Review:
Unseen companion by Denise Gosliner Orenstein
Katherine Tegan Books, 2003
13+ This is a compelling story set in the harsh bushland of
Alaska in 1968 and 1969. The story unfolds in the words of four Alaskan
teenagers who are each touched by Dove Alexie, a strange boy who lands
in jail for hitting a white teacher and who is savagely beaten by the
assistant marshall. When he turns up missing, Lorraine Hobbs, a loner
who brings meals to the prisoners, begins to question why a 16 year old
boy was in prison and involves Annette Weinland, the minister’s
daughter who volunteers there. Thelma and Edgar, two Yup’ik orphans
have encounted Dove at a boarding school earlier. With each teenager’s
distinctive story, the reader gains an insight into their bleak lives
and the mystery of Dove unfolds.
The author lived and taught in Alaska and she portrays the grim
location in an unforgettable way. The harshness and isolation of the
small town, the separation of the native Alaskan peoples from their
families and the grimness of the boarding school all
form an authentic background to the growth of the characters as
they try to come into their own.
Orenstein deals with large issues like displacement, alienation, rape
and death in an unforgettable way. She uses humour to relieve the
bleakness, but the reader is left feeling overwrought by the fate of
the young Yup’iks. This is a memorable, thought provoking story.
Pat Pledger
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Consulting, 2007