Gabrielle Roy paints a portrait of a culture that has been interfered with by the materialist culture of America. The White dominant race has infiltrated the Innuit landscape, and the effects are portrayed at times as having devastating consequences. It is a novel with thoughtful characterizations, and the Innuit are depicted as having a rich culture, which is creative, insightful, and hospitable. However, there is a horrifying context as well. Rape, incest, and abandonment are regular instances in a novel that leans toward a tragic representation of a culture that has been violated in every way. American GI's stationed in this northern landscape during the Vietnam war take liberty with the women of the Innuit culture. Elsa, the main character, is raped by one such GI, a child is born from their violative union. Jimmy, appears as the Saviour of the people. In the end, he tragically forsakes his mother, his homeland, and opts instead for the White culture which ironically forsook him. It is a novel that celebrates purity, and the indictment of the violation of this purity; whether the purity be of a moral, natural, or spiritual order. The violation of such purity is met with a gentle rebuke, but the lasting consequences are tragic, and melancholy. Elsa's eventual abandonment by her son, and the abandonment of herself substantiates this theme. An excellent novel, but be forewarned, the tragic representations leave an indelible impression that is very difficult to release.