Ada Blackjack: A True Story of Survival in the Arctic

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Summary: Story of an unlikely heroine...
Review: "Ada Blackjack" is a tribute to author Jennifer Niven's mastery of her subject matter, and remarkable ability to breathe life into events long relegated to dusty shelves of obscure national archives. In what can only be described as a tour de force of historical research, Niven reconstructs the story of what really happened to Ada, the sole survivor of an ill-fated Arctic expedition that cost four men their lives and sparked an international controversy. As evidenced by her first book, "The Ice Master," Niven is a consummate storyteller with a talent for piecing together facts (in this case spanning several decades) in order to present an unbiased account of tragedy and triumph. The dramatic narrative is never forced, as the story almost seems to tell itself under Niven's artful direction. At no point is she tempted to judge or malign any of her characters, despite their flaws and failings. Niven's work is a haunting, bittersweet and well-deserved homage to an unassuming heroine whose life had until now been largely overlooked and forgotten.

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Summary: Survivor
Review: Absorbing account of an Inuit woman who was the sole survivor of a tragic Arctic expedition and her four male companions who did not make it. Born Ada Delutuk in 1898, when she was eight she was taken in by Methodist missionaries in Nome and talk to read, write, sew and cook. At sixteen she married Jack Blackjack, was divorced at 21, one son out of 3 children survived, but she was unable to care for him because of his tuberculosis. She was persuaded to accompany a group of young men on a land claims expedition to Wrangle Island, a desolate place above the Arctic circle between Canada and Siberia, to cook and sew for them. For Ada the money is good and will enable her to support her son she is promised the mission will be for one year only and that two other Eskimo families will accompany them, but they abandon the mission at the last moment.

This mission had been organized by Vilhjalmur Steffanson, an irresponsible publicity seeker who influenced the young men to go, in their eyes Steffanson was a hero. It was his opinion that it was as easy to live in Arctic as anywhere else, nothing to it, though he himself had never done it, and had already led a disastrous mission once before, he had abandoned his crew and men had died.

Ada and her companions set out in September 1921, under supplied but even so they survived. After a year though the relief crew and ship promised by Steffanson did not arrive and then things became more desperate as supplies were too low to survive another winter. It was decided that Ada would stay with one of the men too sick to travel and the other three would strike out across the ice for the Siberian coast When the ship finally did arrive in 1923, Ada was alone.

The author has done an incredible job of taking a dry event from the past and making it come to life. This is a great historical novel and I have put her book "The Ice Master" on my list of books I want. There are numerous excerpts from newspaper articles written at the time and letters written between the families left behind. I loved Ada's story of The Lady in the Moon, and found it striking that she was able to survive under formidable conditions but had trouble functioning in a city. Her life of drinking, TB and broken marriages is sad, but she still shines through as an inspiration and a survivor.


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Summary: True life better than fiction
Review: Ada Blackjack is a prime example of why I prefer nonfiction to fiction. You simply cannot make this stuff up. Ada is a poor, divorced mother whose only son is sent to an orphanage because she cannot afford to take care of him. When she is offered the job of seamstress on an Arctic expedition-- giving her the chance to earn more money than she could ever imagine-- she takes it, with some trepidation, not to mention dire warnings from a local shaman, and immediately regrets her decision. For two years she is separated from son and home while she faces challenges she never knew existed-- polar bears, starvation, survival in the treacherous Arctic conditions, even fear of her comrades. In the end (and this isn't giving anything away), she is the only one who survives, only to return to "civilization" where she is hounded by the press and slandered by her rescuers. Through it all, she emerges as a courageous, unique spirit, someone you cheer for from the beginning, and a heroine you cheer even louder for in the end. Bravo to Jennifer Niven for bringing Ada Blackjack's story alive. She does a beautiful job telling the story of an amazing woman.

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Summary: Heart-wrenching heroics of an Inuit woman
Review: Ada Blackjack reads like a documentary and can be a bit dry at times as it really tells the greater story of the doomed Wrangel Island Expedition of the Arctic. But the deeper story of Ada Blackjack, the lone survivor of the expedition, is riveting. Her simple faith and love for her son gives her the strength to endure unimaginable hardship. This woman should not be forgotten, nor should the folly of the men who pioneered the expedition go unremembered. Kudos to author Niven.

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Summary: Larger than life
Review: Ada Blackjack was a pint-sized woman with enormous courage. After reading her story, I place her with other women who inspire me: Anne Frank, Helen Keller, Zora Neale Hurston, Eleanor Roosevelt. It may seem ridiculous at first to compare this unschooled, unskilled Inuit woman with the brilliant women I have named, but to understand fully you need to read the book. Ada Blackjack is an every woman coming from unremarkable circumstances and being thrust into situations she did not want or expect. But she not only endured, she triumphed, and her faith, her grace, her courage, and her fire all serve to inspire me. Thank you to Jennifer Niven for bringing this lady to life and doing it so superbly.

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Summary: Great storytelling
Review: I got this book for Christmas and couldn't put it down. I devoured it in two days, but I should have rationed it because I was sorry I rushed through once I had finished. (I couldn't help it-- the story was riveting.) I'm going back now to read more carefully, but I just couldn't resist writing a review first. Ms. Niven has done a masterful job telling the story of a young, brave Inuit woman who has sadly been forgotten through the years. Ada Blackjack-- both woman and book-- is an inspiration, and the four young men who were her comrades on this hair-raising expedition are finely-drawn, compelling characters as well. The story isn't without villains too, but that makes it all the more interesting. If you are looking for a can't-put-it-down, lose-yourself-to-the-world kind of read, this is it. I shut off my phone and locked my door and ignored the rest of the world for two glorious days.

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Summary: Worthy follow up to the ICE MASTER
Review: I had read the ICE MASTER by Jennifer Niven when it was first published and found it a remarkably well written and compelling narrative of a strange arctic expedition lead by strange and misguided Vilhjalmur Stefansson. The story of the Karluk getting trapped in the ice and drifting north of Siberia to remote Wangel Island is gripping, as is the miracle of who dies and survives. And now Jennifer Niven has written a kind of sequel or continuation of the story as the strange Mr. Stefansson sends four explorers back to Wangel island to live and settle so the island can be claimed by the British or Canadians (who want nothing to do with the expedition). Strange as it seems one of the survivors of the Karluk, Fred Maurer is one of these four. Joining the expedition is Ada Blackjack, an Inuit Eskimo woman they hire to sew clothing for them while living on Wangel Island. This second volume is told though Ada Blackjack's life story and introduces us to wide ranging cast of characters, the expeditions relatives, Mr. Harold Noice who leads a rescue mission and his mad wife Florence who's paranoia leads to lies and the undoing of Noice and Ada Blackjacks reputation. If this all sounds a bit like an arctic soap opera, it is of course, and the story is not as exciting a read as the ICE MASTER. But anyone who loved that volume as much as I did is sure to enjoy the complete irony of this return exposition and Ada Blackjack's
Unusual life story.

Rating:
Summary: Spend the jack to buy this book!
Review: I havn't even finished the book (about 3/4 through it) but I am so impressed by the writer's style, and the general interest of the subject, that I am compelled to recommend it highly. This is one of those books I just can't wait to pick up again. The writer's style is so concise, logical, and flowing that the story moves along effortlessly. Niven has obviously taken a huge amount of information and distilled it skillfully into a lean narrative. Buy it! I am a lover of the adventure/survival genre, particularly as regards the Arctic, and this book is one of the good ones!

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Summary: A great tale just a little too long
Review: I loved Ada Blackjack. The book is like two books, the before and after. The before kept me turning pages, and I could not get enough of the ice, cold, and desparation. This woman was complex and simple. She was a fascinating character study but as I entered the second part of the book I was let down with too much detail of people I really did not get to know like I knew Ada. Either way it is a wonderful adventure.

Rating:
Summary: Wonderful
Review: I loved this book and read it over a weekend. Couldn't put it down. Now I'm reading it again. For anyone who likes adventure stories or stories of the human spirit and the amazing way it can triumph over the odds, please read this book. Ada Blackjack, both book and woman, are an inspiration.