BY: Joanna Kavanna, DATE: 2006, AVAILABLE: Amazon, Chapters Indigo
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Joanna Kavenna is a British born essayist, novelist and travel writer. Kavenna has lived in several European countries, including the Baltic States. She has written for the New York Times and the Guardian. Kavenna is the author of five other books.
ABOUT: Joanna Kavenna decided to quit a steady job in order to explore the far north. Her quest was to find out everything she could about Thule, a mythical northern land. She would travel to all the lands that have been called Thule, including Estonia. Kavenna finds a dark history associated with Thule. After World War I, the Thule Society was founded in Germany to demonstrate the superiority of the German race. In Estonia, Kavenna sees for herself the awe inspiring crater that some think is Thule.
QUOTES: “Later, I arrived at Viimsi Peninsula; an Estonian flag fluttered from a pole. There was a security gate, but a thickset guard waved me through. President Meri had a fine view of the sea. His house was an elegant Scandinavian-style place, with white walls.”
“I thought about Pythias, the first great explorer, moving towards the east…But I suddenly thought it might be the terrifying event, the sun is falling to the earth, the meteorite a burning disc like the sun, crashing into the island of Saaremaa…tuli in Estonian means fire.” (Meri)
“For formal and informal briefings along the way, thanks to President Lennart Meri…former Prime Minister Mart Laar, Minister Kristiina Ojuland…”
“An endlessly provocative voyage…moves seamlessly between myth and reality, past and present…eloquent, singular.” – Newsday
REVIEWS: “A gorgeously written and unusual book…Riveting…The Ice Museum transcends all genre descriptions, and holds its own as a journey into a world that somehow vibrantly exists on paper and nowhere else.” (Booklist)
“Karenna’s book is part geographical history and part travelogue. Her ability to draw together strands of the Thule myth is deft and entertaining. (Time Out London)
“An endlessly provocative voyage…moves seamlessly between myth and reality, past and present…eloquent, singular.” (Newsday)
