ABANDONED. Adult fiction. Story within a story. Male protagonist travels up to Arctic Circle. Meets Inuit? woman with children in cabin in snow, her husband is white and has gone insane. Read 1997-2007.

[Claire Michie]

so i remember reading some book, in the past 10 years, that has a story in it about someone who travels up to the arctic circle. male protagonist meets a woman with children in a cabin in the snow. none of the family speaks (?) turns out the husband has gone totally insane and is living in the wilderness near their home...anyone? i don't even think it's that related to the main story, but somehow...

[Kate]

I totally want to read this book, whatever it is.

[Heron]

I have read this book! I think...does the protagonist meet with the insane man over a period of time, and eventually learn why he went insane? And if I'm not mistaken, does the protagonist have sex with the wife? Am I completely off base?

[Heron]

Ok, more ideas: the crazy husband is white (anglo) the wife is native (inuit)? the protagonist is white. Definitely not the main story thread. This is driving me crazy.

[Claire Michie]

YES! wife is inuit I think, or some other native culture and husband is white, and i think the protaganist DOES sleep with the wife! I'm glad someone is here to share my insane frustration with trying to remember where this story within a story is from, it's a compelling part in the book...

[Maria]

Sarah: Totally long shot, but is your book "Raging Robots and Unruly Uncles" by Margret Mahy? I haven't read that book in 17 years and remember almost nothing of it, but your keywords just rung a bell with me.

[Heron]

Ok, this sounds crazy, but I keep returning to a mystery I read that involves a lesbian cop in San FRancisco who is investigating the murder of a man who essentially became Sherlock Holmes, ie dressed like him, made his entire house into Baker St. There were several side stories in this book, and I'm wondering if this could be one. Have you read it?

[Claire Michie]

Thanks Heron, I haven't read it so it's probably not it...what's the name of that book though, it sounds interesting?

[Peggy]

There's a list of books with an Arctic setting here:

http://www.librarything.com/subject.p...

I'll keep trying to refine my search, but maybe something here will ring a bell.

[Heron]

I wish I could remember. Maybe it's a Ruth Rendell? It's a series, with the women raising a child together and eventually, thought I don't want to spoil it, getting married. Truly lovely setting for interesting mysteries.

[Morgen]

bump

[Emily]

Here's a shot:

Seems too recent but maybe. It fits some of the descriptions.
"Afterlands" by Steven Heighton

Is a story within a story (possibly within another story) about an arctic expedition. Characters are Tyson and Hannah and Hannah's husband who leaves or is on the brink of leaving and their kids.

Hannah is Inuit (real name is Tukulito).

The protagonist and Hannah do sleep together:
"Tyson lays particular emphasis on what he perceives to be the barbarity of Hannah, faulting her for her housekeeping but also for the manner in which she continues to have relations with her husband despite his sharing their quarters."

And all this just seems part of a bigger story of Tyson writing a memoir and lots of other characters are in the story too.

(From Literary Review of Canada, March 1, 2006)

[Claire Michie]

Hmm, that does sound really similar, but, looking at Afterlands on amazon I KNOW I've not ever read it - and I'm almost 100% sure it wasn't collected into a volume of short stories. Hmm, I've just looked through it a bit on amazon and that's not it. Thanks for the attempt (and thanks Morgen for the bump!).

[Lobstergirl, au gratin]

Claire, are you still looking for this or did you find it?

[Claire]

I did not find this! (though had to create a new account because of the death of my hotmail)

[Claire]

Bumping this again in case anyone has read it in the last two years (or intervening 14 years that I've been looking).

[Rainbowheart]

14 years!!!

We've got to find this one. I'm sure with our collective skills we can dredge it up.

[Kris]

Claire, I added some details to the header/ topic title. Let us know if you have edits.

Can you tell us more about the protagonist - e.g., why did he travel to the far north? his job? hometown? family/friends, etc.?

What is the husband's job? How did the married couple meet?

[Kris]

Can we eliminate Midnight Sun by Elwood Reid?

Any references to polar expeditions?

[Kris]

No response, moving to Abandoned folder.

Claire (OP) was last active on the site in April 2019.