Books: ‘Consumption’: Traditions meet modern contradictions

The latest book by award-winning Canadian-based writer Kevin Patterson is set against the exotic Canadian Arctic and filled with intrigue, twists and turns. The central character is Victoria Robertson, born on the tundra during the 1950s and raised in the traditional Inuit manner. The quiet routine of her family is turned upside-down when she is diagnosed with tuberculosis and sent away to a Catholic sanitarium in southern Canada.

After a lengthy recovery, she returns to her little town of Rankin Inlet on the Hudson Bay. But the small village she left is not the one she finds upon her return. During the six years that she was away, a dramatic transformation has occurred, triggered in no small part by diamond mining in the region.

The mining has brought wealth and new people into the area, along with development, convenience foods, satellite television and the inevitable clashes that often accompany change.

Although the plot of Patterson’s novel is stunning in itself, it is not the main attraction of this story. Readers are confronted by the modern contradictions of the Arctic and the rough day-to-day existence of the traditionally rootless tribes that have historically inhabited one of the most inhospitable areas on the planet. Victoria and her attempt to find a place in the community is cleverly woven into fabric of the larger story, that of the Rankin Inlet community and its people.

The dramatic climate, the often hopeless poverty and the ever-shifting relationship between the Native Inuit and the white doctors, teachers and priest who have been sent to change their ways are the solid literary foundation of this remarkable book. Spanning countries, generations and cultures, “Consumption” is a perfect summer read and highly recommended.