The Breathing Hole

By Colleen Murphy, Siobhan Arnatsiaq-Murphy, Janet Tamalik McGrath (translator)

Book cover of The Breathing Hole

Book description

In 1535, Hummiktuq, an Inuit widow, has a strange dream about the future. The next day, she discovers a bear cub floating on a piece of ice near a breathing hole. Despite the concerns of her community, she adopts him as her own and names him Angu’řuaq. In 1845, Angu’řuaq…

When you buy books, we may earn a commission that helps keep our lights on (or join the rebellion as a member).

Why read it?

1 author picked The Breathing Hole as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

What struck me most was the use of simple language to portray powerful intimacy and connection between human and animal, and by extension, environment. Murphy’s humorous dialogue, together with sparing, often ironic, descriptions, struck deep into my heart. The play starts in 1535 on an ice shelf up north—when an Inuk widow risks her life to save a lost one-eared polar bear cub on an ice floe, and adopts him. In the last scene five hundred years later in the oily waters of the Northwest Passage, the same bear—starving and cruelly injured by eco-tourists on a cruise ship—struggles to keep…

Want books like The Breathing Hole?

Our community of 12,000+ authors has personally recommended 72 books like The Breathing Hole.

Browse books like The Breathing Hole

Book cover of The Overstory
Book cover of The Windup Girl
Book cover of Barkskins

Share your top 3 reads of 2024!

And get a beautiful page showing off your 3 favorite reads.

1,593

readers submitted
so far, will you?

5 book lists we think you will like!

Interested in the Inuit, the Northwest Passage, and polar bears?

The Inuit 24 books
Polar Bears 24 books