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A review by chnh
The Ice Palace by Tarjei Vesaas
4.0
a childlike eerie ice palace story. heavy nordic influence. seasonally captivating. serene landscape. icy tonality. illusory in nature.
the story follows two girls, siss and unn, who become instant friends. you feel their quick connection and enthusiasm coupled with shyness and eagerness to be together. in their short burst together, you feel their bond.
unn disappears in the ice palace, and the remaining story follows siss in her grief.
the book is direct but also indirect. it plays on childhood fears of the dark and vivid imaginations. the inability to distinguish what is real apart from what isn’t. it tackles grief and how everyone just wants you to move on and be how you used to be before the loss and how hard it is to get out of the rut. it focuses on winter and how things change seasonally and mentally when spring approaches. themes of growing up and conquering fears and whims.
the prose is beautiful. the story bounces from third person to first person perspective and is mixed with bouts of poetry in between.
…
“her thoughts were simple now. the cold had paralysed them little by little.”
“such things are odd and make you feel insecure.”
“it had been a time of snow and a time of death and of closed bedrooms - and she had arrived bang on the other side of it, her eyes dimming for joy because a boy had said, 'you with the dimples'”
the story follows two girls, siss and unn, who become instant friends. you feel their quick connection and enthusiasm coupled with shyness and eagerness to be together. in their short burst together, you feel their bond.
unn disappears in the ice palace, and the remaining story follows siss in her grief.
the book is direct but also indirect. it plays on childhood fears of the dark and vivid imaginations. the inability to distinguish what is real apart from what isn’t. it tackles grief and how everyone just wants you to move on and be how you used to be before the loss and how hard it is to get out of the rut. it focuses on winter and how things change seasonally and mentally when spring approaches. themes of growing up and conquering fears and whims.
the prose is beautiful. the story bounces from third person to first person perspective and is mixed with bouts of poetry in between.
…
“her thoughts were simple now. the cold had paralysed them little by little.”
“such things are odd and make you feel insecure.”
“it had been a time of snow and a time of death and of closed bedrooms - and she had arrived bang on the other side of it, her eyes dimming for joy because a boy had said, 'you with the dimples'”