I quite enjoy historical fiction, but if there's a genre other than fantasy that likes to drag their stories out for hundreds and hundreds of pages, it's that one. So when I came across this compact little novella, I was instantly curious - and it shows just how effective a story can be when it's told tightly and with concision. I'll have to see if I can find some more historical fiction novellas, because this has made me want to read more of them.

I suspect that one of the factors influencing the length here is that the story is based on a legend, passed down through the author's family. Legends are typically fairly short - because it makes them easier to pass on in oral narratives, maybe? I don't know, but in any case, this story of two old women, left behind to starve by their nomadic community in the middle of a harsh Arctic winter, is a compelling one. It's pretty obvious where the story's going so the end is no real surprise, but that doesn't take away from the value of the message, I think. It's all the more effective because the story doesn't shy away from the realities of starvation in a setting like this - is it right to abandon some members of a community if doing so means that others will survive? There's no easy answer to that question, and despite the happy ending the book doesn't gloss over that particular problem, which I appreciated.