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Fine (as new.) First edition - First printing, a small paperback, issued simultaneously with a limited edition hardcover. First separate publication of this short story. A slim volume, 45 pp.
45 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1991
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
July 20, 2017
Inuit is a short story bound as a book. It depicts an Inuit community in orbit around Earth from the perspective of a young boy. The Inuit had found material wealth on their lands, and decided to make an artificial satellite recreation of the arctic to continue their way of life. The main character learns the truth, and it challenges his traditional values. This story is a small window into the complex interaction between tradition and modernity. I wish it was a little more flesh out, but I enjoyed the story as is.
April 13, 2011
I first read this many years ago. This is a story--not really novel-length, but more like a novella--of an Inuit boy living in an artificial satellite that has been created as a place where his culture can preserve their traditional lifestyle. It follows the story of the 12-year-old's mandatory education, when he learns the truth about his world--and uncomfortable other truths, such as the fact that scientists back on Earth have recently demonstrated the sentience of the whales his people still hunts by communicating with them. When he returns to his village to take place in his first whale hunt, he feels deeply conflicted.
Okay. That makes the story sound like a bad Saturday-afternoon ecological TV program from the 70s. The truth, though, is that this is a finely crafted and thoughtful tale, not really a YA story (though not inappropriate for YA readers), gentle yet tough in the questions is raises. No one here is the bad guy. It's a story about traditions, it's a story about growing up, and it's a fine science fiction story, not because it takes place in an artificial satellite but because it confronts the profoundly sf question of how we as individuals and societies must adjust when scientific understanding changes our view of the world around us. It's a story that's well worth your read if you can get your hands on it.
Okay. That makes the story sound like a bad Saturday-afternoon ecological TV program from the 70s. The truth, though, is that this is a finely crafted and thoughtful tale, not really a YA story (though not inappropriate for YA readers), gentle yet tough in the questions is raises. No one here is the bad guy. It's a story about traditions, it's a story about growing up, and it's a fine science fiction story, not because it takes place in an artificial satellite but because it confronts the profoundly sf question of how we as individuals and societies must adjust when scientific understanding changes our view of the world around us. It's a story that's well worth your read if you can get your hands on it.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews