azu_rikka's review against another edition
DNF
at about midpoint. I loved the idea of this book, also the way Kavenna went about it with mingling (travel-)memoir, history and myth.
Unfortunately it got too repetitive. What bothered me most was her almost sulky way of recounting her encounters with local people, they all seem to not meet her expectations in some way, which was firstly just odd and later just infuriating.
at about midpoint. I loved the idea of this book, also the way Kavenna went about it with mingling (travel-)memoir, history and myth.
Unfortunately it got too repetitive. What bothered me most was her almost sulky way of recounting her encounters with local people, they all seem to not meet her expectations in some way, which was firstly just odd and later just infuriating.
lyndsaybh's review against another edition
2.0
I'm a bit torn between a 2 and a 3 star rating. The author wasn't easy to warm to, and her writing seemed gratuitously uncharitable when discussing the various people she met (all of whom were at least in part trying to help her, or at the very least politely putting up with what seemed to be her awkward conversation). Still, I am fascinated by many of the places visited, so that was what kept me going.
mamasquirrel's review against another edition
5.0
Part travel narrative, part history book, part memoir. I learned so much about the Atlantis of the North and about the geography and history of the north. The book is poetically written and wastes few words. My only complaint is with the crafting of the final chapter. By making the conclusion themed around Svaldbard, Kavenna spent more time wrapping up the book than describing the Svalbard landscape, and I would have liked to read more about it.
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