The Cage [Hardcover]

Audrey Schulman (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1, 1994

ALA Notable Book. The story of a nature photographer on an otherwise all-male documentary expedition to the Canadian tundra. From within a small iron cage, this small, often fearful woman is challenging herself to face the planet's largest land carnivores in the bone-aching cold of an unforgiving terrain. Before long, disaster strikes, and she must draw on her every strength in order to survive. "This riveting, assured first novel is part survival story, part coming-of-age tale. Some of Schulman's scenes are truly terrifying. People will talk about this book."--Publishers Weekly. A QUALITY PAPERBACK BOOK CLUB SELECTION.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

This riveting, assured first novel about a nature photographer who joins an all-male expedition to record polar bears on the Canadian tundra is difficult to classify. Part survival story, part coming-of-age tale, the narrative mixes rich characterization with detailed observation of the natural world and crisply described action, and the effect is startling and memorable. The only child of older parents, Beryl Findham is a small, weak, fearful woman who is ill at ease with most people. She lives alone in Boston, photographing animals in zoos, imagining a diminished future world where her size will be an advantage. Chosen to join the expedition because she fits inside the cage designed to let a photographer get close to the deadly bears, Beryl soon realizes that the trip will test her in ways she can hardly imagine. As the setting moves from Boston to Churchill, the small Manitoba town on the shore of Hudson Bay where the expedition assembles, to the frozen wilderness where Beryl will confront the bears, Schulman artfully builds suspense with details of chilling authenticity, cohesively streamlining a compact, efficient narrative. Some of her scenes are truly terrifying, conjuring up the spine-tingling feel of a bear's breath on the back of the neck. People will talk about this book.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

In this feminist adventure story, Beryl is the only woman member of a photographic team sent on assignment to Churchill, Manitoba to capture polar bears in their natural habitat. Accompanied by three men, a video cameraman, a writer, and a guide, Beryl must learn to work in the extreme cold of the Canadian tundra and in dangerous proximity to the massive animals. To escape the weather and the bears, the team is forced to spend long hours together in close quarters. The cage of the title is both a literal one--a small iron enclosure from which to photograph the bears in safety--and a metaphorical one--the cage of helplessness and inferiority from which women are emerging to challenge men at their own games. Although it may leave you longing for a hot cocoa beside a warm fire, this gripping, fast-paced narrative is recommended.
- Barbara Love, St. Lawrence Coll., Kingston, Ontario
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 228 pages
• Publisher: Algonquin Books; First Edition edition (April 1, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1565120353
• ISBN-13: 978-1565120358
• Product Dimensions: 7.1 x 5.4 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,877,152 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Summer Reading That Will Keep You Cool, June 11, 1998

By 

Robert Derenthal "bucherwurm" (California United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Cage (Paperback)

This is an excellent adventure that brings the cold of the Arctic into your living room. Most of us have heard about the annual polar bear migration to Churchill, and this well written novel describes the beauty and the terror of that event. For a period each year its like aliens have landed and you must be constantly alert or suffer tragic consequences. The expedition of the media people is fascinating and terrifying. Why hasn't this author written another book? I'm certainly ready for it.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A pleasant surprise, February 27, 2002

By 

Erin K. Darling "naive cynic" (olympia, wa) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Cage (Paperback)

I picked this book up out of a stack of freebies several years ago, and continually passed it over when browsing my bookshelves for a new read. Last night, I picked it up, reread the back cover, and gave it a shot. Less than four hours later, I finished the book with arched eyebrows, very pleasantly surprised by how good it was.

Schulman does an *excellent* job of placing the reader in the moment with her highly-descriptive writing. The amount of detail is perfect - never so much that the story drags while describing the setting, but almost always enough so that the reader can feel the depth of the cold, smell the polar bears, and hear the crunch of snow.

She also does a wonderful job of conveying the protagonist's thought processes and she undergoes radical changes in how she thinks of herself and the world through her challenges. This *may* be a book enjoyed more by women than by men - I don't mean to say that men won't understand it, rather that women (on the whole) might relate more intimately with how the main character thinks and feel.

I'll definitely pick up the other books by this author - I very much enjoyed her writing voice.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Cage, September 9, 2000

By 

LittleTiny (WA state) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Cage (Paperback)

I was engrossed in this book as soon as I began reading the first sentence. As the reader procedes, she in informed of the multiple metaphorical cages that Beryl, the main character, lives in. While the man vs. natural elements is not new by any means, Schulman masters this aspect of the story in a refreshing way that captures the adventure, the fear, and the excitment that feed the suspense. Not only is this a great adventure novel but one that dives into the heart of many modern young woman's insecurities. A must read.