Ice Palace, The (Penguin Modern Classics)

Description: '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.

Review: How simple this novel is. How subtle. How strong. How unlike any other. It is unique. It is unforgettable. It is extraordinary. -- Doris Lessing * Independent *
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 Times *
Vesaas's laconic sentences are as cold and simple as ice - and as fantastic. * The Telegraph *
The atmosphere created is magical: rather than explaining something, he will just plant a poetic statement and let it grow within you. * The Telegraph *
But if I had to choose a book I'm surprised isn't the most famous book in the world it might be The Ice Palace by Tarjei Vesaas. -- Max Porter * Times Literary Supplement *
A haunting story, full of ice and wind and poetry. -- Dea Brovig * The Guardian *
If I had to choose a book I'm surprised isn't the most famous book in the world it might be The Ice Palace by Tarjei Vesaas. -- Max Porter * Times Literary Supplement *

Author Biography: Tarjei Vesaas (Author)
Tarjei Vesaas died at the age of 72 in the same small village where he was born: Vinje in Telemark, an isolated mountainous district of southern Norway. He wrote more than 25 novels and was nominated 30 times for the Nobel Prize.