Reviews

Ice: 50th Anniversary Edition by Anna Kavan

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aaronazadi's review against another edition

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dark mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

mishab's review against another edition

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3.0

This is a weird book: I don't know what I think. It's only tangentially SFF- because it's not realistic fiction.
It's literary, it reads nicely, if not exactly a fun read. It's just weird, but only creepy if you dwell on the wacko narrator and his relationship with the other men and in opposition to the glass girl.
When I picked it up, I had thought Kavan wrote it earlier in the 20th century, but there really is something very mid-century about it. I can see it being acclaimed SF on publication, but not now. And I doubt she could have published it, possibly not written it as it stands, now. I would like a modern writer to pen a short response (short story since this was so much shorter than novels often are noe) from the glass girl's perspective! Give her a name! I know Kavan was still promoting something of a feminine perspective through her male narrator, but I would like more.

shaand's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

stego54's review against another edition

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3.0

Mesmeric little (plotless) fever dream.

adrianaad1980's review against another edition

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4.0

The crispness of the language of Anna Kavan's superb craft of writing is undeniable and grasps the reader immediately. But I found the plot too repetitive and pointless in a way. The main character was following a girl in a crumbling world and Earth on the brink of total annihilation. Chapter after chapter of catastrophic scenes at a point where they become almost predictable and the state of reverie annoying in its sameness. As if the whole book was a big nightmare of Kavan's which she elaborated upon and never returned from. I usually shy away from similar genres (surreal apocalyptic fantasia) and in this regard I see the novel as a personal challenge and opening up to new literary perspectives.