andrew61's review against another edition
4.0
Over the last few years I have really enjoyed discovering Sarah moss's writing beginning with the brilliant Tidal zone and then the trilogy beginning with Night waking so I decided to try this one of earliest novels which set in 2009 someone presciently envisages a global pandemic.
the story is of 5 very different individuals who meet for different reasons on an archaeological dig in Greenland. Told from each individual's perspective we learn that as they start to unearth an ancient burial site a global pandemic is spreading rapidly around the world. In the opening chapter Nina's tale is also interspersed with accounts of how the Greenlanders on the site died and as Nina becomes increasingly unnerved by the bodies, by hunger, fear for her loved ones , and paranoia we don't know if she is haunted by real ghosts or is becoming unwell.
The remaining chapters show the camp's slow descent as they becoming increasingly cold and hungry and fear that the scheduled plane to remove them may never arrive.
With all the style points that will form part of her later writing Sarah Moss evokes history and the isolated landscape and an unusual setting of the archaeological dig to create a perfect picture of how character can rapidly disintegrate in tense situations.
the story is of 5 very different individuals who meet for different reasons on an archaeological dig in Greenland. Told from each individual's perspective we learn that as they start to unearth an ancient burial site a global pandemic is spreading rapidly around the world. In the opening chapter Nina's tale is also interspersed with accounts of how the Greenlanders on the site died and as Nina becomes increasingly unnerved by the bodies, by hunger, fear for her loved ones , and paranoia we don't know if she is haunted by real ghosts or is becoming unwell.
The remaining chapters show the camp's slow descent as they becoming increasingly cold and hungry and fear that the scheduled plane to remove them may never arrive.
With all the style points that will form part of her later writing Sarah Moss evokes history and the isolated landscape and an unusual setting of the archaeological dig to create a perfect picture of how character can rapidly disintegrate in tense situations.
chrissireads's review against another edition
4.0
I really enjoyed this book although I thought it was quite disturbing in points. It isn't something that I would usually read but I found it gripping. It's a fairly short book and well worth reading.
notasilkycat's review
4.0
It is something that happens to me quite seldom these days but I was staying up late in the night because I just couldn't put this book down. Sarah Moss always surprises me with her knack of writing in short form deeply and beautifully. Her debut novel does exactly the same (I wouldn't mind to have more though. I think the story would benefit of more Ruth's perspective.) On its 190 pages tells more than other writers deliver in 500.
Cold Earth is bleak, has this ability to froze you in whatever warm envirement you find yourself in. And though there are some ghost in it, mostly this book about something more inner and unseen that haunts us. I loved reading about this dysfunctional group of people that stuck in this cold isolated place - they can't be more different, how subtle and fragile common politeness and care of needs of others can be.
Cold Earth is bleak, has this ability to froze you in whatever warm envirement you find yourself in. And though there are some ghost in it, mostly this book about something more inner and unseen that haunts us. I loved reading about this dysfunctional group of people that stuck in this cold isolated place - they can't be more different, how subtle and fragile common politeness and care of needs of others can be.
emilybh's review
4.0
'I found a couple of shells, white against the dark stones, and added them to my pile [...] The sky was dark and shiny like the inside of a mussel shell and sea was quiet, waves lapping like little tongues on the beach and the water out past the rocks moving smoothly as fur.'
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I've loved reading Sarah Moss' novels over the past few years, so it was strange when I realised the one I hadn't yet read is her first, about a group of archaeologists on a remote site in Greenland who lose contact with the outside world as a pandemic begins. In Cold Earth I found her writing unsettling, strange and beautiful as always, whilst the present parallels with the wider plot made it hard to put down.
.
I've loved reading Sarah Moss' novels over the past few years, so it was strange when I realised the one I hadn't yet read is her first, about a group of archaeologists on a remote site in Greenland who lose contact with the outside world as a pandemic begins. In Cold Earth I found her writing unsettling, strange and beautiful as always, whilst the present parallels with the wider plot made it hard to put down.
bibliobethreads's review against another edition
2.0
This was a very interesting read - about a group of people in Greenland on a "dig." Each chapter is told from one of the group's point of view. This is an enjoyable concept IF you can feel convinced that each excerpt IS a different voice. However, for me personally, they all sounded a bit samey, with the exception of Ruth, who I found the most intriguing character. I left the book feeling like it had so much potential but it could have been better.
steph_84's review against another edition
4.0
Oh my goodness that was stressful! This is an intense book, but in a quiet way that creeps up on you. I am ashamed to admit I couldn’t handle the suspense and, about 3/4 of the way through, flipped to the final page seeking reassurance that everything would turn out alright. (I won’t say if it does!)
Sarah Moss is a master of the “micro”. This is the third book of hers that I’ve read and each is similar in the sense that the intense focus on the main characters - to the exclusion of all else - in some senses seems slow and parochial, but the themes are so big and the scenes so vivid that you feel like you’re right there and can’t help but fret or get annoyed in the same way that the characters do.
The location of the book - remote Western Greenland - is a major feature of the story. It’s the reason the characters are together, the history is a major topic of conversation, and the frozen landscape creates a whole raft of risks.
The narration changes between the six characters involved in the archaeological dig, and thank goodness because Nina is bloody annoying. I expect she was written to be mildly irritating for a British audience, but to an Australian her snobbery and pettiness is particularly awful.
The other characters are more likeable and it was interesting learning about medieval Scandinavian archaeology along the way.
My main criticism of the book - shared by some other Goodreads reviewers - is that the story didn’t reach its full potential. We get snippets of the past at the start and the “ghost” narrative builds but then it sort of drops off into nothing without any closure. I know it’s a bit cliche but I would have liked some resolution, even if it’s the medieval Greenlanders leaving the site after the raid, or accelerating their ghosting activities to match the increasingly frenzied state of the archaeology team, to get a greater sense of the stories being intertwined. I understand that intentional uncertainty is a key part of the book but I wanted a bit more from the Greenlanders than just possibly shuffling rocks around.
Overall this was easy to read but not light in the emotional sense of the word. Good for planes perhaps when you’re intentionally seeking an escape to somewhere far away!
Sarah Moss is a master of the “micro”. This is the third book of hers that I’ve read and each is similar in the sense that the intense focus on the main characters - to the exclusion of all else - in some senses seems slow and parochial, but the themes are so big and the scenes so vivid that you feel like you’re right there and can’t help but fret or get annoyed in the same way that the characters do.
The location of the book - remote Western Greenland - is a major feature of the story. It’s the reason the characters are together, the history is a major topic of conversation, and the frozen landscape creates a whole raft of risks.
The narration changes between the six characters involved in the archaeological dig, and thank goodness because Nina is bloody annoying. I expect she was written to be mildly irritating for a British audience, but to an Australian her snobbery and pettiness is particularly awful.
The other characters are more likeable and it was interesting learning about medieval Scandinavian archaeology along the way.
My main criticism of the book - shared by some other Goodreads reviewers - is that the story didn’t reach its full potential. We get snippets of the past at the start and the “ghost” narrative builds but then it sort of drops off into nothing without any closure. I know it’s a bit cliche but I would have liked some resolution, even if it’s the medieval Greenlanders leaving the site after the raid, or accelerating their ghosting activities to match the increasingly frenzied state of the archaeology team, to get a greater sense of the stories being intertwined. I understand that intentional uncertainty is a key part of the book but I wanted a bit more from the Greenlanders than just possibly shuffling rocks around.
Overall this was easy to read but not light in the emotional sense of the word. Good for planes perhaps when you’re intentionally seeking an escape to somewhere far away!
lamusadelils's review against another edition
3.0
No estoy segura de que los personajes fueron los mejores para esta historia, pero me gustaron los detalles y la atmósfera.
En general me gusta mucho la prosa de Sarah Moss, solo que acabo haciendo corajes con algunos de sus personajes.
En general me gusta mucho la prosa de Sarah Moss, solo que acabo haciendo corajes con algunos de sus personajes.
georgiesutton's review
I have it a go and absolutely nothing happens. The characters are boring and there’s way too much dialogue with a total lack of either plot or characters. This is a bunch of dull people digging in the dirt talking about not a lot and the reviews didn’t suggest continuing would be worth my time.