Strong writing, characters, draw reader into novel

Page 21

Tatiana

By Dorothy M. Jones

Vanessapress

373 pages

$12.00 (U.S.) (sc)

Tatiana, an historical novel set in the Aleutian Islands, tells the story of an Aleut woman's struggle to keep her people's culture and traditions alive, despite the incursion of the outside world.

It is through Tatiana's eyes that we see all that goes on in the world around her. As readers, we share her thoughts and emotions, her defeats and victories, her hopes and her despair.

When we first meet her, Tatiana is about to celebrate her 38th name day. The year is 1938, and Tatiana is living in the village of Akusha in the Aleutian Islands with her husband, children, and extended family. We meet them all, one by one, and are introduced to some ghosts from the past as well, people who, while dead, still haunt Tatiana's memories, and her soul.

We meet Katya, her childhood friend-her aacha-who shared her name day, and who was more like a sister to her than a friend. Although Katya has been for dead 10 years when the book begins, Tatiana is still dealing with her loss, feeling responsible for what happened to her friend; feeling as though she should have done more to prevent her death.

While many factors contributed to Katya's death, Tatiana blames outside influences-the Baptist mission orphanage where Katya lived after her father died, and the white man she eventually married-for making her turn away from the ways of her own people.

This is a theme that runs throughout the book. Influences from outside the community, things of the white man, the promyshlennik, mean destruction for the community.

Throughout the book, Tatiana fights against these influences, these attempts from the outside world to change the way of life in Akusha. She fights to protect that which is most important to her-her family, her village, her culture, and her way of life.

Tatiana fights to ensure the Aleut culture continues, teaching grass weaving and Aleut songs and dances to the next generation. But the fight is also strong to protect the influence of the Russian Orthodox church in the village. It, in many ways, is the centre of the community and provides a contradiction that is eventually resolved as Tatiana comes to realize that some changes can be beneficial to her village, if the people of the village are involved in bringing about those changes.

Loss of life is another constant in the book, with Tatiana having to come to terms with the seemingly endless string of deaths of those around her. How she deals with these losses, and the effort she makes to help her family and friends deal with them, reveals much about the strength of her character.

The book was an enjoyable read, although at times a confusing one. So many characters come and go throughout the story, it's often hard to keep them straight. A guide at the back of the book provides some assistance, listing all the characters that appear and how they interrelate. Though using the guide can help a reader keep track of the characters, the descriptions provide too much information, giving away important events to come.

Knowing who is going to die before it happens can easily disappoint and distract from the story, as readers are left to wonder with each new chapter if this is the one where the character will lose his life.

That is, really, the only weakness in an otherwise fine book. Jones has obviously taken the axiom "write what you know" to heart with this piece of fiction, which she says in her introduction is inspired by actual events and her personal experiences while living in the Aleutians.

Jones, a former professor of sociology at the University of Alaska, lived in the region for 35 years. Her academic writings during those years focused extensively on Aleut culture, Alaskan Natives and the women of Alaska.