
She knows the ravages of alcohol, and violence at the hands of those she should be able to trust. She knows the tedium of the everyday world, and the raw, amoral power of the ice and sky, the seductive energy of the animal world. She knows boredom, and listlessness, and bullying. She knows joy, and friendship, and parents' love. In the end, there may be no difference between them.Ī girl grows up in Nunavut in the 1970s. It can also be as dark, as violent, as rapturous. Get your copy: Waterstones, Amazon, AbeBooksĮxperimental literature… Good or not? Share your thoughts.Īnd keep exploring the forms magic realism can take.Fact can be as strange as fiction. Absorb all the aspects of beauty and pain this Inuit girl wants you to see. Open your mind and take your time with it. Split Tooth really is a stunning debut novel worth diving into. The book challenges many things through its imagination, including Christianity, humanity’s embrace of rationality, its rejection and abuse of nature and people, and, especially, the loss of indigenous identity and spirituality. The heroine has bizarre dreams and experiences throughout her life, culminating in a striking, almost allegorical climax. Fresh Magic RealismĬanada’s landscape and the Inuit core of the story lend unique imagery and concepts to its gradually emerging magic realist thread. Split Tooth invites you to pay close attention to the details. Together they all form a fractured reflection of Nunavut’s society, rife with rage, repression, substance abuse, and sexual assault, but also vibrant with the feral beauty of nature and humans who still revere her. A few scattered drawings also feature in the book. The plot is fragmented into alternating poetry and prose, each shard of the narrative sharp and poignant.


Tagaq has applied her full lyrical skills in the telling of this story.

And above it all the Northern Lights, enriching and even joining in the narrative. The Inuit culture’s nature-loving spirituality pushing through Christian doctrine. The story is as disturbing as it is sweet as she shares with us the joys and indiscretions, the norms and abuses entailed in enduring icy Nunavut.ĭays and nights that last months. Split Tooth introduces the indigenous culture of Canada through the life experiences of a girl in the 1970s. The commission earned from purchases through these links comes at no extra expense to you.
