Book Review: Ice by Anna Kavan
A surreal novel about a man's quest for a woman in the background of a progressing ice age.
The world had become an arctic prison from which no escape was possible, all its creatures trapped as securely as were the trees, already lifeless inside their deadly resplendent armour.
'Ice' is a novel written by Anna Kavan in 1967, a year before her death. Set in the background of a world gripped by chaos and uncertainty due to a rapidly expanding ice age that threatens humanity and life on earth, it deals with a man on an obsessive pursuit of a young woman, who is in the custody of Warden, an authoritarian figure, presumably her husband. The narrator is unable to forget the girl or end the pursuit to follow his lifelong dream of recording the life of tropical monkeys. In a world that's crumbling with infighting and a climatic disaster, he relentlessly continues his search through a surreal dreamscape of distorted reality.
The novel doesn't follow a traditional structure with a definite beginning and an end or proper cause and effect to the events depicted in it. With a fragmented narrative that doesn't bother much about linearity, with past events and hallucinations merging without any bifurcation, the plot rolls out like a fever dream. The ambiguity of time, space, and even the identity of characters may alienate readers who are only used to more structured narratives. But to those who don't mind plots that are not anchored and would love to exert themselves in something complex with a scope for multiple interpretations, 'Ice' is a treasure trove.
The three major characters in the novel are all nameless: the narrator, the 'girl' whom he pursues, and the 'warden' who has control of her. Though the narrator claims that he intends to protect her from the impending catastrophe, his actions don't indicate that. He has lost his grip on reality, and possibly many of the events, if not all, including the oncoming climate change, are hallucinations. His narrational style is very close to a dream with several surreal experiences and fluid-like, unreal progression from one situation to the next.
The nameless 'girl,' the object of his obsession, is a frail thing with very distinct features that resemble an ice flake. Her attitude towards him flits between liking and distrust, while towards the warden, she is afraid. It is never specified if she is real or a figment of the narrator's imagination. The warden is an authoritative figure who tries to maintain a semblance of normality among the people under him. The narrator distrusts him even when he feels a kind of connection when they meet. There are times when we feel the narrator and warden are essentially the same people, due to several similarities in their aspirations and attitude towards the girl.
The novel recently gained popularity because it prominently features climate change. However, the disastrous event depicted in the novel appears just as a background to the quest of the protagonist. One could interpret the entire novel as a metaphor for humans dealing with a fragile nature. But the book is so ambiguous that it can be interpreted in multiple ways. It could be the ramblings of a madman, or it could also be the search of humanity for an ideal that seems to elude them.
I believe the novel presents strong and evocative imagery that ultimately makes every interpretation redundant. We could just fall into the dreamy atmosphere and enjoy it without trying to look for definitive answers. This is a novel that captivates its reader with its subjective style of storytelling, which compels a subjective enjoyment of it.
I received an advance review copy of the book from its publisher, Pushkin Press, through NetGalley.