Agaguk is the sixth novel written by Quebec

Quebec

Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....

 author Yves Thériault

Yves Thériault

Yves Thériault, OC was a Canadian author.He was born in Quebec City to Alcide and Aurore Thériault. On April 21, 1942, he married Germaine Blanchet, with whom he would have two children, Marie-José and Yves-Michel...

. First published in 1958, it sold 300,000 copies and was translated into seven languages.

Plot summary

This novel is a story of cultural conflict between the Inuit of Northern Quebec

Quebec

Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....

 and white men, set in the 1940s. It is told from the perspective of the main character Agaguk, an Inuit

Inuit

The Inuit are a group of culturally similar indigenous peoples inhabiting the Arctic regions of Canada , Denmark , Russia and the United States . Inuit means “the people” in the Inuktitut language...

 man. Agaguk diverges from his tribe with a woman named Iriook. Through their journeys, Yves Thériault explores Agaguk's mastery of nature as well as the general relationship between the Inuit and the tundra

Tundra

In physical geography, tundra is a biome where the tree growth is hindered by low temperatures and short growing seasons. The term tundra comes through Russian тундра from the Kildin Sami word tūndâr "uplands," "treeless mountain tract." There are three types of tundra: Arctic tundra, alpine...

. Furthermore, by describing the conflicts with the white men, the themes of alcoholism, assimilation as well as economic and judicial injustice are thoroughly explored. The personal aspect of the novel also allows for an intriguing analysis of Agaguk and his behaviour towards his wife in particular.

Film adaptation

The novel was made into a movie with the title Shadow of the Wolf by Jacques Dorfmann in 1992, with Lou Diamond Phillips

Lou Diamond Phillips

Lou Diamond Phillips is an American film, television, and stage actor and director. His breakthrough came when he starred in the film La Bamba. He earned a supporting actor Golden Globe Award nomination for his role in Stand and Deliver and a Tony Award nomination for his role in The King and I...

, Toshirô Mifune

Toshiro Mifune

Toshirō Mifune was a Japanese actor who appeared in almost 170 feature films. He is best known for his 16-film collaboration with filmmaker Akira Kurosawa, from 1948 to 1965, in works such as Rashomon, Seven Samurai, Throne of Blood, and Yojimbo...

, Jennifer Tilly

Jennifer Tilly

Jennifer Tilly is an American actress and poker player. She is an Academy Award nominee, and a World Series of Poker Ladies' Event bracelet winner. She is the older sister of actress Meg Tilly.-Early life:...

, Bernard-Pierre Donnadieu, and Donald Sutherland

Donald Sutherland

Donald McNichol Sutherland, OC is a Canadian actor with a film career spanning nearly 50 years. Some of Sutherland's more notable movie roles included offbeat warriors in such war movies as The Dirty Dozen, , MASH , and Kelly's Heroes , as well as in such popular films as Klute, Invasion of the...

. The screenplay was written by Evan Jones

Evan Jones (writer)

Evan Jones is a poet, playwright and screenwriter based in Britain. He was educated in Jamaica, the United States and England...

.