"Because of his unique experience in the north, where he practiced as a physician, because of his elegant style and compassionate vision, Patterson has created a remarkably compelling novel. His insight into the human condition pulls us to the heart of events." Washington Post "In this powerful first novel, Patterson delivers a searingly visceral message about love, loss and dislocation." Publishers Weekly (starred review) "Patterson has mastered the most difficult trick of the sorcerer/writerengaging the heart as well as the mind in the service of a greater truth." The New Orleans Times-Picayune "Patterson is a sure guide through inhospitable terrain, be it the 'elastic, almost infinite emptiness' of the tundra or the far recesses of the soul." The New Yorker "Patterson is an empathetic observer of wrenching cultural change and so-called progress. 'A-' " Entertainment Weekly "The 'set-pieces' in Consumption are the very finest physician's writings I have read in ages. I am thinking of the chapter on fingernails, the butchering of the seal, and the surgery for tuberculosis as performed on Victoria.

" Richard Selzer, author of Mortal Lessons and Confesisons of a Knife "Put Kevin Patterson's debut novel, Consumption, right at the top of your must-read list. This book is a staggeringly beautiful elegy for the traditional life of the Inuit, showing the inevitable loss when cultures collide . Consumption is not only a beautiful novel, but also an important one. Few people are in Patterson's position of knowledge and experience, and so readers are given a special opportunity to learn about the Inuit, the changes in their lives, and what those changes suggest for human beings in general." - Edmonton Journal "In this powerful first novel . Patterson seamlessly works murder, sex, and intrigue into the mix and offers a terrific cast that makes arctic life, and the ties of kin, palpable. He delivers a searingly visceral message about love, loss, and dislocation." -Publishers Weekly (starred review) "[The novel's] thematic resonance, along with an understated humanism reminiscent of Anton Chekhov (incidentally, another physician), make Consumption a quietly devastating novel.

" - Vancouver Sun "This is a dynamite first novel from Patterson. His broad life experience evidences itself on every page of this ambitious and tough-minded book. - Winnipeg Free Press From the Hardcover edition.