The Ice Palace (novel)
Encyclopedia
The Ice Palace 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.
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.
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.
Novel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
by the Norwegian
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
author Tarjei Vesaas
Tarjei Vesaas
[Tarjei Vesaas was a Norwegian poet and novelist. Born in Vinje, Telemark, Vesaas is widely considered to be one of Norway's greatest writers of the twentieth century and perhaps its most important since World War II....
, first published in 1963. The original novel is written in nynorsk
Nynorsk
Nynorsk or New Norwegian is one of two official written standards for the Norwegian language, the other being Bokmål. The standard language was created by Ivar Aasen during the mid-19th century, to provide a Norwegian alternative to the Danish language which was commonly written in Norway at the...
and considered a classic of Norwegian literature
Norwegian literature
Norwegian literature is literature composed in Norway or by Norwegian people. The history of Norwegian literature starts with the pagan Eddaic poems and skaldic verse of the 9th and 10th centuries with poets such as Bragi Boddason and Eyvindr Skáldaspillir...
. It has been translated to English. Vesaas received The Nordic Council's Literature Prize
The Nordic Council's Literature Prize
The Nordic Council Literature Prize is awarded for a work of literature written in one of the languages of the Nordic countries, that meets "high literary and artistic standards". Established in 1962, the prize is awarded every year, and is worth 350,000 Danish kroner...
for the novel in 1964.
Plot
The vivacious 11-year-old Siss lives 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 can't 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 says 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
Hypothermia
Hypothermia is a condition in which core temperature drops below the required temperature for normal metabolism and body functions which is defined as . Body temperature is usually maintained near a constant level of through biologic homeostasis or thermoregulation...
. 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 BlomPer Blom
Per Blom is a Norwegian sprint canoer who competed in the early 1970s. At the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, he was disqualified in the heats of the K-2 1000 m event.-References:*...
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
VHS
The Video Home System is a consumer-level analog recording videocassette standard developed by Victor Company of Japan ....
(PAL
PAL
PAL, short for Phase Alternating Line, is an analogue television colour encoding system used in broadcast television systems in many countries. Other common analogue television systems are NTSC and SECAM. This page primarily discusses the PAL colour encoding system...
) in 1991. This is no longer available and an official DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
release has yet to emerge. But the film has circulated as bootleg
Bootleg recording
A bootleg recording is an audio or video recording of a performance that was not officially released by the artist or under other legal authority. The process of making and distributing such recordings is known as bootlegging...
DVDs and downloads.
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)
- The Ice Palace / translated by Elizabeth Rokkan. - New ed. - London: Peter Owen Publishers, 2009. - 176 p. - ISBN 0-7206-1329-2 (paperback)