The Ice-Shirt (A Book of North American Landscape, Vol 1)

Rating:
Summary: A mythic biography of Eric and Leif Erickson.
Review: A wonderful book blending Norse mythology, character studies of the Ericksons and their families, life in Greenland, and the discovery of America. The way the story jumps around from myths to the present-day is disconcerting at first, but becomes charming, presenting a scrapbook of history. This book will stick with you a long time

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Summary: Whirlpool-Lives, Dead Worlds, Voyages Across the Frozen Sea
Review: and "White Sweet Clover": These are a few menu items off of Vollmann's eclectic introductory Preview for his on-going SEVEN DREAMS septology ABOUT OUR CONTINENT IN THE DAYS OF THE SUN.

The Ice Shirt is laced with Norse Sagas and Viking history. It is a modern re-telling of the very first encounter between Europeans and Native North Americans (no, it was not Columbus - it was Leif Ericson who "discovered" America). Actually, as Vollmann relates, it was Bjarni Herjolfsson who first sighted "Vinland" around 986 AD, and by 1000 AD Leif and his fellow Norsemen built settlements on what today is known as Newfoundland. It was all undone, fairly rapidly, by the same forces which brought them there, and especially through the wicked conduit of Leif's own bastard sister, Freydis Eiriksdottir, who truly "brought the frost" to North America.

Beyond a post-modern recreation of myth and history, William Vollmann adds his own contemporary experiences while traveling in the lands he intimately describes. The Ice Shirt is very much a book about the land itself, and Vollmann spends great amounts of time and care writing about the local flora, fauna, and how it relates to the people themselves. The "shirts", as you will see, are our personas, and spirits. They are "the change" in change, and it is the SPIRIT of the lands which Vollmann captures, and the manner in which he blends this together with his own street-level point of view, I think, which makes this an intriguing modern day Saga. Now, it's quite possible after reading this book that you'll disagree with me and think Vollmann over-rated, or perhaps even an "awful" writer, but I bet it would be based on your taste in literature rather than the real quality or scope of the work itself; because this undertaking of his, as far as I know is unprecedented, and will surely one day be considered masterful. At first, because Vollmann came very highly recommended to me about a decade ago, I felt I had to force myself through the first 70 pages or so, namely because I've never read anyone quite like this before and his post-modernist style can take a little getting used to depending on one's reading experience. In addition, the first part of The Ice Shirt (and thus, his whole series) is a lengthy tome on Viking blood feuds, revenge, massacres, political assassinations, executions, raping and pillaging, etc. etc. - with no end in sight - making it a little trying for the unconverted. Because it is all written in saga-like style, this whole section entitled "The Changers" could easily be mistaken for one of the original Viking sagas. What's great about The Ice Shirt (and Vollmann), as I discovered while reading, is that the book is not pedantic or high-brow in any way. Sometimes subject-matter like this comes across in history books as being overly specialized, complex, and erudite because the writer has some agenda to push, or something to prove; or maybe is just trying to write a scholarly work. Blah! The Ice Shirt & THE SEVEN DREAMS is something new, different, and original. The scope seems outlandishly unwieldy, but somehow Vollmann manages to keep it all glued together. When you come across passages entitled "San Francisco Transvestites - 1987" sandwiched between "The Storm, the Spirit and the Island" and "The Woman Shirt" you'll see what I mean. There are plenty of informative source notes in which the author tells you exactly what he's up to, and then there are hand-drawn maps to guide you further, glossaries filled with people and places, and a chronology for good measure, so that you don't get too lost. And yet it all works! That's the amazing thing.

Perhaps you, like me knew of Vollmann's reputation as a trendy, avant-garde writer of prostitutes and grimy street life. And also like me, were put off by this. For this very reason it took me ten years to give this book a shot (if you see my reviews for all of 2004, this is the Capstone). In fact, if you look you'll find some funny and interesting comments from various reviewers who've struggled with his other books - some of the comments which I tended to agree with at first. For example, from "The Atlas" on 3/2/02: "Self-Conciously Avant Garde"; "Beauty in Ugliness"; "Great Ideas in Books". From "The Royal Family" on 12/29/03: "An Interesting Waste of Time". And one of my favorites from 4/6/02 about "Argall", because I agreed with it ten years ago: "Vollmann's Career-Revenge of the Nerd" in which the reviewer harps on the whole Vollmann phenomenon. Finally, from the Ice Shirt reviews on 9/13/98 comes one which states: "Not Sure What it's About, But it Ain't a Novel!". Well, sir, I suppose that all depends on your notion of what a "novel" is. So, before beginning this series I needed to forget the reputation of the man, the phenomenon hype, and just get to the work itself, which always intrigued me: A Symbolic History of North America. (But of course, it's a little harder to forget that the guy writing all this had been known for his lurid, hard-hitting stories on drugs, sex, gangs, and prostituties!).

Having done so at last, I can now say that I'm very pleased with The Ice Shirt; and am now hooked on THE SEVEN DREAMS! While Vollmann does have a wildly crazy bio, and some fascinating news and magazine articles, not to mention a massive research project on Violence called "Rising Up, Rising Down" as well as another lengthy foray into SF street life titled "The Royal Family" which I understand is the third in a so-called "Prostitution Trilogy" . . . I leave it to you, new reader, to come to The Ice Shirt with an open mind about what a novel is and isn't, and of course, an interest in a deeper understanding of what it means to be a North American. Ultimately, that's what this book is about, and it stands on its own as such. I am already on my way into "FATHER'S & CROWS" (vol. 2), and look forward to "ARGALL" (vol. 3), THE RIFLES (vol. 6), and the as yet unpublished volumes 4, 5, & 7 - all dealing with North American Indians at various times and tribulations.



Rating:
Summary: Unique and superb.
Review: First, I feel I should mention that anyone looking for a straightforward historical novel should look elsewhere. However, if you are looking for a fascinating novelisation of primarily Icelandic texts from hundreds of years ago, detailing the first ecounters between the Norse people and the native people of Greenland and North America--well, then this is for you.

Vollmann's imagery is rich, lavish, incredible, and he is quite faithful to the voice of the Nordic saga-writers at the same time, not an easy feat. He even goes so far as to use kennings, the traditional linguistic devices that turn the ocean into a 'swan-field' or the different temperaments and destinies into the 'ice-shirt,' 'bear-shirt,' 'wolf-shirt,' and so forth.

While this novel is not entirely a linear narrative, it is instead a stunning tapestry of novelised sagas and stories (that do tell, in and of themselves, a linear epic)of the Norse, native Greenlander and Micmac people, peppered with the author's own contemporary travelogue and a wealth of complementary information. There is a story central to this work, of Freydis, a very complex and developed character, but it is told within the framework of a greater story... that of her history and heritage and forebears, and the history of the people she encounters across the ocean.

An achingly beautiful work--one of the few novels I have read of late that I could consider a true artistic triumph, and one of exceptional substance.

Rating:
Summary: Unique and superb.
Review: First, I feel I should mention that anyone looking for a straightforward historical novel should look elsewhere. However, if you are looking for a fascinating novelisation of primarily Icelandic texts from hundreds of years ago, detailing the first ecounters between the Norse people and the native people of Greenland and North America--well, then this is for you.

Vollmann's imagery is rich, lavish, incredible, and he is quite faithful to the voice of the Nordic saga-writers at the same time, not an easy feat. He even goes so far as to use kennings, the traditional linguistic devices that turn the ocean into a 'swan-field' or the different temperaments and destinies into the 'ice-shirt,' 'bear-shirt,' 'wolf-shirt,' and so forth.

While this novel is not entirely a linear narrative, it is instead a stunning tapestry of novelised sagas and stories (that do tell, in and of themselves, a linear epic)of the Norse, native Greenlander and Micmac people, peppered with the author's own contemporary travelogue and a wealth of complementary information. There is a story central to this work, of Freydis, a very complex and developed character, but it is told within the framework of a greater story... that of her history and heritage and forebears, and the history of the people she encounters across the ocean.

An achingly beautiful work--one of the few novels I have read of late that I could consider a true artistic triumph, and one of exceptional substance.

Rating:
Summary: Vollmann's Ice Shirt is amazing!
Review: Here you have a book for the ages. Vollmann single handedly creates a dizzying literary web of history and fiction, all of it designed to tantalize and dazzle the mind of the unsuspecting reader. I loved this book and will do it no wrong trying to further recreate its wonderful madness. Read it!

Rating:
Summary: Great Work of Our Time
Review: I cannot say enough good things about this work. The balances between travel diary, historical information, and fictional account are just perfect. That being said please do not take me for a disciple of Vollmann. I usually find his work on prostitutes and drugs a little boring. The Ice Shirt on the other hand stripped much of the modern "sins" out and left truly moral questions in their place. The work as a whole is an important examination of what is America, who we are, and how we fit into history. On a smaller scale, it is about change and belief. I would suggest this work to anyone interested in reading a good book, be it fiction or otherwise.

Rating:
Summary: too big in scope to describe
Review: I just finished this novel after a month of intense reading and, in my opinion, it comes close to literary perfection. I can't wait to read Fathers & Crows. The sheer epic brilliance of the scope of this novel (and the following dreams) is bigger than The Blue Shirt. It exceeds Freydis's desire to plant frost-seed. This series won't be forgotten.
But be warned: this book is not for everyone. Suspension of disbelief and the ability to immerse one's mind into strange and inspiring places is necessary. Vollmann will leave you breathless with fatique, and sometimes you will love the world while other times you will despise it.
Buy this book and keep it close. It's always good to get another's perspective.

Rating:
Summary: too big in scope to describe
Review: I just finished this novel after a month of intense reading and, in my opinion, it comes close to literary perfection. I can't wait to read Fathers & Crows. The sheer epic brilliance of the scope of this novel (and the following dreams) is bigger than The Blue Shirt. It exceeds Freydis's desire to plant frost-seed. This series won't be forgotten.
But be warned: this book is not for everyone. Suspension of disbelief and the ability to immerse one's mind into strange and inspiring places is necessary. Vollmann will leave you breathless with fatique, and sometimes you will love the world while other times you will despise it.
Buy this book and keep it close. It's always good to get another's perspective.

Rating:
Summary: A modern sensibility encased in ice and legend
Review: The Norse sagas as "real", ice as a transforming experience, life on the margins of habitable landscapes, characters from history and modern teenagers from Greenland. All in one novel. And it works wonderfully well because Vollmann imagines the importance of the sagas as religion, as history to the people who then went out "viking" across the north seas. They found sun and warmth and life in Vineland but did not stay.He has a theory as to why. The structure is audacious, the primitive and legendary holding its place against the scientific and modern. This is not a New Age con, like walking the outback, but an excellent novel of balance of new and old. The writing is straightforward, the ideas are not

Rating:
Summary: Historical Epic Vollmann style
Review: This author has a way with words and very credibly weaves the mythic & legendary tales of the old Norse folk (as we have these through the medium of 12th & 13th century Icelandic saga literature) into a meandering and sometimes interesting speculative essay on the experience of exploration & discovery, as recorded in the old sagas (both of the Icelanders & of the Eskimos of Greenland). But whatever else this book is, and Vollman's rendering of some of the old Norse legendry is quite nice, it is most definitely NOT a novel. There is no plot here, no development of a tale out of a person or persons' experiences, no imaginary world somehow made flesh through the medium of events told or re-told by a storyteller of any sort. In fact, except for the fact that this is a compendium of fictions and mental meanderings in prose, there is nothing here to even suggest that this writing is properly to be called a novel. There IS, on the other hand, an interesting stream of words here which occasionally seems compelling but which rarely enwraps us and which, in fact, grows quite tiring at times, what with all its talk of ice shirts and blue shirts and bear shirts, etc. The shirt metaphor, in fact, is apparently Mr. Vollman's way of describing an attitude/point of view which informs some of his characters' world views ("blue" for death-oriented, as in the symbolism of the old sagas themselves, "ice" for cold indifference to others, "bear" for dangerous, overweening madness which poses harm to those around us).

It seems that Vollman is here eager to make a comment on the ugliness of European colonization of the "New World" and what it did to the innocent indigenous folk they found here, as exemplified, in one vignette, by the Eskimo father who rescues his son from cold-hearted Norse kidnappers in Greenland and then, regrettably, kills the child for fear of contamination which cannot be undone. If only those unenlightened Norse had not meddled with the pristine, good-hearted natives! This book, in the end, is tendentious and tedious and just plain heavy-handed. And, as Gertrude Stein once said of her native town, "there's no there there."

I came to this book because of a bad review I saw of Jane Smiley's Greenlanders (a saga-like novel of the last days of the Norse colony in Greenland) in which the reviewer took Ms. Smiley to task for her prose and urged the interested reader to try Vollman's The Ice Shirt, instead, for a really good rendering of saga material. Well, allow me to attempt to reverse that rather silly judgement here. Smiley did it well; on the other hand, I'm not sure what Mr. Vollman has done. But, at the least, he has not written an historical novel. -- Stuart W. Mirsky [e-mail]