Product Description

Two 11-year old girls, Unn and Siss, meet. Unn is about to reveal a secret, one that leads to her death in a formation of ice caused by a large waterfall. Siss's struggle with her fidelity to the memory of a friend, the strange frozen world of the waterfall, and the description of Unn's fatal exploration of the ice palace are described in prose of a lyrical economy that ranks among the memorable achievements of modern literature. Often short-listed for the Nobel Prize, Tarjei Vesaas (1897-1976) was awarded the Nordic Council Prize in 1973 for this novel. A modernist who maintained a degree of technical experimentation throughout his work, he is generally considered to be one of Norway's great modern writers. How simple this novel is. How subtle. How strong. How unlike any other. It is unique. It is unforgettable. It is extraordinary.""--Doris Lessing. ""It is hard to do justice to The Ice Palace. The narrative is urgent, the descriptions relentlessly beautiful, the meaning as powerful as the ice piling up on the lake.""--The London Times.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #4374427 in Books
• Published on: 1993-01
• Original language: Norwegian
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 176 pages

From Publishers Weekly
The late Norwegian writer Vesaas (1897-1970) tells a simple yet profoundly stirring story of friendship, coming of age and death in a remote Norwegian village. The main narrator is Siss, a popular girl who befriends Unn, an orphan and a newcomer to the town. Drawn to each other despite their differences, they experience an almost mystical sense of unityp. 19 , but their tie is cut the next day when Unn, while playing alone, disappears into a "green ice palace" formed from a waterfall's frozen trickles of water. Siss feels haunted by the unspoken secrets they shared and struggles to come to terms with her friend's death as her own childhood vanishes. Vesaas's ( Birds ) understanding of child psychology gives his young characters emotional depth and strength. The growing, changing protagonists and the eerie, primeval surroundings are flawlessly revealed in lyrical prose and metaphors, as illustrated by Siss's observation as she takes a walk with Unn's aunt: "Across the imperfect screen of their eyes there glided tall trees that seemed to stretch out their arms in admonition; and pitch-black, stooping-shouldered rocks, moving like clenched fists towards their foreheads."
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Language Notes
Text: English (translation)
Original Language: Norwegian

Customer Reviews

the burden of a secret
From the first sentence Tarjei Vesaas draws the reader into a world of icy chill and unspoken foreboding ,drawn with language as spare, beautiful and relentless as the wintry nordic landscape. Two girls on the brink of puberty experience a moment of furtive sexual and spiritual awakening that neither is emotionally prepared for; when one of them subsequently vanishes from her home the other is lost in a welter of guilt and confusion. An unusual and evocative exploration of emotional isolation, both real and self imposed

Absolutely beautiful
A beautiful book. The imagery is lovely, and I got hooked when one of the characters actually wanders into the ice palace. The descriptions of the light, and the interplay of the changing colors and shapes of the ice were mesmerizing--I stayed up late and couldn't go to bed. And in the morning it seemed it should be all ice outside instead of the height of summer. Tremendously atmospheric, simply splendid. The first book in about six months to make it straight to my read-again shelf. And short--a quick read if you're busy.

Elegant, completely at ease with words
It is a beautiful piece of poetic prose. The innocent and simple story of two girls and their budding friendship broken by death is at the same time intense and calm. The descriptions of the surroundings, the ice palace at the waterfall, which claims Unn, together with the thoughts of Siss, create the Nordic climate, make the reader breathe the cold air, and show the world as a complicated and unyielding entity, strange for a little girl, hard to understand. Yet Siss understands somehow, her world gets in order and all the events have their place.
Only a poet can use words in such a beautiful fashion. This book was a sensual delight. Probably a great bonus is the translation, must have been not a trivial task!