Something About Alaska

It’s been six years since Zac has spent Christmas with his father. Last time he saw him, his dad took him places and bought him things he didn’t need. Soon after his arrival in Alaska, it becomes clear that their relationship has changed significantly. Now, his father seems to require Zac to earn his respect, and he’s not about to make it easy for him.

His dad is a hard man—hard drinking, hard working and hard to know. He is also quite bitter towards Zac’s mum, despite the fact it’s been almost 10 years since they divorced, and takes out some of that bitterness on Zac. It also seeps out in his attitude towards women. 

After an argument between them that quickly escalates until Zac is left with a bleeding nose, Zac is banished from the house. Then he witnesses a fight between his dad and his latest lady friend, Charlene. When she takes off in his dad’s truck, he just laughs and falls on the ground. The shame of seeing his father lying in the snow, drunk and vomiting, is enough to make Zac wish he could just leave him there, but in Alaska, that could quickly result in his death from hypothermia. Instead he drags him inside, before resolving to leave as soon as he possibly can. 

With his dad out cold, Zac logs on to his laptop and books his flight home. Now he just has to get to Anchorage before his flight leaves in ten hour’s time. It’s seven miles to the highway, where he hopes to catch a ride. Intent on getting out before his dad catches him, Zac doesn’t even take the time to put on his snow gear. 

While Zac manages to make his way down to the highway, he soon realises that if he doesn’t get picked up soon, he may not actually make it at all, so when a yellow pickup truck stops and a man called Stanley offers him a lift, he eventually takes it, albeit reluctantly, worried that the guy could be one of the crazies his dad loves to tell stories about. To make matters worse, when they get to Healesville, Charlene catches sight of him. She has taken his dad’s truck and is going to visit her sister. Neither one of them wants the other to tell Zac’s dad they’ve been seen.

Back on the road, the snow falls are getting heavier and heavier, until Stanley tells him they are going to need to get off the road and take shelter. He knows an old trapper’s cabin nearby. There is no way Zac wants to stop, he’s not only desperate to catch his flight, he’s not sure at all that Stanley can be trusted, especially since he has a gun. 

Stanley’s concerns about the storm are born out when they come across a road block. There’s been a six car pileup and a double fatality. The blizzard has become so bad that the rescue chopper can’t even land. The roads are covered in ice and there’s more snow on the way. The highway has been closed, and the authorities are advising people not to shelter in their vehicles. Zac contemplates jumping out and getting a lift with anyone else but Stanley, but there’s no opportunity. Before he knows it they are offroad and heading for the cabin. As soon as the truck stops, Zac is out and running. He had seen a light in the distance and heads for it, certain it will be safer than staying with Stanley. But much to Zac’s horror, Stanley pursues him through the snow…

After falling unconscious, Zac wakes to find he is in the cabin, wrapped in furs. Stanley has saved his life. The two start to talk—really talk—and it isn’t long before Zac realises that in his fear he had completely misjudged Stanley, who actually meant him no harm, but was himself fearful that something would happen to Zac and he would be blamed, especially as he has a criminal record. Ironically, Zac had been worried he was travelling with a killer, and in a way he was—as a young man Stanley made a stupid mistake that resulted in the death of another man, and was convicted of manslaughter. He had spent 15 years in jail as a result, and definitely can’t afford to be involved in another death!

When they are unable to get the truck going, Stanley eventually decides they have no option but to try and hike back to the highway, some 10 miles away. To do so, they’ll have to trap some food, and use ingenuity to properly kit out Zac, or he’ll never make it.

Stanley is an Alaskan Native (aka Eskimo) and Zac is shocked how much he learns from Stanley’s patient explanations and encouragement, and how skilled Stanley is. When they eventually set out, Zac is as well kitted out as he could possibly be in the circumstances, but walking through deep snow is incredibly hard. He has just come to the point where he doesn’t think he can continue when a dog sled draws near. A sled Zac recognizes all to well.

Initially ecstatic that his father has found them, Zac is beyond furious when his father accuses Stanley of being a wacko, and of having giving Zac the black eye he himself was responsible for when wiped out on alcohol. While Stanley stays calm no matter what Zac’s dad throws at him, whether words or fists, Zac is filled with hatred and fury. It’s only when Stanley shares some of his stories that Zac realises how close he is to following in his dad’s footprints, and that often the right choices are actually the hardest ones to make…

This is a very engaging story where the setting of Alaska is so well drawn that it almost becomes another character in the story. Stanley’s wisdom and grace in the aftermath of his own mistakes offers Zac the opportunity to learn, grow, and change his attitude perspective towards his father. Highly recommended. 

Alaska, broken families, father/son relationship, alcoholism, dog sledding, escape, traditional folktales, wilderness, survival, forgiveness, coming-of-age, misconceptions

1. Language: bitch x 6, bull/shit x 3, piss/ed off etc. x 6, ‘you effing this, you effing that’ [sic] x 1, ‘screw you’ x 2. 2. Occasional misogynistic comments from Zac’s father, eg. Goddam women, Isaac! Let me tell you something, a woman is a creature put on this earth for one reason and one reason only-to torture and torment the soul of man. Can’t live with ‘em, can’t live without ‘em. 3. Zac’s father has a serious drinking problem. At one point Zac considers drinking some of his alcohol but looking at his father, realises he never wants to go down that path. 4. Zac and his drunk father have an argument and his dad shoves him around, eventually punching him in the face, giving him a bloody nose (chapter 7).   5. Mildly descriptive reference to a man who—some years ago—murdered his wife and kids. This is in the context of his father’s comment that ‘Alaska’s like a magnet for wackos’ (Chapter 11). 6. Mildly graphic folktale (chapter 16). 7. Some hunting, skinning, gutting fish etc.