Seven Seasons in Greenland - This Cold Heaven - Hardcover

Gretel Ehrlich

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1841157228 ISBN 13: 9781841157221

Publisher: Fourth Estate, 2002

Synopsis

In a tribute to the far latitudes, Gretel Ehrlich travels across Greenland, the largest island on earth. All but five per cent of the island is covered by a vast ice sheet, an enduring remnant of the last ice age. Despite a uniquely hostile environment, it has been inhabited continuously for thousands of years. Greenlanders retain many of their traditional practices: some still hunt on sleds made from whale and caribou with packs of dogs; others fashion harpoons from Narwhal tusks; and entranced shamans make soul fights under the ice. Ehrlich mixes stories of European anthropologists who have recorded the ways of the Inuit, with artists who have lived briefly on Greenland's fringe in order to try to capture its extraordinary pure light. She travels across this unearthly landscape in the company of men and women who have a deep bond with it, and with them she discovers the realm of the Great Dark, ice pavilions, polar bears and Eskimo nomads.

About this title

About the Author:

Gretel Ehrlich is the author of many works of non-fiction, fiction and poetry, including A Match to the Heart (Fourth Estate 1995) The Solace of Open Spaces; Heart Mountain; and Islands, the Universe, Home. She divides her time between California and Wyoming.

Review:

'A passionately written account...It could well be one of the last portraits of a land and a way of life that is about to be lost forever.' The Times 'Beautifully written...her book is a celebration of place and people that makes almost nostalgic reading as the planet warms, icebergs melt and the Inuit - and seals and polar bears - wonder how long their way of life will last.' Financial Times 'A lyrical but marvellously unsentimental account.' John Burnside 'Her enthusiasm is infectious and her indomitable determination to make a record of a culture under threat is admirable.' Evening Standard

About this edition

• Publisher: Fourth Estate
• Publication date: 2002
• ISBN 10: 1841157228
• ISBN 13: 9781841157221
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 400