A review by lanko
At the End of the World: A True Story of Murder in the Arctic by Lawrence Millman
3.0
Definitely a misleading title. One would think about a Mystery/Thriller story or a non-fiction account of some bizarre murder in an expedition or something similar.
Instead it's a travel memoir. Not a bad thing necessarily, but depending on your expectations this might not be a book for you.
The author is an ecologist who traveled a lot to the Arctic and other regions. His accounts on the Inuit, the culture, the local mythology, the fauna and flora are all fascinating.
The thought of a crazy, religiously fanatic Eskimo killer who also thinks he's Jesus looks like something too bizarre and more akin for some crazy comical cartoon than real life... but it did happen.
Unfortunately, despite the book's already short length, the murders (that's no mystery, it was all in broad daylight) occupy a very small part of the book.
May not be the author's fault though. The publishers are the ones who decide on titles regardless of what an author may think and is very possible this was a totally one-sided decision.
A very good part of it have the author ranting on technology and people who use it too much. Initially I rolled my eyes. Later I bought some of his arguments. By the end he really made me think about it and some witticisms were actually funny.
I think there were merits to some of his thoughts while others were too bitter and condescending. Most importantly, technology had nothing to do with the murders, as it may look like he's trying to draw non-existing parallels, even if perhaps unconsciously.
Anyway, good as some of his points are, most likely the tone in some of them won't help him get people to think on the issue, which is unfortunate.
Not what I was expecting but I still enjoyed reading about this Canadian remote corner and some insights were pretty good.
Instead it's a travel memoir. Not a bad thing necessarily, but depending on your expectations this might not be a book for you.
The author is an ecologist who traveled a lot to the Arctic and other regions. His accounts on the Inuit, the culture, the local mythology, the fauna and flora are all fascinating.
The thought of a crazy, religiously fanatic Eskimo killer who also thinks he's Jesus looks like something too bizarre and more akin for some crazy comical cartoon than real life... but it did happen.
Unfortunately, despite the book's already short length, the murders (that's no mystery, it was all in broad daylight) occupy a very small part of the book.
May not be the author's fault though. The publishers are the ones who decide on titles regardless of what an author may think and is very possible this was a totally one-sided decision.
A very good part of it have the author ranting on technology and people who use it too much. Initially I rolled my eyes. Later I bought some of his arguments. By the end he really made me think about it and some witticisms were actually funny.
I think there were merits to some of his thoughts while others were too bitter and condescending. Most importantly, technology had nothing to do with the murders, as it may look like he's trying to draw non-existing parallels, even if perhaps unconsciously.
Anyway, good as some of his points are, most likely the tone in some of them won't help him get people to think on the issue, which is unfortunate.
Not what I was expecting but I still enjoyed reading about this Canadian remote corner and some insights were pretty good.