{"id":6238,"date":"2019-07-30T15:42:42","date_gmt":"2019-07-30T14:42:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?p=6238"},"modified":"2019-07-30T15:43:40","modified_gmt":"2019-07-30T14:43:40","slug":"under-a-pole-star-by-stef-penney","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?p=6238","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Under A Pole Star\u2019. by Stef Penney"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u2018Under A Pole Star\u2019. by Stef Penney <\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

This book is centred around the two main characters, Flora Mackie and Jakob de Beyn.<\/p>\n

We are first introduced to Flora, an elderly explorer known as the Ice Queen, as she prepares to return to Greenland in the year 1948. A reporter, accompanying the group, questions her about the fate of de Beyn and his companion Armitage, both of whom had disappeared during an Arctic expedition in the 1890s.<\/p>\n

The story then follows the early lives of Flora and Jakob in the late 1800s. From the age of 12 years, Flora accompanies her father, a widowed Captain of a whaling ship, on his fishing expeditions to the Arctic. She is fascinated with the polar regions and its indigenous inhabitants, the Inuits. From the age of 18 years, at a time when it was difficult for a woman to achieve a good education or career, she studied Meteorology and was determined to lead her own exploration to the North. Jakob meanwhile, having been raised by his brother in New York, studies Geology and follows his ambition to become an Arctic pioneer.<\/p>\n

It is during the ensuing expeditions that their paths cross.<\/p>\n

The group agreed that the expectations for this book had been high with the promise of adventure, historical interest and romance in the early chapters. We loved the descriptive and expressive prose which brought to life the glaciers, the skies and the hardships experienced by the Inuits on a daily basis and the explorers during their expeditions. It had obviously been well researched and many of the Page Turners had read \u2018The Tenderness of Wolves\u2019 a previously successful novel by this author.<\/p>\n

However, despite an interesting start and even though it was necessary to read of the personal relationships, emotions, passions and power struggles to set the scene of the protagonists, the Page Turners agreed that the storylines became too verbose and confusing and it was difficult to relate to some of the characters. The romantic encounters between Flora and Jakob were far too frequent and graphic. The storyline petered out and the question of the fate of de Beyn and Armitage was inconclusive.<\/p>\n

The Page Turners agreed it is not a novel we would recommend. The overall score was 5 out of 10.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n
\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u2018Under A Pole Star\u2019. by Stef Penney This book is centred around the two main characters, Flora Mackie and Jakob de Beyn. We are first introduced to Flora, an elderly explorer known as the Ice Queen, as she prepares to return to Greenland in the year 1948. A reporter, accompanying the group, questions her about the fate of de Beyn […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[41],"tags":[349],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p6cWjO-1CC","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":11235,"url":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?p=11235","url_meta":{"origin":6238,"position":0},"title":"Cold Comfort Farm","author":"Alan Williams","date":"7th March 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"OFF THE SHELF \u00a0 \u00a0 Book Review for Cold Comfort Farm by Stella Gibbons The plot is simplistic and was written as a comedy about rural life in the 1920s. 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