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423 reviews for:
Welcome to the Goddamn Ice Cube: Chasing Fear and Finding Home in the Great White North
Blair Braverman
3.89 AVERAGE
423 reviews for:
Welcome to the Goddamn Ice Cube: Chasing Fear and Finding Home in the Great White North
Blair Braverman
3.89 AVERAGE
adventurous
emotional
reflective
fast-paced
I really struggled with what to rate this book. Braverman has a great narrative voice, which is what I look for in memoirs. And I do love her mushing stories. But a good solid 80% of this book is about sexual harrassment and rape in the great white north. Which, I mean — I certainly relate to that. The problem is that I relate to it too much; it was like reading about my own teen years, except colder. I was sort of hoping for a book about dogs and mushing. Instead it was about misogyny and rape.
Also, holy heck, this book is FULL of animal harm and death. (Though, note: the dogs all live. That was a relief.)
So, basically, this book was well written and well done, but just REALLY not for me. The fact that I finished it anyway is a testimony to Braverman’s skill, and I would definitely recommend this to anyone who is interested in memoirs and is fine with animal harm and death, and also misogyny and rape.
Also, holy heck, this book is FULL of animal harm and death. (Though, note: the dogs all live. That was a relief.)
So, basically, this book was well written and well done, but just REALLY not for me. The fact that I finished it anyway is a testimony to Braverman’s skill, and I would definitely recommend this to anyone who is interested in memoirs and is fine with animal harm and death, and also misogyny and rape.
Welcome to the Goddamn Ice Cube is a journey of a young woman in one of the coldest parts of the world. Travelling and at the same time figuring herself out, Braverman chronicles her life from the moment she falls in love with the Arctic and dogsledding until the moment she finds herself a home.
She's bold, I would say that. Braverman wasn't afraid to show us her vulnerable self, the confusion and the hesitation she had had. I loved how we could observe her growth in the second half of the book. She's slowly coming to term with her past and what she really wanted in her life and it's lovely. The part when she went backpacking in Norway was one of my favourites. All alone, without knowing where to go, Braverman just wanted to be part of Norwegian, and for some reason I found that endearing.
Her writing is very eloquent, I give that to her. She has a way with words and surely her style would be very engaging for other readers. However, sad to say that it didn't quite manage to captivate me for long. One thing I liked though was how full of characters the people in her memoir were. She wrote them with a purpose, a cause, never treating them as something small just to make the story more interesting and colourful. An excellent job on her part for bringing life to these people through her writing.
Since nothing is perfect, this book also had its own share of flaws. It's a hit-or-miss case for me. While some parts were entertaining and at times aspiring, there were some that failed to capture my interest. I also wish to know more of her insights on a few details of her life story. And if I were to be honest, I have to say that I expected more. Perhaps it's my fault for my expectation but I didn't find the book that uplifting and eye-opening. Inspiring, yes, at times. But moving? Not impactful enough.
The ending felt inconclusive but that's understandable. She's a young woman and there's still a long journey ahead of her. After all, growing up is a lifetime process. Overall, it's a plausible debut. There were still strong points in her memoir and I could see her in the line of a new generation in feminist writing.
She's bold, I would say that. Braverman wasn't afraid to show us her vulnerable self, the confusion and the hesitation she had had. I loved how we could observe her growth in the second half of the book. She's slowly coming to term with her past and what she really wanted in her life and it's lovely. The part when she went backpacking in Norway was one of my favourites. All alone, without knowing where to go, Braverman just wanted to be part of Norwegian, and for some reason I found that endearing.
Her writing is very eloquent, I give that to her. She has a way with words and surely her style would be very engaging for other readers. However, sad to say that it didn't quite manage to captivate me for long. One thing I liked though was how full of characters the people in her memoir were. She wrote them with a purpose, a cause, never treating them as something small just to make the story more interesting and colourful. An excellent job on her part for bringing life to these people through her writing.
Since nothing is perfect, this book also had its own share of flaws. It's a hit-or-miss case for me. While some parts were entertaining and at times aspiring, there were some that failed to capture my interest. I also wish to know more of her insights on a few details of her life story. And if I were to be honest, I have to say that I expected more. Perhaps it's my fault for my expectation but I didn't find the book that uplifting and eye-opening. Inspiring, yes, at times. But moving? Not impactful enough.
The ending felt inconclusive but that's understandable. She's a young woman and there's still a long journey ahead of her. After all, growing up is a lifetime process. Overall, it's a plausible debut. There were still strong points in her memoir and I could see her in the line of a new generation in feminist writing.
I think (like a lot of other reviewers it seems) I was a bit deceived by the book's blurb and marketing. I knew of Blair Braverman a bit from online stories about her as dog musher and the book's description lead me to think that would be a big focus of the book. Dogs, adventure racing, endurance, etc.
Instead, however, the book is primarily Blair's introspections about her relationships and life in small town in very northern Norway. On the bright side, it's very very well-written and I'll read her future books too.
CW: she grew up a young woman in male-dominated sports and locales, and throughout her life experienced the gamut of harassment through to sexual assault. Parts of her story are harrowing, especially when her tone is neutral, almost blasé about it.
Instead, however, the book is primarily Blair's introspections about her relationships and life in small town in very northern Norway. On the bright side, it's very very well-written and I'll read her future books too.
CW: she grew up a young woman in male-dominated sports and locales, and throughout her life experienced the gamut of harassment through to sexual assault. Parts of her story are harrowing, especially when her tone is neutral, almost blasé about it.
Braverman’s writing is rich and deep, and I found her introspection relatable and refreshing. How nice to read a memoir so full of melancholy, strength, love and fully realized humanity. What drew me to this book was following Braverman’s Iditarod run earlier this year and I’m so glad I got to know a bit more of her story. What a privilege to be a fly on the wall while Blair and Arild develop a relationship that offers healing and happiness to them both.
4.5 stars, really; I'm very emotional about this book, and the world somehow feels like both a larger and a clearer place after reading it.
A beautiful, challenging, and remarkable memoir about violence and the arctic.
Wonderfully written, very personal memoir. Looking at other reviews it's clear that a lot of people go into the book expecting something very different, which is surprising since it makes clear from the very first sentence just what story it's going to tell. A strong and true sense of place throughout, and hard to read in some sections because of the way I recognized and shared certain experiences and pain.
What a beautiful, beautiful book. I recently discovered Blair on Twitter (and the rest of the amazing community that is Sled Dog Twitter) and loved the stories she told through her Twitter account, so I had to check out her memoir. It was hard for me to track down in Australia, but I finally managed to get my hands on my very own copy.
Blair tells her story with beautiful, poignant language. She has been through so much to get to where she is - sexual harassment and assault, rape by a former boyfriend, general sexism - but she maintains her humour and kindness and gentleness. She clearly adores her dogs, and the story of her first dog sledding experience brought a tear to my eye.
A beautiful memoir and travelogue by an amazing, inspirational woman.
Blair tells her story with beautiful, poignant language. She has been through so much to get to where she is - sexual harassment and assault, rape by a former boyfriend, general sexism - but she maintains her humour and kindness and gentleness. She clearly adores her dogs, and the story of her first dog sledding experience brought a tear to my eye.
A beautiful memoir and travelogue by an amazing, inspirational woman.
adventurous
emotional
medium-paced