GUSSUK BOY

by Aylette Jennes ‧ RELEASE DATE: Nov. 6, 1967

When Aaron and his family move from New England to Piemiut, Alaska for a year, he finds that although he is eager to learn about this other culture the Eskimos are Sometimes ""funny"": they shrug their shoulders when he asks a question and ""they don't want to talk much about things."" Anthropologist Dad wisely advises that they may feel uncomfortable with their second language and ""they're not concerned with the future in the same way you are...Sometimes it will be unpleasant, because people who are different usually have a hard time understanding each other and getting along. You'll have to find new ways of learning."" Aaron learns to observe rather than ask, and he adjusts to the new environment with ease. To the Eskimos he is a gussuk (from ""Cossack,"" as these Russians were the first white men seen by the Eskimos) but he lives Eskimo-style, rising in dog sled or kayak, hunting for (pintail duck) eggs, and watching the salmon fishermen (""Most of the fish gets lightly smoked and ends up in delicatessens on the East Coast""). A sensible treatment of a well-behaved American boy's reactions to another culture, more accurate than active.

Pub Date: Nov. 6, 1967

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Follett

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 1967

Categories: FICTION