portrayal of Alaskas past. The writing style speaks a story without assigning blame or guilt but instead highlights the strength and resiliency of those who have lived in Alaska time immemorial.

[Eric · Rating 4 out of 5]

Highly recommended

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

A stunning debut...

[Molly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful writing.

[Savannah Costner · Rating 4 out of 5]

Finally finished it. Not my typical read but it was a fast read. Fictional yet eye opening on how the Alaska Native peoples lived their lives.

[Susannah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Haunting and subtly funny. I like dark humor and this has a lot of it. Visceral descriptions worthy of a Tarantino movie, but deeply tender and wondrous too.

[Nicole · Rating 5 out of 5]

Honestly one of the best books I've ever read, especially in the historical fiction genre.

[Melinda · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 rounded up to 5.

[Melissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was an excellent adventure with a bit of history and lots of Indigenous lore, love, and survival!!