Elizabeth Rokkan

Tarjei Vesaas

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.

The Ice Palace

In winter, the black ice cracks like a gunshot across the lake, growing thicker and darker every night. Nearby, a frozen waterfall transforms into a fantastic, baroque structure with dripping buttresses, flying spurs of ice and translucent, sparkling towers. The schoolchildren call it the ice palace. When eleven-year-old Unn arrives in the village, she avoids the other children- she lives alone with her aunt and nurses a secret grief. But her boisterous classmate Siss refuses to be ignored and the two girls strike up an intense friendship. That is, until Unn decides to explore the Ice Palace on her own, squeezing deep into its beautiful but chilling inner chambers. When Unn doesn't return home, Siss must struggle to cope with the loss of her friend, without succumbing to an ice palace of her own making.

Such a simple, but effective way to convey character. In just two paragraphs I feel like I understand both characters perfectly.

Novel Ideas

Unn was shy, it was said. It sounded exciting, All the girls had looked forward to meeting Unn, who was shy, at school.

Siss looked forward to it for a special reason: she was the acknowledged leader in their noisy breaks. She was used to being the one who made suggestions; she had never thought it over, it was so, and she did not dislike it. She had looked forward to being the leader when Unn arrived and had to be taken up.

It was really only afternoon, but already dark. A hard frost in late autumn. Stars, but no moon, and no snow to give a glimmer of light - so the darkness was thick, in spite of the stars. On each side was the forest, deathly still, with everything that might be alive and shivering in there at that moment.

Yanna Alghamdi

as my organs freeze this winter, this Norwegian narrative that deals with loss and grief is def an interesting read!

ineke

reading this over a period of three days at a music festival was an experience in itself but adding the layer of torrential rain on tent walls made it even weirder

charisa

solid 4-4.5. vesaas’ descriptions of the ice and cold are otherworldly and truly unlike anything i’ve read before. i felt lost within the ice palace myself, and something in me wants so much to experience the purity and immensity of snow once again. 

the story itself felt a little like a grimms’ fairy tale, but built on top of poetry and myth. the freudian undertones were a little weird LOL but also made the relationship between siss and unn strangely magnetic?? 

i do wish that vesaas had given us a little more of a window into unn’s secret. i understand the importance of the anonymity, but i also felt there wasn’t enough for me to fully grasp siss’ devastation and her dilemma in remaining silent. 

overall, deeply felt! a harrowing little gem; i’m very glad i read it.

Amy Maddess

It was an interesting idea to begin with, but the lack-of-description-as-mystery plot always just seems kind of lazy to me, a rationale for not filling out ideas. I found myself skimming the last third of the book because I knew it was never going to get around to any actual subject.

'How simple this novel is. How subtle. How strong. How unlike any other. It is unique. It is unforgettable. It is extraordinary' Doris Lessing 'I'm surprised it isn't the most famous book in the world' Max Porter, author of Grief is the Thing with Feathers 'She was close to the edge now: the ice laid its hand upon her' The schoolchildren call it the Ice Palace: a frozen waterfall in the Norwegian fjords transformed into a fantastic structure of translucent walls, sparkling towers and secret chambers. It fascinates two young girls, lonely Unn and lively Siss, who strike up an intense friendship. When Unn decides to explore the Ice Palace alone and doesn't return, Siss must try to cope with the loss of her friend without succumbing to a frozen world of her own making.

The Ice Palace

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