I have a review up on Shiny New Books today, and it’s of a stunning and memorable book – Anna Kavan’s “Ice”.
I picked up my original, rather fragile Picador edition (shown on the left) decades ago and haven’t revisited the book since. However, it’s now been reissued in a eye-catching Penguin Modern Classic (centre) and a beautiful Peter Owen Cased Classic (right), as well as a Penguin black cover classic in the USA (which I don’t have).
Reading the book during a freezing period of weather over Christmas was a sobering experience, and provided plenty of context for considering the book and Kavan’s message. To find out if I prefer one version over another, and to read my thoughts on “Ice” (it’s a long review…), you can head over to Shiny here!
Kaggsy's Bookish Ramblings 
Jan 25, 2018 @ 10:45:59
i really enjoyed your long review of Ice and i had the penguin Uk edition of the book i guess i should read it before monsoon starts.
i wonder if you read Doctor Glas by Hjalmar which is the best book to read after Ice
Jan 25, 2018 @ 11:23:56
Thank you! Ice is a remarkable book, and I hope you enjoy it! I read Doctor Glas quite a while back pre-blog and I’d like to revisit it now – I’ll have to see if the local library still have it.
Jan 25, 2018 @ 11:32:45
i hope you review it one day miss Karen.
it is one of the rare books which had good impression on me and i remember it to this day
Jan 25, 2018 @ 11:37:03
I’ll certainly try to! 🙂
Jan 25, 2018 @ 17:17:05
My first DNF of 2018, I’m afraid.
Jan 25, 2018 @ 20:50:14
Oh dear! But it would be dull if we all liked the same things!
Jan 25, 2018 @ 17:22:06
That’s an interesting review over at Shiny. I’ve had Ice for ages and ages but never got round to reading it. I got it to try something different, but it sounds so far out of my comfort zone that I haven’t plucked up the courage to begin!
Jan 25, 2018 @ 20:49:55
Thanks! It’s certainly not a conventional work, but I loved it – the imagery is quite stunning in places and it raises more questions than gives answers, which is something I often like in a book.
Jan 25, 2018 @ 20:25:06
I have seen the edition in the centre.Thank you for sharing the pic with these other editions.I have heard so many great reviews about this book.
Jan 25, 2018 @ 20:48:45
There are so many lovely editions of it, and I feel greedy wanting them all – but I do! 🙂 I loved it, so I hope you get to read it.
Jan 25, 2018 @ 23:16:40
Very cool, Karen! Good for you for reviving Kavan at Shiny New Books. I found out about Kavan by chance from a blogger who ran a Margaret Drabble discussion group. She had a Drabble website, and also an Anna Kavan website, I think, but I can find neither one now, so perhaps she took them down? Anyway, I have never known anyone else who has read Ice.
Jan 26, 2018 @ 09:33:43
🙂 I think I just stumbled across her by chance back in the day and liked the sound of her work. She’s definitely due for a revival!