A review by yvo_about_books
Against the Ice: The Classic Arctic Survival Story by Ejnar Mikkelsen, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau

3.5

Finished reading: August 30th 2022

"All of us who had gone up there were silly, both men and dogs."

I actually watched the Netflix adaptation of Against The Ice a while back, and it inspired me to look up this memoir. I do love a good survival story set in an unforgiving environment, and it doesn't get much more hostile than Greenland... And even more so when it takes place in the 1910s with even less comfort and technology on offer. Against The Ice turned out to be a very interesting survival memoir and I liked the way Mikkelsen wrote down his account of what happened during that taxing time. It's quite a harrowing read with lots of difficulties to overcome, and a warning is in place for animals suffering as well as animal death. The humans are not doing all that well either of course, but I could appreciate the moments of hope that were woven into the account. The final part set in the hut was probably the most intriguing part of it all; the same was the case with the movie adaptation for me. I liked the casting for that adaptation, and I think it does the memoir justice. If you like this type of stories, I can definitely recommend both!