Unseen companion by Denise Gosliner Orenstein

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.

Themes: Displacement, Alienation, Death Rape.

Pat Pledger