The Ice Queen
The Ice Queen
By Alice Hoffman
Alice Hoffman has written a number of books and this is the third I have read in the past few months. This is the second of my 'three for two' books that I picked up from Borders and needless to say, I enjoyed this one much more than the first.
My experience with Hoffman's novels is that they are compelling. They are very interesting stories intertwined with magic and often times tragedy. The Ice Queen is no different. It starts with a girl that learns the bitter truth about being careful what you wish for. Tragedy strikes her as a young girl and haunts her for a long period in her life. She learns to shut down her heart with ice and closes herself up away from anyone, even herself. But then, she makes another wish and gets struck by lighting. At first, this seems like another event in her unending sorrow, but through this phenomenon, she encounters another who also has been struck and through their similar experiences she begins to melt. This is a story of her own survival. Of how she slowly realizes herself through life experiences. She doesn't seek out to change her life, but with each step she takes she really is on the road to recovery and self-discovery.
On thing I really like is that Hoffman uses magic in a way that makes the reader pause and wonder if it really isn't magic, but instead just the way the world works--mysteriously. There is no real hocus pocus, just strange phenomenon's that may or may not be real. Wishes don't necessarily come true, but when things happen some people take personal responsibility for the way the cards are dealt, and that really isn't fair. The narrator comes full circle, freezing over, thawing out--moving away, moving back--closing her heart, and opening it once again. The imagery of the butterfly is used in the novel and in a lot of ways it can be directed back the narrator, butterfly's live very cyclical lives and at the very end they are self-actualized when they have gone through the entire cycle. At the end of the novel, the narrator's wings have finally opened and she is ready to continue the circle of life fully alive.
I really enjoyed this story and it gets my full recommendation
My experience with Hoffman's novels is that they are compelling. They are very interesting stories intertwined with magic and often times tragedy. The Ice Queen is no different. It starts with a girl that learns the bitter truth about being careful what you wish for. Tragedy strikes her as a young girl and haunts her for a long period in her life. She learns to shut down her heart with ice and closes herself up away from anyone, even herself. But then, she makes another wish and gets struck by lighting. At first, this seems like another event in her unending sorrow, but through this phenomenon, she encounters another who also has been struck and through their similar experiences she begins to melt. This is a story of her own survival. Of how she slowly realizes herself through life experiences. She doesn't seek out to change her life, but with each step she takes she really is on the road to recovery and self-discovery.
On thing I really like is that Hoffman uses magic in a way that makes the reader pause and wonder if it really isn't magic, but instead just the way the world works--mysteriously. There is no real hocus pocus, just strange phenomenon's that may or may not be real. Wishes don't necessarily come true, but when things happen some people take personal responsibility for the way the cards are dealt, and that really isn't fair. The narrator comes full circle, freezing over, thawing out--moving away, moving back--closing her heart, and opening it once again. The imagery of the butterfly is used in the novel and in a lot of ways it can be directed back the narrator, butterfly's live very cyclical lives and at the very end they are self-actualized when they have gone through the entire cycle. At the end of the novel, the narrator's wings have finally opened and she is ready to continue the circle of life fully alive.
I really enjoyed this story and it gets my full recommendation
3 Comments:
I read this book, too! It was very entertaining, and Rachel provided a great summary/analysis. I'd like to add the allusions to chaos theory and it's connections with magic or, as Rachel points out, not magic. The Ice Queen's brother, meant as a foil to the fairytale-obsessed main character, is obsessed with logic and order. He also goes through a "personal journey" in which he connects chaos theory with fairytales. The connection implies that maybe magic is just some random allignment of chance. This helps the two characters to feel better about their own lives, and also come to a common viewpoint that brings them together. (Anne)
Great comments Anne! I agree with what you've said and I think that the relationship between the brother and sister is the most touching--thanks for bringing up some good points.
so what book are you reading currently?
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