A review by stefo
Ice by Anna Kavan

challenging dark mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.5

I found about this novel and Anna Kavan thanks to Squid's song "Peel St.", upon discovering the book I read a tiny bit about Kavan and was left with a peculiar impression, I somehow knew this novel would be a fever dream and it indeed is. In fact I'd say this is one of the more manic novels I've read in a while, which I say in a positive light, there's so much going on all the time, the constant shifts in narration style and unreliable nature of the protagonist can even come off as a bit much at first but once one gets used to being lost this story flows like a harsh but alluring stream. But yes, this is a very dense book and I don't want to piece everything together in this review, what I can say however is I loved all the fictionalized autobiographical elements of Kavan's life in the story and the multitudes of post-war social commentary through means of allegory, symbolism and many more. Overall I'm shook, frozen and left with the need to indulge more in this author and her deranged writings. 9/10!