Elementary Secondary Higher Ed Common Reads
0 0
Download high-resolution image Look inside

The Ice Palace

Part of Pushkin Press Classics

Author Tarjei Vesaas
Introduction by Karl Ove Knausgaard
Translated by Elizabeth Rokkan
Look inside
Paperback
$16.95 US
Steerforth Press | Pushkin Press Classics
On sale Oct 07, 2025 | 192 Pages | 9781805330790
Add to cart Add to list Exam Copies

See Additional Formats
An intense friendship between 2 young girls turns tragic when one gets lost in a frozen waterfall’s ice chambers in this dreamlike Norwegian masterpiece

Features a new introduction by Karl Ove Knausgaard

In rural Norway, 11-year-old Siss, socially at ease and popular among her peers, finds herself drawn to the new girl in class, Unn. Unn is shy and strange, but holds a magnetic power for her more gregarious classmate. Their friendship is cemented after a dreamy afternoon spent gazing into each other’s eyes in the mirror, exchanging hinted secrets and perhaps pieces of their souls.

But the next day, Unn, embarrassed by her new intimacy with Siss, skips school and goes to explore a series of ice caves around a nearby waterfall. Lost in the labyrinthine chambers, she eventually freezes to death, thinking of Siss as she loses feeling and drifts into the dark. When Siss learns Unn is missing and likely dead, she is determined to keep alive the memory of the friend she so briefly knew – sometimes it feels as though she too is locked in the glistening chambers of the ice palace. It is only when spring comes and the ice palace melts that Siss finds herself able to let go of Unn, and reconnect to those around her.

A profound exploration of grief, and an intensely lyrical coming-of-age story, this novel is the masterpiece of one of Norway’s greatest writers.
Tarjei Vesaas (1897-1970) was born and died on a farm in the isolated Telemark district of southern Norway. A modernist who wrote in the minority form of Norwegian, Nynorsk, he was thrice nominated for the Nobel Prize, and won the prestigious Nordic Council Literature Prize. The author of more than twenty-five novels, five books of poetry, and several plays and short stories, he is regarded as one of Norway’s greatest twentieth-century writers. His other fictional masterpiece, The Birds, is also being published by Pushkin Press.

Elizabeth Rokkan (1925-2016) was a professor of English at the University of Bergen, and one of her era’s foremost translators of Norwegian literature.
Tarjei Vesaas View titles by Tarjei Vesaas

About

An intense friendship between 2 young girls turns tragic when one gets lost in a frozen waterfall’s ice chambers in this dreamlike Norwegian masterpiece

Features a new introduction by Karl Ove Knausgaard

In rural Norway, 11-year-old Siss, socially at ease and popular among her peers, finds herself drawn to the new girl in class, Unn. Unn is shy and strange, but holds a magnetic power for her more gregarious classmate. Their friendship is cemented after a dreamy afternoon spent gazing into each other’s eyes in the mirror, exchanging hinted secrets and perhaps pieces of their souls.

But the next day, Unn, embarrassed by her new intimacy with Siss, skips school and goes to explore a series of ice caves around a nearby waterfall. Lost in the labyrinthine chambers, she eventually freezes to death, thinking of Siss as she loses feeling and drifts into the dark. When Siss learns Unn is missing and likely dead, she is determined to keep alive the memory of the friend she so briefly knew – sometimes it feels as though she too is locked in the glistening chambers of the ice palace. It is only when spring comes and the ice palace melts that Siss finds herself able to let go of Unn, and reconnect to those around her.

A profound exploration of grief, and an intensely lyrical coming-of-age story, this novel is the masterpiece of one of Norway’s greatest writers.

Author

Tarjei Vesaas (1897-1970) was born and died on a farm in the isolated Telemark district of southern Norway. A modernist who wrote in the minority form of Norwegian, Nynorsk, he was thrice nominated for the Nobel Prize, and won the prestigious Nordic Council Literature Prize. The author of more than twenty-five novels, five books of poetry, and several plays and short stories, he is regarded as one of Norway’s greatest twentieth-century writers. His other fictional masterpiece, The Birds, is also being published by Pushkin Press.

Elizabeth Rokkan (1925-2016) was a professor of English at the University of Bergen, and one of her era’s foremost translators of Norwegian literature.
Tarjei Vesaas View titles by Tarjei Vesaas

Additional formats

Other books in this series

Related Articles

Books for National Depression Education and Awareness Month
Psychology

Books for National Depression Education and Awareness Month

For National Depression Education and Awareness Month in October, we are sharing a collection of titles that educates and informs on depression, including personal stories from those who have experienced depression and topics that range from causes and symptoms of depression to how to develop coping mechanisms to battle depression.

Read more

Books for National Depression Education and Awareness Month

Psychology
Literature

Horror Titles for the Halloween Season

In celebration of the Halloween season, we are sharing horror books that are aligned with the themes of the holiday: the sometimes unknown and scary creatures and witches. From classic ghost stories and popular novels that are celebrated today, in literature courses and beyond, to contemporary stories about the monsters that hide in the dark, our list

Read more

Horror Titles for the Halloween Season

Literature
Gender and Sexuality Studies History

Books for LGBTQIA+ History Month

For LGBTQIA+ History Month in October, we’re celebrating the shared history of individuals within the community and the importance of the activists who have fought for their rights and the rights of others. We acknowledge the varying and diverse experiences within the LGBTQIA+ community that have shaped history and have led the way for those

Read more

Books for LGBTQIA+ History Month

Gender and Sexuality Studies History
Subscribe

Penguin Random House Higher Education

© 2025 Penguin Random House

Back to Top
0
    • 0
    Wish List (0)