The Land of Feast and Famine

Anne Savoie is a youth counsellor in Anjou, Quebec.

Ingstad is a Norwegian who left his law practice in 1926 to live in
Canada’s Northwest Territories. In 1960 he and his archaeologist wife
discovered a Viking village in Newfoundland. This book, which documents
his earlier experience, was first published in 1931 and has since been
translated into several languages.

The Land of Feast and Famine can be regarded as a journal, though it is
much more than that. It is an adventure story set in a time and place
where life was never easy, where the bitter cold of winter and the
threat of starvation could mean death. It is also a story about liberty
and living off the land.

Ingstad writes at length about the wilderness, the animals, and his
lifestyle, and about those with whom he lived. He also writes about the
Natives, trappers, and hunters he met, as well as about the places he
visited while traveling throughout the region. He describes his daily
activities during the seasons and how in summer he worked at odd jobs to
earn money to purchase winter equipment such as dogs and sleds.

Ingstad lived in northwestern Canada at a time when no maps charted the
area and no roads existed. His story about his life in the northwestern
Canadian wilderness is interesting to read, exciting, and romantic.