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CM . . .
. Volume X Number 4. . . . October 17, 2003
Using technical terms like Sish (granulated ice floating on the surface) and Ballycadders (ice frozen to the shoreline) as chapter headings, McGrath organizes the events in the life of a teenaged girl, Obie, and her father, Dr. Spicer, as they travel to the far North to pursue Dr. Spicer's research. Research, a great deal of it, has obviously been done by McGrath. A glossary at the back of the book explains these terms as other terms are explained as the characters relate to each other. Due to the sophisticated issues dealt with in the book, albeit with McGrath's deft hand, the book would be best for a sophisticated 15 or 16-year-old girl. The book has enough male characters to appeal to a 15 to 16-year-old male as well. When finished reading this book, 15 and 16-year-olds, and adults for that matter as well, will have a general understanding of issues that face researchers and native peoples in the North. But that would make the novel sound dry, and it isn't. McGrath's ease with detail, facility with dialogue, and understanding of human nature make this novel an extremely enjoyable and quick read. Skillfully interwoven into the story of Obie and her father are mini "lessons" in Canadian and native culture, history, and language. There are discussions of geology, as well as environmental and Gay issues. Overall, one has a sense of how people are affected by their culture's history as well as their personal history. People interact with and react to each other in a generally realistic manner. A concern I have with McGrath's portrayal of Obie is that she adjusts so easily and seamlessly with the people around her and with her mother's debilitating illness. Obie mentions at one point that one of her father's friends made a pass at her. Her father expresses no concern with this. In contrast with many of the issues realistically dealt with in the book, this reaction seems inappropriate. Obie's grief and difficulty with her mother's illness are not sufficiently dealt with nor do any of the characters seem to have a range of emotions. Everyone seems extraordinarily well adjusted and seems to deal with their hardships gracefully. Had Obie struggled more with issues, she would be a more believable character. In that struggle, McGrath might have imparted some important life lessons along with the social and environmental lessons she wrote about. Obie looked at the picture and the message, wondering if she was overdoing it. Did she miss her mother? She didn't miss the guilt, and she didn't miss the tiresome questions from friends and neighbours about her mother's health, but she did miss her mother, she thought with surprise. She missed the dry irony of her comments, the sharp insight into people her mother so often exhibited. A nice complement to the story is the book's design. The cover illustration conveys the cold of the ice and the moodiness of the weather. The font use in the text's print and chapter headings is long and thin like the "frazil" ice described in the book. The softly printed running head using the author's name and title of the book echoes the shape and movement of the clouds on the cover. Overall the book is well thought out and well written and researched. Highly Recommended. J. Lynn Fraser is the Communications Officer for The Centre for Research on Women's Health (Sunnybrook and Women's College Hospitals) and a freelance writer and editor in Toronto, ON.
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