The Ice Palace (Peter Owen Modern Classics)

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Siss is allowed to go to Unn's by herself, despite the winter-darkness, because the way is almost like that to school. Instead of going to school Unn goes to a local natural wonder, the waterfall that slowly freezes over in the winter, creating a fabulous ice-palace: The way the children treat each other is, in particular, well-captured, the fumbling efforts and small gestures and big meanings and sudden about-faces effortlessly woven into the story. When the search for Unn remains fruitless, people wonder if Siss knows more about the disappearance than she lets on. They wonder what had passed between them the night before. Siss for her part is overwhelmed by loss and loneliness, and she makes a promise that she will never forget Unn. Therefore, Siss takes upon herself the role Unn had: standing alone in the school yard refusing to play or speak. Thus, she has to find her way out of her own emotional ice castle, before she can continue on the road towards adolescence and adulthood.

Si le sumamos además una ambientación invernal en Noruega, con la que el autor logra traspasar el frío gélido de sus páginas al lector, hace que esta sea una lectura en conjunto fascinante. La oscuridad toma un cariz revelador, la naturaleza está presente y sus cambios forman un paralelismo simbólico con la protagonista. The Ice Palace is set in a village in rural Norway. Siss is a happy, outgoing 11-year old. She is popular with the other children at her village school and leads all the games in the playground.The story is interesting and something I would like to revisit again and the actresses playing the main roles did a great job whoever I feel the movie held a slow pace seeming to move along at little more than a crawl. I feel a lot of this had to deal with the fact that there was very little dialogue, kept mostly only for a few select scenes. The actresses however did a fine job, able to make up for the slow feeling of the movie, you could feel their confusion at what was transpiring.

Sex is buried deep at the bottom of this story: the girls are still innocents, only vaguely sensing that there is much that is still beyond their comprehension -- and that is still unspeakable -- and The Ice Palace is also about that attempt to preserve (in pure ice ...) childish innocence. Tarjei Vesaas es uno de los novelistas noruegos más importantes del siglo XX, entre sus obras más famosas destaca «El palacio de hielo» que fue publicado en 1963. Gracias a esta editorial podemos disfrutar de un libro escandinavo excepcional, con una edición inmejorable y una nota de editor que nos vuelve a brindar un cierre encomiable a la par que maravilloso a la lectura.

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How simple this novel is. How subtle. How strong. How unlike any other. It is unique. It is unforgettable. It is extraordinary' Doris Lessing A life is made of promises; some made to self, some to others. And like a diffident fuel, it comes into play when life derails to reserve. Aren’t all the promises tested at the brink of uncertainty? Aren’t all the promises repainted at the threshold of patience? Aren’t all the promises questioned at the gates of survival? It takes courage and experience to take the limb, or aortic chamber, and snap it off, knowing the shards of ice will splinter and wound. Knowing, each time you try to wiggle that finger or listen to the incomplete thud of your heartbeat, you will painfully remember what is missing. After several days of remaining silent, Unn approaches Siss and invites her to visit her at her auntie’s house after school. Both of them seem to feel the need to talk. After chatting briefly with Auntie, the girls go up to Unn’s room. They say very little, each of them unsure what to say, but they tacitly agree that there is a bond between. A strange, mystical atmosphere seems to hold them in thrall. Unn talks about her auntie, her mother and the father she has never met; all she knows is that he was handsome and had a car. At Unn’s suggestion, they gaze at a mirror together. Something seems to fill all their senses: The book is quite dark in parts, however it is extremely descriptive and creates great imagery for children. After reading the story with year 3 children they produced some brilliant descriptive story writing with a focus on interesting adjectives and adverbs.