Two Old Women
An Alaska Legend of Betrayal, Courage and Survival
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Average rating4
Velma Wallis’s award-winning, bestselling novel about two elderly Native American women who must fend for themselves during a harsh Alaskan winter
Based on an Athabascan Indian legend passed along for many generations from mothers to daughters of the upper Yukon River Valley in Alaska, this is the suspenseful, shocking, ultimately inspirational tale of two old women abandoned by their tribe during a brutal winter famine.
Though these women have been known to complain more than contribute, they now must either survive on their own or die trying. In simple but vivid detail, Wallis depicts a landscape and way of life that are at once merciless and starkly beautiful. In her old women, she has created two heroines of steely determination whose story of betrayal, friendship, community, and forgiveness "speaks straight to the heart with clarity, sweetness, and wisdom" (Ursula K. Le Guin).
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Popular Reviews
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“They think we are too old and useless. They forget that we, too, have earned the right to live! So I say if we are going to die, my friend, let us die trying, not sitting.”
This was a super short read about two old women, abandoned by their tribe during hard times. Apparently this story is one based on an actual Alaskan Athabaskan story told to families, which I thought was super neat. I thought these two old women were inspiring in how they changed so completely from complaining about minor aches to surviving harsh Alaskan winters. Age is just a number, so I hear, and I think this story is a good reminder of that.
If you've got a few hours to spare (and that's all it'll take) and like adventure books with a lesson, this would be a great read.
outstanding
Cozy up to a warm fire, pile on some blankets and read this wonderful story. Better yet, read it out loud to your children.
