The Ice-Shirt: Volume One of Seven Dreams: A Book of North American Landscapes

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

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.

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.

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.

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