The Ice Castle
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Ice Castle or The Ice Palace (in Norwegian, Is-slottet) is a novel by the Norwegian author Tarjei Vesaas, first published in 1963. The book is in nynorsk and considered a classic of Norwegian literature. It has been translated to English. Vesaas received The Nordic Councils Literature Prize for the novel in 1964.
Contents |
[edit] Plot
Is-slottet 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, in 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 to go and watch 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 the way out. She dies of hypothermia. Her last word is "Siss".
When the search for Unn remains fruitless, people wonder if Siss knows anymore 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 recommence on the road towards adolescence and adulthood.
[edit] Film version
The book was filmed by in 1987, starring Line Storesund as Siss and Hilde Nyeggen Martinsen as Unn, and directed by Per Blom, who was awarded the Grand Prix at Flanders International Film Festival in 1988. The film focuses slightly more on Unn's secret feelings than the novel, but otherwise it is very true to the book, with the same slow snow-laden pace. The scenes in the ice castle are very well done. The film was released on VHS (PAL) by NRK in 1997. This is no longer available and an official DVD release has yet to emerge. But he film has circulated as bootleg DVDs and downloads. Its popularity may be partly attributed to the fact that the then 13-14 year old lead actresses both appear nude in some scenes, including (close-ups of) full frontal nudity.
[edit] Editions
[edit] 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)
[edit] 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)
