I generally don't like overly moralistic politically motivated writing, and for this reason the no-excuses sexism of the characters didn't bother me particularly. However, there were a few places in which Houston seems particularly negligent. It was after reading this passage that I started to notice how healthy everyone was, especially the Inuit. One old man got sick and died, but all the fatalities happened while hunting or fighting or getting caught in a hurricane. Even the alcohol isn't a problem.
People get drunk but none of the fights fueled by alcohol causes loss of life.
The only fighting that kills is that which is started by bad people. Once I started pondering, I was no longer entertained by all the excitement generated by Houston's careful orchestration of weather and circumstance. He has written and illustrated several children's books. He lives in Connecticut and in British Columbia. Ellen Moore is a local poet and fiction writer.