Selkie Dreams - Tapa blanda

"I don't know if "Selkie Dreams" is the first novel to combine the story of a lonely nineteenth century Belfast childhood, a Presbyterian mission in Alaska, and the life and culture of the Alaskan native people, the Tlingit, that the mission serves, but I do know that this is a beautifully calibrated and vivid and interesting historical novel about love and death in the North American wilderness, that the characters are fascinating, that the evocation of the natural world and the social customs and practices of Tlingit is assured and convincing, and that the story, albeit melancholy, is unfailingly engaging. I wish it well."
--Carlo Gebler, author of "The Siege of Derry"

Belfast, 1895. Haunted by her mother’s death, Máire McNair is lured by the selkie myth to the promise of the Alaskan wilds to fulfill her dream of finding acceptance. Cunning and determination get her there in the guise of teaching at the Tlingit Indian mission. But Alaska proves more complex and difficult than she imagined, and the hope that this new place would transform her is elusive as ever. The censorious Mrs. Paxson, the wife of the trading post manager, constantly finds fault with Máire’s efforts. She has her own plans and Máire is in the way. Natsilane is the Tlingit erstwhile mission protégé. He finds himself battling Máire’s naive views and prejudices as he seeks to regain his own cultural identity, but he cannot escape his past with the mission, nor can he or Máire escape the mutual attraction they feel. In a world that permits no rule breakers, will the power of myths trump all?