Into the Forest discussion

Here is the place to discuss retellings, traditional tales, or books set in a tundra/polar ecosystem.

So I was looking though my TBR list for books that fit, I am going to use this one.

A Haunting in the Arctic

A derlict ship and a ghost, in the arctic? Yes please.

Here are some books that I absolutely loved that take place in a polar or tundra area:
Two Old Women: An Alaskan Legend of Betrayal, Courage and Survival
Bird Girl & the Man Who Followed the Sun: An Athabaskan Indian Legend from Alaska
The Snow Queen

I’m not sure if Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries would count, but it great.

For myself I might read A Summer of Drowning

The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey. Set in 1920s Alaska, about a childless couple who build a snow child that comes to life.

Does East by Edith Pattou take place in a proper tundra region or just snowy winter? I've been meaning to read if for years.

Kelsey wrote: "Does East by Edith Pattou take place in a proper tundra region or just snowy winter? I've been meaning to read if for years."

Well, I haven't read it, but it has a polar bear, which is an arctic animal, which is tundra.

The book I'm reading right now would count for this: The Raven and the Reindeer by T. Kingfisher. I'm enjoying it!

Some others:

-Eagle Drums by Nasugraq Rainey Hopson: Middle grade Indigenous Alaskan historical fantasy

-The Wolf and the Woodsman by Ava Reid: Dark fantasy

-The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden: Historical fantasy, first book in a series, at least partially set on Russian tundra

Taaqtumi: An Anthology of Arctic Horror Stories - a collection of stories written by indigenous writers set in the arctic.

Ozsaur wrote: "Taaqtumi: An Anthology of Arctic Horror Stories - a collection of stories written by indigenous writers set in the arctic."

Ooh, I really liked that anthology!

Ozsaur wrote: "Taaqtumi: An Anthology of Arctic Horror Stories - a collection of stories written by indigenous writers set in the arctic."

That looks great!

It is a great book. I think the stories were all the stronger for being in a collection together - the atmosphere of the book was excellent.

Ozsaur wrote: "It is a great book. I think the stories were all the stronger for being in a collection together - the atmosphere of the book was excellent."

It's high on my TBR this month. Especially since my library has it in all formats.

Margaret wrote: It's high on my TBR this month. Especially since my library has it in all formats.

If you listen to the audio book, I'd love to know what you think of it.

Ozsaur wrote: "Margaret wrote: It's high on my TBR this month. Especially since my library has it in all formats.

If you listen to the audio book, I'd love to know what you think of it."

That's likely the way I will go.

I read Split Tooth by Tanya Tagaq, which would count for this challenge. It's a memoir about the throat singer's childhood in the arctic, and the author weaves in Inuit legend. It's a very disturbing though intriguing read, as a warning. Trigger warning for child SA and infant death.

I just finished The Wolf Wilder by Katherine Rundell. Not a great read, but I think a good one for a YA novel. I've got two more lined up for a Tundra/Polar read - or mostly I guess lots of snow.

Margaret wrote: "I read Split Tooth by Tanya Tagaq, which would count for this challenge. It's a memoir about the throat singer's childhood in the arctic, and the author weaves in ..."

Oh wow! I am familiar with her music as a singer, but didn’t know she wrote a book! Will definitely check it out!

Jalilah wrote: "Margaret wrote: "I read Split Tooth by Tanya Tagaq, which would count for this challenge. It's a memoir about the throat singer's childhood in the arctic, and the ..."

I think you would enjoy it! It's a fascinating book, just be aware that there's lots of sexual violence. I think going in aware won't make it so hard to read. I think you will like how she melds her Indigenous spirituality with her memoir.

Okay, I read another fantastic one: Folklorn by Angela Mi Young Hur. The main character is a Korean American scientist working through a Swedish university in Antarctica. She becomes obsessed with her mother's Korean folktales. It's about intergenerational trauma, mental illness, family, and folklore. It's lovely, if a bit slow.

Ozsaur wrote: "Taaqtumi: An Anthology of Arctic Horror Stories - a collection of stories written by indigenous writers set in the arctic."

So I did read Taaqtumi: An Anthology of Arctic Horror Stories. Unfortunately, the audiobook had lots of glitches. The first few stories were fine, but then it started repeating lines and sentences, and the volume would suddenly get extremely quiet. One of the stories I couldn't hear at all on max volume. It was a whisper. I still listened to it until the end, and once I got used to the repeating lines, it was easier to follow, but I'm sure there were 3ish stories I missed because of these errors. It's a cool collection; I wish the audiobook had been better!

After Taaqtumi, I picked up Ember and the Ice Dragons by Heather Fawcett (author of the popular fae books), and it is delightful! It's a middle grade fantasy novel set in Antarctica.

I finished When the Whales Leave by Yuri Rytkheu, by an Indigenous Chukchi writer. It's a creation myth about his people, who live in the Russian tundra. It was lovely, though I didn't like one r*pe scene, as a warning.

Margaret, thank you for rec :). Suprisingly Yuri’s book was translated into my mother tongue in 70s. I’ll try to trace it down :)

Asaria wrote: "Margaret, thank you for rec :). Suprisingly Yuri’s book was translated into my mother tongue in 70s. I’ll try to trace it down :)"

Oh awesome! I read that he's been widely translated in Europe, particularly in German, but in many other languages, too.

Margaret wrote: "Asaria wrote: "Margaret, thank you for rec :). Suprisingly Yuri’s book was translated into my mother tongue in 70s. I’ll try to trace it down :)"

Oh awesome! I read that he's been widely translate..."
I would say it was one of the very few perks of the wrong side of Iron Curtain :) - easy access to translated Russian authors.

Margaret wrote: "I finished When the Whales Leave by Yuri Rytkheu, by an Indigenous Chukchi writer. It's a creation myth about his people, who live in the Russian tundra. It was love..."

Thanks for the warning about rape. It makes a difference to me if I know ahead of time or if it’s sprung upon me without warning. As long as it’s not sexualized or depicted in an exploitative way and of course is relevant to the story, I’m usually ok, not that I love it though. I’ve always wanted to read something from a Siberian author. Unfortunately my library does not have this book. They only have A Dream in Polar Fog in English.
I don’t know if this has any mythology or folklore

Jalilah wrote: "Margaret wrote: "I finished When the Whales Leave by Yuri Rytkheu, by an Indigenous Chukchi writer. It's a creation myth about his people, who live in the Russian tu..."

I'm not sure if that one does or not! I requested When the Whales Leave on Interlibrary Loan.

The rape scene is a short paragraph and has no details. I didn't love the way it was handled afterward, but I would still say it's worth reading.

Unfortunately, it's often harder to find translated fiction! At least in the US and it seems like Canada, too.

Margaret wrote: I'm not sure if that one does or not! I requested When the Whales Leave on Interlibrary Loan.

The rape scene is a short paragraph and has no details. I didn't love the way it was handled afterward, but I would still say it's worth reading.

Unfortunately, it's often harder to find translated fiction! At least in the US and it seems like Canada, too"

Amazing how different it is! Polish market is saturated with local and English fiction/non-fiction mostly, but you can find a lot of translated non-English books too.

Asaria wrote: "Amazing how different it is! Polish market is saturated with local and English fiction/non-fiction mostly, but you can find a lot of translated non-English books too...."

Definitely not the case here.

Margaret wrote: "Jalilah wrote: "Margaret wrote: "I finished When the Whales Leave by Yuri Rytkheu, by an Indigenous Chukchi writer. It's a creation myth about his people, who live i..."

I’m actually surprised by how many translated books the Ottawa public library has! It could be because of the large amount of recent immigrants here idk. Unfortunately not When the Whales Leave but I might be able to get it as an interlibrary loan.
That said, I’m sure their selection is not as good as in Europe.

Margaret wrote: "Definitely not the case here"

I do wonder. Perhaps American and Canadians publishers do not bother with translations because there are plenty of local, aspiring authors hailing from diverse backgrounds who are easier to promote due to familiarity factor?

Then there is sort of reluctancy, distrust toward translated books among some monolingual English speakers. "Not as smooth as English books" and "not written as intended by the authors", "I'd need to learn x language to read it" (true arguments I encountered online!).

The whole pop culture and internet are mostly English-centric and English based. so it's natural to translate from that enormous and dominant culture[s] into smaller languages but not otherwise. Believe me, it's extremely easy to stay in English bubble. Been there, done that.

The UK is also mostly English-centric, but I must say, Italy is not that much better, and it really depends on genre. The sections of sci-fi and fantasy are mostly also English-centric in Italy, with some very odd decisions (e.g. old books prominent everywhere). On the other hand the historical section tends to have a much more of a Spanish, German and French influence...

This is all really interesting.

As a SFF book reviewer, when publishers pitched me translated books, most were Japanese with a very similar cozy, fabulist feel. I very occasionally will get pitches for darker or more literary European translated books. But they are few and far between.

I also review children's books professionally (or used to, I'm backing off this year now that I've found a full-time job), and there are a few specific publishers that translate picture books, mostly European, but I don't see many middle grade of young adult translated books at all.

I admit, sometimes these children's book translations are difficult for me to enjoy. Sometimes the humor just seems off, sometimes really dark in a way US and Canada children's books just don't lean into, and the text can be more meandering in a fantastical way. These are broad generalizations of the miniscule number of translated children's books that release here in the US.

I spent the month reading Arctic/Tundra/Polar books! Here's everything I read. I put stars by the books with folklore elements.

-A Suffragist's Guide to the Antarctic by Yi Shun Lai 4/5
-Fatty Legs: A True Story by Christy Jordan-Fenton: 3/5
-*Split Tooth by Tanya Tagaq: 3.5/5
-*Folklorn by Angela Mi Young Hur: 4/5
-*Taaqtumi: An Anthology of Arctic Horror Stories: 2.5/5 (audio had errors, hard to listen to)
-*Ember and the Ice Dragons by Heather Fawcett: 3.5/5
-*North Is the Night by Emily Rath: 3/5
-*Lost at Windy River: A True Story of Survival by Trina Rathgeber: 4/5
-*When the Whales Leave by Yuri Rytkheu: 3.5/5
-*Black Woods, Blue Sky by Eowyn Ivey: 4/5
-A Woman in the Polar Night by Christiane Ritter: 4/5

I really loved devoting a month to reading a single ecosystem! It felt really immersive. Even though I didn't give any books 5 stars (I rarely do), I would consider the month as a whole 5 stars in terms of enjoyment.

I kind of want to visit the Arctic now?

Margaret wrote: "I spent the month reading Arctic/Tundra/Polar books! Here's everything I read. I put stars by the books with folklore elements.

-A Suffragist's Guide to the Antarctic by Y..."</i>

I saw your post on fb! That’s amazing! I still haven’t gotten started yet, but I ordered [book:When the Whales Leave as an inter- library loan. It’s my first choice. Otherwise I might read Split Tooth. I haven’t decided if I want to read 2 books for each prompt this time or just stick with one.
I was considering A Summer of Drowning, but it seems like it might be too scary

Jalilah wrote: "Margaret wrote: "I spent the month reading Arctic/Tundra/Polar books! Here's everything I read. I put stars by the books with folklore elements.

-[book:A Suffragist's Guide to the Antarctic|176443..."

I think you would enjoy both When the Whales Leave and Split Tooth.

Margaret wrote: "I spent the month reading Arctic/Tundra/Polar books! Here's everything I read. I put stars by the books with folklore elements.

-A Suffragist's Guide to the Antarctic by [author:Y..."

Wow, so much reading! :)
I only read 2 books in January, and I count it as a win!

Margaret wrote: "I think you would enjoy both When the Whales Leave and Split Tooth ..."

Yes, I think I’ll definitely try and read both! Thank you for mentioning them!

Andy wrote: "ow, so much reading! :)
I only read 2 books in January, and I count it as a win!..."

Don’t feel bad! I haven’t read anything for this challenge yet, and probably won’t be able to until towards the end of the month.
This is because the book I’m reading now is for a challenge in a different group ( Middle East and North African Lit) was originally a trilogy and is taking a long time to read. Then 3 other books I’d ordered from the library for this challenge arrived all at once!

Andy wrote: "Margaret wrote: "I spent the month reading Arctic/Tundra/Polar books! Here's everything I read. I put stars by the books with folklore elements.

-[book:A Suffragist's Guide to the Antarctic|176443..."

Any reading is good reading. I always think that, but especially right now!

I do read ... a lot.

I read Emily Rath's North is the Night for this one. very wintry and polar with aurora in the sky!

Not quite polar or tundra, but I just read Upon a Frosted Star by MA Kuzniar, a mash up of Swan Lake and the Great Gatsby with very wintry vibes and it was utterly enchanting.

I loved Eowyn Ivey's The Snow Child - definitely a perfect fit for the theme.

Erin wrote: "I read Emily Rath's North is the Night for this one. very wintry and polar with aurora in the sky!

Not quite polar or tundra, but I just read Upon a Frosted Star by MA Kuzniar, a mash up of Swan L..."

The Snow Child is a lovely book! I haven’t heard of the others you mentioned, but they look interesting!

I ended up reading When the Whales Leave for this prompt. I really enjoyed it!
I am trying for 2 books for each prompt and haven’t decided on my 2nd read yet

Jalilah wrote: "Erin wrote: "I read Emily Rath's North is the Night for this one. very wintry and polar with aurora in the sky!

Not quite polar or tundra, but I just read Upon a Frosted Star by MA Kuzniar, a mash..."

Have you read Black Woods Blue Sky by Eowyn Ivey? Same author as The Snow Child. Not quite as snowy, but still set in the tundra. I quite enjoyed it, and think you would, too.

Margaret wrote: "Jalilah wrote: "Erin wrote: "I read Emily Rath's North is the Night for this one. very wintry and polar with aurora in the sky!

Not quite polar or tundra, but I just read Upon a Frosted Star by MA..."
I picked it up at the library this week. I gave it an honest go but it just didn't work for me, unfortunately. I never tried it before because I was uncertain of the synopsis going in. It just didn't have any of the magic the The Snow Child had and something about the writing didn't quite work for me. Thank you anyway though :)