Source of book: Audiobook from the library.
Last year, we listened to Julie of the Wolves, which is the first book in what became a series. As I noted in that review, I accidentally got this book first, realized I had the sequel, and went back and got the original. However, I went ahead and ripped Julie to my USB drive expecting to return to it later. And now we did.
Julie picks up where Julie of the Wolves left off. Julie/Miyax has survived her trip across the wilderness along with her adopted wolf pack, and has come to her father’s home - he did not die on the seal hunt, but was lost for a while.
Things are a bit different than she remembered from her idyllic childhood, though. Her father, Kapugen, has abandoned many of his Inuk ways. He has remarried - to a white woman, Ellen, who teaches school. He is now the leader of the Inuk village (which is essentially a corporation that holds the assets in common, for everyone’s benefit), and as such feels responsible to grow the village wealth and make life better for his people. Because of this, he no longer acts in accordance with the old ways - letting the wolves live as part of the ecosystem - but instead kills them to protect the muskox herd.
Unlike the original book, which is truly harrowing, this one is more about Julie’s internal life. She has to decide first of all, whether to join her father, or to return to the wild. She chooses to stay. She initially mistrusts Ellen, and pretends not to understand or speak English. Julie also has to think about her future? Should she follow her earlier dream of going to college? Is her future in the village? And what of the kind young man that has feelings for her? Could she make a marriage that will be happy, unlike her formal marriage at age 14 (described in the previous book)?
And then there is the problem of how she can protect her wolf pack after it kills a muskox. Can she persuade them to leave their territory and find better hunting elsewhere?
Julie was written 21 years after Julie of the Wolves, and I think it does have a different feel because of that. This is not a bad thing - it is just different. George handles the complexities of relationships well. The characters are nuanced, but generally decent people. Despite Julie’s misgivings, Ellen turns out to be a lovely person - working to learn to speak Inuk, giving Julie her space, showing a devotion to her students and the village. The moment when the two of them finally bond is touching.
The book also explores the question faced by many indigenous peoples around the world: is it possible to cling to the old ways? Is there a middle ground? In a changing world, what degree of change is necessary or desirable? It is a tough problem, not least because our current corporate capitalist system depends on environmental destruction for its profits, and also make survival difficult for those who wish to live a more holistic lifestyle.
George was always an advocate for sustainability and the need for intact ecosystems - hence her work to stop the killing of wolves, which are crucial to a healthy food chain. She was ahead of her time in this way, and remains inspiring.
Also inspiring is how George, a white woman, wrote with respect and knowledge of the Inuk people. She spent considerable time in Alaska, and the books grew out of that. Again, ahead of her time, so to speak. Or perhaps more accurately, she was better at listening and observing than many of her time.
The audiobook was read by Christina Moore, like the first one. She does a fine job.
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