Book Review - 'The Ice Age' by Kirsten Reed

I always look forward to reading a debut author's work almost as much as I enjoy reading a favourite author's work. I anticipate fresh ideas and writing from the unknown...you never know what treasure will be unearthed. I particularly enjoy reading emerging local authors in order to see what talent is mulling around our own community.

The Ice Age is Kirsten Reed's first novel and is described by other reviewers as something between Lolita and On the Road. It is the tale of a young female hitchhiker who hungers for independence, life experience and in her search for these things, attaches herself to Gunther, a much older guy who seems to exist purely to travel across America's hicks ville highways looking up his interesting and quizzical collection of misfit friends.

It is a quick, fun read with quirky lines like "We drove past all the gaudy painted signs telling us where the next doughnut shop was, the nearest hamburger joint; pizza, now doughnuts again. The road stretched across this wasteland like a big silver rubber band, stapled down by fluorescent mustardy-yellow lines. Even the sky looked tacky, needlessly aqua, a tourist's T-shirt."

The novel pans out like a road trip journal. The young narrator delves into the mundane daily grind of long journeys, the same cheap motels in any town, food on the go, survival, sanity, the people they meet along the way and Gunther's friends dotted along the way.

There are several threads that pull this journey along. One thread is the relationship that develops between Gunther and the narrator. Not yet 18 and travelling with a much older guy draws quizzical and sometimes suspicious looks. Both characters seem up to task to put their relationship to the test as well. Society seems quite intolerant, even judgmental, for friendships of this nature.

Another thread is the narrator's rush to move from innocence to experienced and the immature way she goes about it. She longs for a closeness to Gunther he seems torn to be a part of. The see-saw of emotions between the two protagonists is intense and sometimes leaves the reader feeling tense and maybe even a little frustrated.

As a reader I kept asking myself questions about the two main protagonists. I like stories with layers that get uncovered ... I like depth and I found myself wishing I knew more background about the two main characters. I'm not sure I liked them. They sometimes made me feel awkward, which is probably the best way to feel reading a novel of this nature because the loss of innocence is an awkward time.

I enjoyed this story because it made me think of lots of possibilities and outcomes that could have transpired, but didn't. Throughout the entire story I thought like a writer and for someone who enjoys both reading and writing, that is a good thing. This trip is probably not for everyone, but if you're adventurous, I say ... go for it ... and enjoy :o)