Widely received as a modern classic, does Anna Kavan’s most popular book live up to the same standards today?
Written in 1967, but recently republished in the Penguin’s Little Clothbound Winter Collection, Anna Kavan’s magnus opus and final work before her death can only be seen as the deterioration of the author, forcing itself to be an in-depth study and definitely not a casual read. Ice is a brutal, gritty dystopian novel that drags the reader into the same paranoid and desperate worldview as the characters: one of pure confusion.
Imagine that the world has frozen over, with only the remnants of a sinister, nauseating and a predatory race for survival the sole proof of society. Kavan spins a dreamlike tale through the eyes of an untrustworthy narrator, steadfast in chasing after a mysterious albino running from the clutches of the dictator-like warden. The girl is akin to that of a fairy, with her piercing eyes and shockingly white hair adding to the surreal feeling of the world. The narrator becomes horrifically obsessed with the idea of protecting the girl, so much so he continues his chase for her through a destitute wasteland.
Not a singular character has a known name, with streets and buildings also left ambiguous, a highly fitting choice as to not ground any of them in reality. The reader is left untethered to any of the ‘normal’ aspects of the novel as we fall into a more fragmented detailing of events. The gaps in the narrator’s memory are incredibly worrying, presenting the question of whether or not the reader is following a psychopath on a simply disgusting and perverse journey. No matter what we think, the girl is left to continue to run away, abused and wanting to escape it all.
As the reader we are left to question our morals and our human disposition to devolve into a violent and manic state in times of need. The novel itself is a cold and uninviting traversal through the mind of a heroin addict and one of the best novels that could have been put in the Little Clothbound Winter Collection!
