The Ice Palace (novel)

The Ice Palace (novel)

"The Ice Palace" (orig. Norwegian "Is-slottet") is a novel by the Norwegian author Tarjei Vesaas, first published in 1963. The original novel is written in nynorsk and considered a classic of Norwegian literature. It has been translated to English. Vesaas received The Nordic Council's Literature Prize for the novel in 1964.

Plot summary

It tells the story of the vivacious 11-year-old Siss, living in a rural community in Norway. Her life is changed when the quiet girl Unn moves to the village to live with her aunt after the death of her unmarried mother. Siss and Unn are immediately attracted to each other, and cannot wait to meet. They finally do, at Unn's house. They talk for a while, Unn shows Siss a picture from the family album of her father, then Unn persuades Siss that they should undress, just for fun. They do, watching each other, and Unn asks whether Siss can see if she is different. Siss say no, she can't, and Unn says she has a secret and is afraid she will not go to heaven. Soon they dress again, and the situation is rather awkward. Siss leaves Unn and runs home, overwhelmed by fear of the dark.

Unn does not want to feel embarrassed when meeting Siss the next day, so she decides to skip school and instead goes to see the ice castle that has been created by a nearby waterfall. Ice castles are normal in cold winters, when the water freezes into huge structures around waterfalls. Unn climbs into this ice castle, exploring the rooms baffled by its beauty. In the 7th room she gets disoriented and cannot find her way out. She dies of hypothermia. Her last word is "Siss".

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 on her part is overwhelmed by loss and loneliness, and 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.

Film version

The film starred 12 year olds Line Storesund as Siss and Hilde Nyeggen Martinsen as Unn. It was directed by Per Blom in 1987, who was awarded the Grand Prix at the Flanders International Film Festival in 1988. The film focuses slightly more on Unn's secret feelings than the novel, but otherwise it's very true to the book, with the same slow snow-laden pace. The film had its first release on VHS (PAL) in 1991. This is no longer available and an official DVD release has yet to emerge. But the film has circulated as bootleg DVDs and downloads.

Editions

Norwegian (nynorsk)

* "Is-slottet". - Oslo : Gyldendal, 1982. - 140 p. - (Lanterne ; 153). - ISBN 82-05-00769-1 (paperback)
* "Is-slottet". - Oslo : Gyldendal, 1985. - 140 p. - (De nye klassikerne). - ISBN 82-05-16495-9 (paperback)
* "Is-slottet". - Oslo : Ariel lydbokforl., 1992. - (Ariel's lydbøker) - ISBN 82-7509-022-9 (audio book)
* "Is-slottet". - Oslo : Gyldendal, 1995. - 140 p. - (Gyldendal pocket). - ISBN 82-05-25233-5 (paperback)
* "Is-slottet : roman". - Oslo : Gyldendal, 1997. - 140 p. - ISBN 82-05-25233-5 (paperback)
* "Kimen ; Fuglane ; Is-slottet". - Oslo : Gyldendal, 1988. - 509 p. (Norske klassikere). - ISBN 82-05-17630-2 (hardcover)
* "Is-slottet". - Oslo : De norske bokklubbene, 2002. - 124 p. - (Århundrets bibliotek) - ISBN 82-525-5096-7 (hardcover)
* "Vesaas' beste". - Oslo : Gyldendal, 2006. - 617 p. - (Forfatternes beste). - Contains the three novels "Kimen", "Fuglane" and "Is-slottet" as well as selected short stories and poems. - ISBN 82-05-34894-4 (hardcover)

English

* "The Ice Palace" / translated by Elizabeth Rokkan. - New ed. - London: Peter Owen Publishers, 1993. - 176 p. - ISBN 0-7206-0881-3 (hardcover)
* "The Ice Palace" / translated by Elizabeth Rokkan. - New ed. - London: Peter Owen Publishers, 2002. - 176 p. - ISBN 0-7206-1122-9 (paperback)

External links

*


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем сделать НИР

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Ice Palace — may refer to: * Eispalast , a facility in the Jungfraujoch station of the Jungfraubahn in Switzerland * Ice palace, a structure made out of ice, including Anna Ivanovna s palace in Saint Petersburg, Russia * Ice Palace (arena), an arena in St.… …   Wikipedia

  • The Good Hope (novel) — The Good Hope   Author(s) William Heinesen Original title Det gode …   Wikipedia

  • Ice palace — An ice palace or ice castle is a castle like structure made of blocks of ice. These blocks are usually harvested from nearby rivers or lakes when they become frozen in winter. The first known ice palace (or, rather, ice house, ледяной дом in… …   Wikipedia

  • The Crystal Palace — was a cast iron and glass building originally erected in Hyde Park, London, England, to house the Great Exhibition of 1851. More than 14,000 exhibitors from around the world gathered in the Palace s convert|990000|sqft|m2 of exhibition space to… …   Wikipedia

  • Ice (Dukaj novel) — Infobox Book name = Ice title orig = Lód translator = not translated author = Jacek Dukaj image caption = Polish edition cover. cover artist = Tomasz Bagiński country = Poland language = Polish genre = science fiction/alternate history publisher …   Wikipedia

  • The Love of the Last Tycoon —   …   Wikipedia

  • The Great Gatsby — This article is about the novel. For the film, TV and opera adaptations, see The Great Gatsby (disambiguation). The Great Gatsby   …   Wikipedia

  • The Bridal Party — written by Fitzfan“The Bridal Party” (which was featured in the Saturday Evening Post, August 9, 1930) is a short story written by F. Scott Fitzgerald. Based on Ludlow Fowler’s brother’s, Powell Fowler, May 1930 Paris wedding, it is Fitzgerald’s… …   Wikipedia

  • The Snow Queen — ( Sneedronningen ) is a fairy tale by author Hans Christian Andersen (1805 1875). The tale was first published in 1845, and centers on the struggle between good and evil as experienced by a little boy and girl, Kay and Gerda.The story is one of… …   Wikipedia

  • The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket —   …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”