Consumption" "is a haunting story of a woman's life marked by struggle and heartbreak, but it is also much more. It stunningly evokes life in the far north, both past and present, and offers a scathing dissection of the effects of consumer life on both north and south. It does so in an unadorned, elegiac style, moving between times, places and people in beautiful counterpoint. But it is also a gripping detective story, and features medical reportage of the highest order. In 1962 at the age of ten, Victoria is diagnosed ...
Read More
Consumption" "is a haunting story of a woman's life marked by struggle and heartbreak, but it is also much more. It stunningly evokes life in the far north, both past and present, and offers a scathing dissection of the effects of consumer life on both north and south. It does so in an unadorned, elegiac style, moving between times, places and people in beautiful counterpoint. But it is also a gripping detective story, and features medical reportage of the highest order. In 1962 at the age of ten, Victoria is diagnosed with tuberculosis and must leave her home in the Arctic for a sanatorium in The Pas, Manitoba. Six years will pass before she returns to the north, years she spends learning English and Cree and becoming accustomed to life in the south. When she does move home, the sudden change in lifestyle leads sixteen-year-old Victoria to feel like a stranger in her own family. At the same time, Inuit culture is undergoing some equally bewildering changes: Cheetos are being eaten alongside walrus meat, and dog teams are slowly being replaced by snowmobiles. Victoria eventually settles back into the community and marries John Robertson, a Hudson's Bay store manager, and they raise three children together. Although their marriage is initially close, Robertson will always be "Kablunauk," a southerner, and this becomes a point of contention between them. When Robertson becomes involved in arrangements to open a diamond mine in Rankin Inlet, the family's financial condition improves, but their emotional life becomes ever more fraught: their son, Pauloosie, draws ever closer to his hunter grandfather as their daughters, Marie and Justine, develop a taste for Guns N' Roses. Several other richly imagined characters deepen Patterson's unsentimental portrait of both north and south. They include Dr. Keith Balthazar, a flailing doctor from New York whose despairing affection for Victoria leads to tragedy, and Victoria's brother, Tagak, who finds that the diamond mine allows him a success and maturity he could never attain within his traditional culture. The novel deftly tracks the meaning of "consumption" in both north and south. Consumption is tuberculosis, an illness previously unknown among the Inuit that wrenches Victoria from her home as a child, changing her family relationships, her outlook on the world and her entire future. As such consumption is a harbinger of the diseases of affluence, such as diabetes and heart disease that come to afflict the Inuit over the four-decade span of the novel. Consumption also defines the culture of post-industrial, urban North America, captured here through Keith Balthazar's troubled relatives in New Jersey. And when the diamond mine opens in Rankin Inlet, its consumption of northern natural resources seems to symbolize Canada's relationship with the Arctic and southern encroachments on the Inuit way of life. Consumption" "is a sweeping novel, of the kind one rarely encounters today: it is an essential book for Canadians to linger over, learn from, and remember.
Read Less
Add this copy of Consumption to cart. $21.19, like new condition, Sold by The Book Scouts rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Hamilton, ON, CANADA, published 2006 by Random House Canada.
Choose your shipping method in Checkout. Costs may vary based on destination.
Seller's Description:
Fine in Near Fine jacket. Size: 9x6x1; We're happy to combine shipping to save you some money. We're also always buying collectible book collections. Contact us for details. We're happy to provide pictures of any and all books for you, please just ask! Canadian first edition, first printing. Contains number line 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10. Virtually no wear to jacket. Jacket is in a Mylar cover. Jacket is NOT price clipped. Covers are clean and bright. Edges are sharp. No tears or creases. The book itself is in Near Fine condition. The binding is straight and tight. NO remainder mark.
Add this copy of Consumption to cart. $18.99, good condition, Sold by Russell Books rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Victoria, BC, CANADA, published 2006 by Random House Canada.
Add this copy of Consumption to cart. $23.99, very good condition, Sold by Russell Books rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Victoria, BC, CANADA, published 2006 by Random House Canada.
Add this copy of Consumption to cart. $23.99, fair condition, Sold by Russell Books rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Victoria, BC, CANADA, published 2006 by Random House Canada.
Add this copy of Consumption: a Novel to cart. $24.00, very good condition, Sold by Hourglass Books rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Vancouver, BC, CANADA, published 2006 by Random House of Canada.
Choose your shipping method in Checkout. Costs may vary based on destination.
Seller's Description:
Near Fine in Near Fine, Not Price Clipped jacket. Book Complete number line from 1 to 10; minor wear; otherwise a solid, clean copy with no marking or underlining; collectible condition.
Add this copy of Consumption, a Novel (Inscribed Copy) to cart. $26.88, like new condition, Sold by JWMah rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Seattle, WA, UNITED STATES, published 2006 by Random House of Canada.
Choose your shipping method in Checkout. Costs may vary based on destination.
Seller's Description:
Fine in Fine jacket. 8vo-over 7¾"-9¾" Inscribed By Author (CAD) First Printing INSCRIBED BY AUTHOR: " To----, a fellow Nanaimer, Kevin Patterson", no other markings, Fine in unclipped Fine dust jacket Black boards, 394pp. This novel is about cultural contact and its consequences on the North and is centered on the character of Victoria, born in the Tundra in the 1950s. (2.0 JM HOJ 302/1.
Add this copy of Consumption, a Novel (Signed Copy) to cart. $26.99, like new condition, Sold by JWMah rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Seattle, WA, UNITED STATES, published 2006 by Random House of Canada.
Choose your shipping method in Checkout. Costs may vary based on destination.
Seller's Description:
Fine in Fine jacket. 8vo-over 7¾"-9¾" Signed by Author (CAD) First Printing SIGNED BY AUTHOR to the title page, no other markings, Fine in unclipped Fine dust jacket Black boards, 394pp. This novel is about cultural contact and its consequences on the North and is centered on the character of Victoria, born in the Tundra in the 1950s. (2.0 JM HOJ 300/2.
Add this copy of Consumption: a Novel to cart. $27.00, very good condition, Sold by Brian Bauld (B-Line Books) rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Amherst, NS, CANADA, published 2006 by Random House Canada.
Choose your shipping method in Checkout. Costs may vary based on destination.
Seller's Description:
Near Fine in Near Fine dust jacket. 0679314377. Tight square book, unmarked but for inscription to front endpaper; in crisp dust jacekt with a nick.; 394 pages.
Add this copy of Consumption to cart. $29.00, like new condition, Sold by Hourglass Books rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Vancouver, BC, CANADA, published 2006 by Random House of Canada, Limited.
Choose your shipping method in Checkout. Costs may vary based on destination.
Seller's Description:
As New in As New jacket. Book. Signed by Author(s) First edition, first printing as evidenced by a complete number line from 1 to 10; signed by Kevin Patterson on the title page with no inscription; a solid, clean, unread copy in collectable condition.
Add this copy of Consumption: a Novel to cart. $29.00, very good condition, Sold by Hourglass Books rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Vancouver, BC, CANADA, published 2006 by Random House of Canada.
Choose your shipping method in Checkout. Costs may vary based on destination.
Seller's Description:
Very Good in Very Good, Not Price Clipped jacket. Book. Signed by Author(s) Complete number line from 1 to 10; signed by Kevin Patterson on the title page with no inscription; some edge wear to boards and dust jacket; otherwise a solid, clean copy in collectible condition; removable "Autographed" sticker on front cover.
