Excellent storytelling concerning life on the Aleutian Islands, circa 7000 BC. Not as graphic as Clan of the Cave Bear, yet I found this book nearly as compelling.

a really good (pre)historical fiction. well written, totally engrossing. and not too much explanation of tools, medicine, etc. as was given by Auel in the Clan of the Cave Bear series.

I first read this book about a decade ago, and remember really loving it. After seeing it in a second hand bookstore, I decided I would pick it up and read it again, since I couldn't remember exactly what it was about.
We follow Chagak, a Native American teen girl in the Aleutian Islands (the islands reaching off the coast of modern day Alaska) and her struggles with losing her entire village to violence. She meets an old carver named Shuganan and they live together until a Short One (member of the tribe that destroyed her village) arrives. The book also follows a man named Kayugh and his small tribe, who have also suffered tragedy, and who eventually meet up with Chagak.
The description of the setting and the their way of life felt seamless and well woven into the narrative, to the point that it felt natural and unforced, unlike Jane Auel's work where she will spend several pages talking about the creation of a canoe. A step by step manual isn't necessary in the creation of a chigadax (rather like a jacket) but just enough description to know how it's put together, what it looks like and what it's made of (it's made of seal skin, feathers, and is woven together by sinew and intestine, and comes together in the front, for example).
The reason I have reduced the rating from a 5 to a 4 is almost entirely due to the section of the book where Man-Who-Kills is keeping Shuganan and Chagak captive and torturing them for an extended period of time. They try to outsmart him and escape, and talk about killing him, but can never actually do it until it's almost too late. It's frustrating and tiresome.
The rest of the book is actually quite wonderful and a fast read. The only other rather loathsome character is Gray Bird, who plays a rather major role in the next book. I truly enjoy immersing myself in these Native American historical fictions. The very fact that 7000 years ago there were people living in the freezing Aleutian islands is crazy to me, and gives me an entirely new appreciation for how most of us live today.

I read these a few years ago and loved them. They were rich and fulfilling novels with great stories, characters and detail.

Fun read. Chagall grows through her pain, holds herself well, hardworking, resourceful - her story was fun to watch. Held herself together in a male dominated world. The story was simple but captivating. Characters were 3-dimensional. Good read!

From the Gears, to Auel, there is a lot of historical fiction out there. But it's an enjoyable genre. So much so that I was compelled to start reading this trilogy, the Iron Carver Trilogy by Sue Harrison. This is the first book in the series, Mother Earth, Father Sky, and it is followed by My Sister the Moon and Brother Wind.

Chagak is living a pretty normal life for her people. As an adult, she will soon be married and is eagerly awaiting the prospect of a family of her own. But one day, returning to her village, she finds it being destroyed by warriors from another tribe. The lone survivor aside from her baby brother, she sets off for a different island with him in tow and manages to find an island inhabited only by a lone Shaman who allows her to stay. But she's not the only one who finds the island and she has to learn to deal with the prospect of becoming a wife to the man who killed her family.

Chagak is a very strong character. So strong sometimes that she doesn't' seem real. But it was a different life and just because I can't fathom a reality like that, doesn't mean it couldn't happen. And she has so many trouble that you really empathize with her and want the best for her. I also liked the Shaman, he was very fatherly and helpful and just made you feel good about humanity. That being said, he had his own troubles and could only do so much for Chagak. Of course the bad guys were bad with few redeeming qualities and I thought that was a little bit of flat writing. I like my antagonists with a little depth to them, but it's not an easy thing to do.

The plot was fairly simple. Girl's village gets destroyed, girl goes out on her own, girl has to overcome overwhelming obstacles in a land where women aren't considered equals. The history of humanity in the region. But it's written cleverly enough that you get enveloped into the story and want to know what happens to Chagak. If she can overcome all the odds and survive. And if that survival will be happy. There are a lot of tough scenes in it too, from rape to murder to other things. Like most prehistoric fiction, it isn't for the squeamish.

An interesting start to the series. It made me want to read the next one, that's for sure!

Mother Earth, Father Sky
Copyright 1990
313 pages

Review by M. Reynard 2015

More of my reviews can be found at www.ifithaswords.blogspot.com

Enjoyable, fascinating stories about a pre-historic tribe and its people.

I love, love, love prehistoric fiction. Haven't read too much of it but of what I've read, it's been real good.

Mother Earth Father Sky is fascinating, it's a glimpse into those days long gone, of a culture and a people so far removed from what I know and am a familiar. Learned new words and items such as ik, ikyak, suk, ulaq, ula. Even the names of all the characters mean something in Aleutian.

The benefit of reading fiction is if it has you itching to find out more about this and that after reading, you're more likely to search up and peruse the actual life and details of people from those times. At least, that's how it is for me.

Since even the cover mentions it, in comparison to Clan of Cave Bear by dear Jean Auel...
1) MEFS is a shorter read
2) Both books have something rather traumatic and intense

Spoiler

rape

happen to their titular characters as we follow their journeys.

I cannot wait to read the next book in this Ivory Carver series.

I loved this book because I loved the setting and the characters. The author did an amazing job making the setting believable and making it realistic. For someone who never saw 7056 BC, she did an amazing job immersing the reader with details. I thought the plot line was interesting and unique. A lot of books with a similar setting do a bad job of connecting the reader to their characters. But this author did a pretty good job of connecting me not only to the characters, but also to the emotions that were invested in the book. The book flowed great and was an overall good read.

Chagak was an interesting character in herself because of her strength in a world that doesn’t always expect or accept it. At first she fell in line with everyone else and accepted her position in life. Then she got brave and started to survive on her own. Her character was very dynamic and I liked how she changed throughout the book. She became more self dependent and strong as she learned to fend for herself and accept her losses. This book requires a courageous main character and Chagak fits the bill in every way.

Not only is Chagak a great character but all the other ones are too. I liked how they supported Chagak and added to her story. The other characters helped build her into a stronger woman and added special details to her character.

Sometimes I wasn’t as connected to the characters as I would have liked and I felt that the plot was a little shaky. But overall I really enjoyed reading this book and I will enjoy more books by this author and publisher.