Reviews
Larry O'Connor has written a gripping memoir of his Canadian boyhood. But he has accomplished much more in this mystery story carried urgently forward by a paralyzing family secret set amidst a tour de force meditation on arctic exploration and Eskimo myth. The solitude he identifies as 'a northern thing' is by turns a killing family loneliness and a submerged, dangerous fury. This Canadian solitude is also the source of heartbreaking beauty and a surprising, hard-won compassion. The result is a memoir of rare grace and authority., "Skates between the lore of the frozen North and the lure of a family secret he's driven to explore and expose."--Wall Street Journal, "O'Connor's youth is cryogenically preserved in the rough and marvelous manner of Sir John Franklin's long-refrigerated crew."-- Books in Canada, Here is a thoughtful and heartrending essay on the consequences-physical and emotional-of life in the frigid north, where the silence of many human relations matches the silence of the landscape. And there is a secret embedded in this book, a scalding revelation that leaves the reader shaken., "This memoir is in the tradition of the best father-son narratives, from Edmund Gosse to Geoffrey Wolff."--Phillip Lopate, An extraordinary family secret . . . serves as a suspenseful backdrop to the quiet life of this boy and extends well into adulthood when he finally uncovers the secret. Recommended for public libraries., "Skates between the lore of the frozen North and the lure of a family secret he's driven to explore and expose."-- Wall Street Journal, This memoir is in the tradition of the best father-son narratives, from Edmund Gosse to Geoffrey Wolff., "An extraordinary family secret . . . serves as a suspenseful backdrop to the quiet life of this boy and extends well into adulthood when he finally uncovers the secret. Recommended for public libraries."-- Library Journal, "O'Connor's youth is cryogenically preserved in the rough and marvelous manner of Sir John Franklin's long-refrigerated crew."--Books in Canada, "Larry O'Connor has written a gripping memoir of his Canadian boyhood. But he has accomplished much more in this mystery story carried urgently forward by a paralyzing family secret set amidst a tour de force meditation on arctic exploration and Eskimo myth. The solitude he identifies as 'a northern thing' is by turns a killing family loneliness and a submerged, dangerous fury. This Canadian solitude is also the source of heartbreaking beauty and a surprising, hard-won compassion. The result is a memoir of rare grace and authority."--Patricia Hampl, author ofI Could Tell You Stories, Larry O'Connor's Tip of the Iceberg is an intriguing read. Part childhood memoir, part exploration of the complex relationships between fathers and sons, and part analysis of the deeply sublimated Canadian cult of nordicity, this slender volume is both ambitious and disturbing. . . . The tightness of his prose, his skill at exposition, and his intuitive understanding of how to juxtapose landscapes and human beings bodes well for his future work., "Larry O'Connor has written a gripping memoir of his Canadian boyhood. But he has accomplished much more in this mystery story carried urgently forward by a paralyzing family secret set amidst a tour de force meditation on arctic exploration and Eskimo myth. The solitude he identifies as 'a northern thing' is by turns a killing family loneliness and a submerged, dangerous fury. This Canadian solitude is also the source of heartbreaking beauty and a surprising, hard-won compassion. The result is a memoir of rare grace and authority."--Patricia Hampl, author of I Could Tell You Stories, "Here is a thoughtful and heartrending essay on the consequences-physical and emotional-of life in the frigid north, where the silence of many human relations matches the silence of the landscape. And there is a secret embedded in this book, a scalding revelation that leaves the reader shaken."--Christopher Merrill, author of Only the Nails Remain: Scenes from the Balkan Wars, "An extraordinary family secret . . . serves as a suspenseful backdrop to the quiet life of this boy and extends well into adulthood when he finally uncovers the secret. Recommended for public libraries."--Library Journal, "Here is a thoughtful and heartrending essay on the consequences-physical and emotional-of life in the frigid north, where the silence of many human relations matches the silence of the landscape. And there is a secret embedded in this book, a scalding revelation that leaves the reader shaken."--Christopher Merrill, author ofOnly the Nails Remain: Scenes from the Balkan Wars, "Larry O'Conner'sTip of the Icebergis an intriguing read. Part childhood memoir, part exploration of the complex relationships between fathers and sons, and part analysis of the deeply sublimated Canadian cult of nordicity, this slender volume is both ambitious and disturbing. . . . The tightness of his prose, his skill at exposition, and his intuitive understanding of how to juxtapose landscapes and human beings bodes well for his future work."--North Dakota Quarterly, Larry O'Conner's Tip of the Iceberg is an intriguing read. Part childhood memoir, part exploration of the complex relationships between fathers and sons, and part analysis of the deeply sublimated Canadian cult of nordicity, this slender volume is both ambitious and disturbing. . . . The tightness of his prose, his skill at exposition, and his intuitive understanding of how to juxtapose landscapes and human beings bodes well for his future work., O'Connor's youth is cryogenically preserved in the rough and marvelous manner of Sir John Franklin's long-refrigerated crew., Skates between the lore of the frozen North and the lure of a family secret he's driven to explore and expose., "Larry O'Conner's Tip of the Iceberg is an intriguing read. Part childhood memoir, part exploration of the complex relationships between fathers and sons, and part analysis of the deeply sublimated Canadian cult of nordicity, this slender volume is both ambitious and disturbing. . . . The tightness of his prose, his skill at exposition, and his intuitive understanding of how to juxtapose landscapes and human beings bodes well for his future work."-- North Dakota Quarterly
