Why we chose Jennifer Niven’s Ada Blackjack
Mom had read somewhere about Ada (likely in a Bathroom Reader). She mentioned to me that she was interested in reading more about Ada. As someone who enjoys reading about Arctic exploration, and loved Niven’s previous book about the Karluk and her men’s disastrous time at Wrangel Island, I eagerly suggested this book for our next buddy read.
In September 1921, four young men and Ada Blackjack, a diminutive 25-year-old Eskimo woman, ventured deep into the Arctic in a secret attempt to colonize desolate Wrangel Island for Great Britain. Two years later, Ada Blackjack emerged as the sole survivor of this ambitious polar expedition. This young, unskilled woman–who had headed to the Arctic in search of money and a husband–conquered the seemingly unconquerable north and survived all alone after her male companions had perished.
Following her triumphant return to civilization, the international press proclaimed her the female Robinson Crusoe. But whatever stories the press turned out came from the imaginations of reporters: Ada Blackjack refused to speak to anyone about her horrific two years in the Arctic. Only on one occasion–after charges were published falsely accusing her of causing the death of one her companions–did she speak up for herself.
Our Discussion
We both gave this book ★★★½, for similar reasons. Mom thought the book was alright, but it wasn’t the story she expected. I also thought it was alright but the story just isn’t as compelling as other Arctic tales I’ve read about.
Mom thought the story would be more focused on Ada’s life before, during, and after the Wrangel Island Expedition. I agreed that, in retrospect, one could argue the book jacket engages in a bit of false advertising. Niven fills many pages with background on the four men and the activities of their families during and after the expedition. Mom felt the inclusion of so much about other people involved drifted away from the focus on Ada. Unfortunately for us curious readers, Ada’s life after the expedition was less documented than the families of the three men.
Whereas Mom identified the filler as distracting from Ada’s story, I felt it distracted from the expedition itself. However, the expedition just wasn’t as grand or exciting or dramatic as other expeditions I’ve read about, likely because only five people go to Wrangel Island and none of the ‘story’ is set at sea or on ice. This book is about the size of The Ice Master, but most of it takes place before and after the expedition. (About 150 pages out of 400 take place on the island itself.) There is a lot more about politics and social maneuvering than actual exploring. The ‘true story of survival in the Arctic’ advertised on the book’s cover is just one part of the book.
(That being said, the amount of research and work that must have gone into this book impressed us. We both enjoyed skimming the sources to see the variety of documents Niven accessed – government reports, private collections, magazine clippings, etc.),
Being familiar with the disaster of The Karluk, I knew what kind of character Stefansson was. Mom was astounded by Knight, Maurer, Crawford, and Galle’s blind dependence on Stefansson. Even Maurer, who had been on The Karluk and Wrangel, was willing to ‘follow’ Stefansson back to Wrangel. Mom and I wholeheartedly agreed that Stefansson was an ass, for a multitude of reasons, but not least for tacking advantage of naivety and starstruck behaviour. I was struck by the fact that just eight years after his previous journey, Maurer was willing to do it again under guidance of the same man who caused disaster that time. That says something about the pull of the Arctic on certain people, I think… Their attempt cross the sea ice without any experience gave us pause. While we can’t know what exactly they were thinking when we made that decision, we thought it was an exceptionally poor one (without even any influence from Stefansson) that again highlights how sadly naive they were about Arctic travel.
After all that, we didn’t even talk much about Ada herself! We were distracted by all the silly doings of men. Well, Ada is quite a unique and remarkable character, finding the courage to do things she never thought she could in order to survive the Arctic winter. Niven’s book offers a look inside the life of a woman who could have been easily disregarded by history.
Final Thoughts
While I enjoyed this book because I am particularly interested in the subject matter, I’m not sure it was the best one to use to introduce Mom to the Arctic books I love reading. (I hope she will still give The Ice Master a go :P) Have you read any books about Arctic exploration or other exploring disasters? Is there a non-fiction subject you just can’t read enough about?
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