Northwind

Gary Paulsen died in October last year, aged 82. Fans of the American author will be instantly at home in this posthumously published novel. At home may not be quite the right phrase: for, like Hatchet, Paulsen’s best-known novel for teenagers, this is about lonely survival in the wilderness. Set somewhere in the misty history or legend of early Viking exploration of North America, it’s the tale of Leif, a neglected and abused boy who finds a home amongst the crew of a seal-hunting boat, only to be left alone as the marooned crew die around him from a mysterious sickness. He sets off in a canoe, first in the company of Little Carl, another ill-treated younger boy, and then, when Little Carl dies, Leif navigates unknown waters, entirely alone, always moving north. It’s a tale of physical survival: how Leif learns to find food and shelter and avoid the dangers of bears and unpredictable weather and currents. But there’s so much more than this. The skilfully sustained tale is as much an elegy for the wonder and multifariousness of the natural world, whether kind or cruel, as it is a praise song to human ingenuity and endurance. And, even more, it is a subtle portrayal of a child who has little reason to love humankind and who draws comfort from the company of creatures who barely acknowledge him, from the memories of the little thoughtfulness and friendship he has known, and from what he is learning about the world around him and about himself. When he does eventually find evidence of the presence of other people towards the end of the novel, he does not rule out seeking them out, but that might come later, much later. For now, he has learnt to be at home, alone in the wilderness.