Weird-Ass Books #6: Anna Kavan - Ice (1967) & Mercury (1994, Posthumous)

Chris discusses two inextricably linked novels by Anna Kavan.
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[@mungoslade]

awesome review. i checked ICE out from the library a year ago on a whim and i'm so happy to see it catching fire

[@donaldkelly3983]

Yes! I'm not the only Kavan fan! Ice is an incredible novel. Don't forget a recent short story collection called Machines in the Head.

[@PrisonforKids]

I enjoyed Machines in the Head but there’s nothing quite like Ice! Thanks for watching!

[@stopthephilosophicalzombie9017]

I love your channel. We seem to have very similar taste in weird ass books.

[@gronskeibooks]

Love the work you put into research. this is the first of your videos i've seen, i'm half way though and i've immediately subbed

[@Ahnor1989]

Love your Weird-Ass Books series, you should keep going. You definitely have talent for it.

[@paulcooper8818]

I read *_Ice_* many years ago as a young man. At the time I failed to appreciate the woman's lack of agency and wholehearted fell into the same behavior as the warden and protagonist. I would see women not as they were but rather as how they could fit my needs. I don't know if that was a product of the times or a lack of insight on my part (probably), but I like to think in this time I'd be better. *_Ice_* is such a fantastic piece of writing it can spoil you for lessor but still competent work. Good informative review, thanks for your effort.

[@teenytimwelch]

Thank you for that considered review of Kavan's masterpiece. I recently read her book A Scarcity of Love and adored it too. Lots of witchcraft imagery and a stifling atmosphere again.

[@maxkrau7120]

I just red ice and found it nice to listen to your words and thoughts. Thanks a lot

[@zuiiii666]

Wow! thank you so much for this, I also think Ice is a total masterpiece and reading it and discovering Kavan has changed my life in a sense. It's so interesting that you brought up the feminist lens and the concept of agency, I am currently trying to figure that out now with Ice in particular, just because the overarching theme is so sublime I didn't want it to be ultimately tied down to seemingly visceral issues of power structures and the patriarchy, but how does one make an argument for that? I didn't know anything about Mercury, but it seems this would be a good place to start, have just ordered it. Thank you so much for this wonderful, insightful, and enriching talk!! Zui

[@travisporco]

this series ("weird-ass books") is great