book review: Aleutian Sparrow

author: Karen Hesse

publisher: Simon and Schuster, 2003

main character: Vera

Karen Hesse is the queen of the free verse novel. When interviewed after the publication of the Newbery Award Winning Out of the Dust, Hesse said she wrote in free verse because the writing style best matched the sparseness of her characters’ lives. The same seems to hold true for the tales she also tells of girls’ lives in Witness and now in Aleutian Sparrow. While there are fewer words, they are rich, well intentioned words that affect us as they describe the setting, bring life to characters and tell the story.

Aleut mothers from five villages sing their children to sleep

From twenty tents rise the good women voices.

Dark eyes slowly shut: Hard wooden floors

Becoming the hulls of boats floating in a sea of lullaby.

Unlike others who have followed her, she doesn’t simply reformat the paragraph and call it verse.

Vera, her family and her neighbors live rather quiet, traditional lives on Alaska’s Aleutian Islands. While her mother has never really valued the traditional ways, even marrying outside her culture, Vera seeks out elders to teach her the ways that have supported and maintained her ancestors. When World War II begins, Unalaska falls into the scope of Japanese invaders and with the (perhaps) well intentioned plan of protecting the citizens who inhabit these islands, the US Government relocates them to the Alaskan mainland where they can be better protected. But, in this new environment, the people cannot rely upon their own skills to protect themselves. Life becomes challenging, even devastating to those whose lives were so closely tied to nature.

On the SS Columbia the wind plucks at us. The sinew of

government laces us to the ship’s rail. “We are moving you to save you,’ the government tells us.

“With your people safely out of the way, our fighting men

will be free from the worry of you.”

Our ancient roots suddenly exposed,

even Alfred’s mother

is scraped raw.

Hesse, with anthropology in her background, researches extensively to tell important, lesser known stories in American history. I was surprised to learn about the Japanese in Alaska at this time and am really surprised that in our quest for manifest destiny, claiming and protecting all things American, there is so little mention of this invasion of American soil during the War. I was also surprised to find how many white Americans were living in Alaska at this time.  Hesse does an amazing job of letting the historic details paint the background while her young heroine seeks to learn her culture, understand her mother, protect both herself and family and fall in love. While this could be a story of benign neglect, it triumphs as a tale of self empowerment.

themes:  World War II; Aleuts; resilliance; internment; Alaska