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Title: Under a Pole Star

Author: Stef Penney

Narrator: Cathleen McCarron, Thomas Judd

Format: Unabridged

Length: 20 hrs and 7 mins

Language: English

Release date: 11-03-16

Publisher: Quercus

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 2 votes

Genres: Fiction, Historical

Publisher's Summary:

The Richard & Judy Book Club Pick. Shortlisted for the 2017 Costa Novel Award.

Follow the path to the freezing north. Follow your ambition. Follow your heart

Flora Mackie first crossed the Arctic Circle at the age of 12. Years later, in 1892, determination and chance lead her back to northern Greenland as a scientist at the head of a British expedition, defying the expectations of those who believe a woman has no place in that harsh world.

Geologist Jakob de Beyn was raised in Manhattan. Yearning for wider horizons, he joins a rival expedition. Jakob and Flora's paths cross. It is a fateful meeting, where passion and ambition collide and an irresistible attraction is born.

The violent extremes of the north obsess them both: perpetual night and endless day; frozen seas and coastal meadows, and the strange, maddening pull it exerts on the people trying to make their mark on its vast expanses - a pursuit of glory whose outcome will reverberate for years to come.

Critic Reviews:

"A supreme storyteller." (Sunday Times)

"One of the best novels I have read for a very long time." (Richard Madely)

"A dazzling tale of romance and survival." (Guardian)

Members Reviews:

Too long winded

A lot to enjoy here - I liked the main character Flora and loved the lyrical descriptions of the Arctic. However this book could have been reduced by a third and would be much the better for it. The same conversations take place several times which is very tiresome. Far too much and too detailed back story. Just too long. In the end I was glad to finish it.

Disappointed

I previous read and enjoyed Penny's other books, particularly the Invisible Ones which is one of my all time faves. So when I saw this read by Cathleen McCarron (who narrates Elenor Oliphant-another favourite) my hopes were high. I returned it after about 4 hours. It dragged on, the initial few chapters I liked but as it went on I lost interest more and more. I think this is a bit of a marmite book as some reviews are excellent. Penny describes thinks in lush detail and in that way, it's lovely to listen to. However I only get one credit a month and can't afford to waste it- sadly. McCarron's narration is spot on though, so it gets 3 stars.

Adventure!

What did you like most about Under a Pole Star?

The main character Flora is a brilliant creation.

What did you like best about this story?

I like the chronicle approach - building a picture of a whole human life from start to finish, I also loved the depiction of Flora's relationships with other people, particularly the Inuit people.

Did you have an emotional reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

One scene near the end made me cry.

Excessively long and numerous passages of sex spoil an entertaining story well told

Such a shame! Lovely evocative passages describing the polar landscape, fascinating insights into Inuit culture, unexplained deaths and a love story running through it all. So many elements that could have made a wonderful novel. But I have never read a book with so much, such prolonged and such explicit sex. Of course it's a powerful component of the lovers' story, but a substantial edit of all of their sexual encounters wouldn't affect the reader's sympathy for or understanding of their story and would have made the novel a considerably better read for me.

I nearly gave up on this book four or five times.