Saturday, February 23, 2008

THE PALACE OF THE SNOW QUEEN: WINTER TRAVELS IN LAPLAND
by Barbara Sjoholm

In the middle of November, 2001, Sjoholm sets off from Port Townsend, Washington and travels to Lapland, where the there's only one hour of daylight and the average temperature is -13 degrees F.
She watches the construction of the Icehotel, a yearly, temporary structure built of snow and ice, created by architects and artists, before it melts in the spring; goes dogsledding and then decides it's not for her after falling off and injuring herself; attends an outdoor ice theatre to see Macbeth performed; explores the rich culture of the indigenous Sami people, who have 200 words for snow and whose way of life is being compromised by tourism.
The Palace of the Snow Queen is the power of snow, the color blue, the deep silence, and the beauty of the far North.
A captivating memoir.