The ice palace

Two 11-year old girls, Unn and Siss, meet. Unn is about to reveal a secret, one that leads to her death in a formation of ice caused by a large waterfall. Siss's struggle with her fidelity to the memory of a friend, the strange frozen world of the waterfall, and the description of Unn's fatal exploration of the ice palace are described in prose of a lyrical economy that ranks among the memorable achievements of modern literature. Often short-listed for the Nobel Prize, Tarjei Vesaas (1897-1976) was awarded the Nordic Council Prize in 1973 for this novel. A modernist who maintained a degree of technical experimentation throughout his work, he is generally considered to be one of Norway's great modern writers. How simple this novel is. How subtle. How strong. How unlike any other. It is unique. It is unforgettable. It is extraordinary.""--Doris Lessing. ""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 London Times.