WOLF MOUNTAIN. ALICE ROBERTS.
This is a sequel to Wolf Road. Our reading group read and discussed the first book. I agreed to read the sequel and summarise it. There were a lot of loose ends in the first one so it was obvious that Alice Roberts was going to carry the story through.
The publishers decided to advertise the stories as a children's book recommended for 8+ but I can assure you our group is composed of the 60s+ They enjoyed it.
It touches on the Ice Age in what we now know as Eastern Europe with talos constantly on the move following the trail of reindeers during the spring and winter.
The main character is Tuuli and her pet wolf, Lupa. Her quest was to head to the southern mountains where Andar had pointed, the Mountain of the Sun to find his talo and discover the reason why he had come to her. She believed his talo was in danger.
Her bond with Lupa was extremely strong-they were inseparable. Throughout the story she talks about her sorrow and pain in losing Andar and she has numerous images/dreams of him reappearing to her. His death had not been accidental and she referred to uncle Leon as a murderer. She refers to her anger that her parents didn't protect Andar.
Determined to get an answer, testing herself on her "solitary journey" she knew she would suffer loneliness, hardship and danger but she had determination to succeed. The terrain was difficult and confusing, wading upriver which was slow-going. Marshy ground, plunging into a bog. She set herself too great a pace, fuelled by anger and sadness. Killing a buck made her cry and it reminded her of Andar's killing. Tuuli and Lupa came across many types of animals: oxen (auvuchsen)-huge and wild, a huge boar protective of her five boarlets, hyenas, wolves, bison, lions, a leopard, ibex and the bear at the end (which should have been hibernating).
Thunder and lightning-Tuuli felt conflicting emotions of excitement but also terror. Lightning struck a tree and caused it to burn. Very strange- the tree was burning from the inside. This is a recurring motif. She believed it was an omen, something to warn her and connected to Andar.
Signs of autumn. Having been on her own for a whole moon, Tuuli had doubts which made her emotional, bouts of crying and a strong sense of isolation. "How far did the world go on?" she asked herself. Her initial confidence waning.
Back to the journey. After the Grand Sand Sea was the Great Ocean. Remi (father) had been there on his Wanderings. He had spoken to her about how different those talos were. Andar had "opened her eyes to a bigger world." The next question was whether to continue her journey or turn back? The point of no return. Obviously, continue!
At this point she sees something: smoke assuming it was a campfire. Hopefully, Andar's people/talo or a lone wolf? At this point the narrative builds up to a climax as Tuuli falls into a deep pit built to catch animals for food. The people are hostile threatening to kill her and Lupa. They did rescue her and offered her broth but they were suspicious and insisted she left their camp in the morning. They are called the Hidden and all (apart from Hedni) had genetical defects and were thrown out of their talos. Skwal was cast out ten winters ago. She came across Nuru who was malnourished, described as a walking skeleton, escaped when he was five or six winters' old. Tuuli remained once they felt she (and Lupa) weren't threats. She tries to find out about the Others. Once again we are told about the talo which died of a terrible disease and Ama had sent winter on them. Tuuli wanted to go beyond the myth into discovering whether there were actual people who might be living south.
Tuuli decides it's time to move on. The wolves try to attack the oxen and Lupa makes the first move and the wolves attack her. Tuuli resorts to threatening them with her spear to save Lupa who was badly injured so Tuuli had no choice but to return to the talo to ask for their assistance otherwise she would lose Lupa. Skwal stitched up the big gash across the top of Lupa's back leg and applied honey to the wounds. Five days later Lupa was having problems with her breathing. There was a large lump around the wound. Poison. The fluid-thick, foul-smelling stuff was squeezed from the lump and Lupa recovers. Now Tuuli was crying for Lupa as well as Andar.
Nuru, one of the Hidden, notices Tuuli's shell (from Andar). |He tells her he has seen it before when they went to their Winter place where they meet up with the Others, the Andar. This angered Skwal and she tells Tuuli, "It's our deepest secret." Again, she was told to leave, being a possible threat.
Tuuli shows them the scallop-shell pendant and meeting Andar. She cried imagining him in his grave. Skwal tells Tuuli that her people are a threat to the Others hence the reason they stay apart, hidden. Tuuli is told she is young, foolish and headstrong but also courageous and having conviction.
Her goal is achieved days later when they finally meet up with Andar's people who seemed threatened by the stranger Tuuli and her wolf. Skwal reassures them she is a friend and Lupa is a pet, tame not wild. Big Beard was the leader and he understood Skwal. Tuuli called the place the Secret Valley. She felt as if she had been cut adrift, very small and insignificant. She felt a sense of panic.
One of the chapters is called "The Ghost of Andar" because one of the teenagers looked so much like Andar. After her initial shock she realised she must be a close relative such as a sister? (I wondered whether she could have been his twin.) Her name was Oa.
WE discover that up to seven people had died since the previous year (excluding Andar.) It may have had something to do with a bear that had ben threatening them. They eventually killed it.
The talo seemed thin and undernourished. She shows Oa her shell which causes Oa to reveal hers. They both cried, united in grief and friendship. We learn the talo was shocked that Ao (Andar's name) had left on his own. There was no tradition within the talo of solo Wanderings. We are told by Eb (Others) there was a clash between baba (Big Beard) to move the talo to where there was food.
Up to two years ago we learn that this valley had many animals. More dark dreams and omens. Andar dragged himself out of his grave, smiled at her, they turned into kestrels. She flew towards her talo, he flew east then disappeared for good! Tuuli believes the talo would starve if they remain. Big Beard and Naa, the elders refused to leave. The rest went. Skwal leads them. Tuuli wants to head "towards where the reindeer overwinter" which we assume is the safety of her talo. The journey was dangerous as they headed towards the ice sheet. Dramatic. Another climax. Skwal is pulled towards the crevasse and is killed, swallowed in the icy mountain.
Once they have crossed the ice sheet it was downhill. Blizzards. Once they reached the treeline Tuuli realised the hardst part of the journey was over. A final dramatic act before the "happy" ending is the encounter with the bear which should have been hibernating. The bear roared, the adults roared back. When it stared at Tuuli there must have been some sort of telepathy (shaman) as she persuaded the bear to leave and it did!
Two more days descending and three to four days before they reached Winter camp and the Others were welcomed into Tuui's talo.
Copyright 2026. No copying or reproducing from this review without permission of the author.
Comments
Post a Comment