Episode 54: Polar Adventures
Summary: Brrrrrr, it’s cold in here, there must be some novels in the atmosphere! (sorry). Join Holly and Devin today as they head up to the great white north and explore books set in the Arctic. Cold this biting can drive people together or even further apart, and braving the elements requires trust and risks a lot when that trust is broken. Holly and Devin both love when their protagonists battle the elements, but for very different reasons and with very different outcomes.
Topics Discussed:
The Heart (4:31): Devin discussed The Tourist Attraction by Sarah Morgenthaler, a romance following Zoey Caldwell for her once-in-a-lifetime vacation to the town of Moose Springs, Alaska. Once there, in collaboration with her wealthy best friend Lana and a handsome townie who hates tourists named Graham Barnett, Zoey explores the natural wonders of the region… and some much more interpersonal wonders with Graham. Devin’s key takeaways were:
If you’re looking for a taste of arctic adventures, this book delivers pretty well. There are moose (mooses? meese?) galore, four-wheeling adventures, whale watching, you name it. That being said, Zoey runs into a lot of problems on her adventures (even zip lining doesn't go right) so the reader’s enjoyment gets a bit clouded by the continuous mishaps.
The friendships and side characters in this book were amazing. Lana is a complicated and fascinating character I wish we had seen more of, and Graham's cohort of local friends are unique, rounded, and intriguing. Even Lana’s wealthy friends who suck are hilarious and add good color to the story.
Graham is a bit of a complicated (read: toxically masculine) protagonist; he won’t stop calling Zoey “gorgeous” as a pet name, he resorts to violence and throwing punches during any conflict, and isn’t great at processing his own emotions. He also hates tourists without acknowledging that all his income and his lifestyle are thanks to their money.
The Dagger (23:17): Holly discussed A Haunting in the Arctic by C.J. Cooke, a supernatural horror novel with two timelines set on a single location - the whaling ship Ormen. In the modern-day timeline, a cohort of explorers and content creators arrive in northern Ireland to squat on the shipwrecked vessel before it is dragged out to sea and sunk by officials. The reader gets insight into 1901 events that ripple into today, though, as they follow a young woman in Scotland who is attacked and taken aboard the Orman against her will. Holly’s key takeaways were:
Cooke creates a bone-chilling and creepy atmosphere with strong writing and invocation of rhymes and sailor song; the book captures the sense of isolation and madness that can plague people in arctic elements for too long. While great, Holly wishes there had been even more of this woven in.
Like many readers, when there are dual timelines Holly is usually drawn to one more than the other. Here, she found the present timeline was focused on content creation and engaging a social media audience. The other timeline that follows a woman as she awakes surrounded by a sailing crew headed deeper and deeper into the arctic held more intrigue.
This book is dark; it’s all about trauma and the permanent traces that haunt us, with many violent acts committed throughout. Cooke weaves in metaphors and commentary on humanity’s violation and pillaging of the environment - particularly the entitlement of men and the harms they’ve caused over time.
Hot On the Shelf (42:13):
What’s Making Our Hearts Race (45:42):
Holly: Poor Things, 2023 film
Devin: Skiing Big Sky in Montana for the first time
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