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The Ice Museum: In Search of the Lost Land of Thule
A legend, a land once seen and then lost forever, Thule was a place beyond the edge of the maps, a mystery for thousands of years. And to the Nazis, Thule was an icy Eden, birthplace of Nordic “purity.” In this exquisitely written narrative, Joanna Kavenna wanders in search of Thule, to Shetland, Iceland, Norway, Estonia, Greenland, and Svalbard, unearthing the philosophers, poets, and explorers who claimed Thule for themselves, from Richard Francis Burton to Norwegian explorer Fridtjof Nansen. Marked by breathtaking snowscapes, haunting literature, and the cold specter of past tragedies, this is a wondrous blend of travel writing and detective work that is impossible to set down. RVIEW: Thule, real or not, is ripe and beguiling material for a literary and geographic adventurer, and Kavenna is formidable on both fronts. . . . Highly cerebral, erudite, refreshing. (The New York Times Book Review)
304 pages, Paperback
First published February 2, 2006
25 people are currently reading
734 people want to read
About the author
Joanna Kavenna
19 books156 followersJoanna Kavenna is a prize-winning British novelist and travel writer.
Kavenna spent her childhood in Suffolk and the Midlands as well as various other parts of Britain. She has also lived in the United States, France, Germany, Scandinavia and the Baltic States.
These travels led to her first book, The Ice Museum, which was published in 2005. It was nominated for the Guardian First Book Award in that year, and the Ondaatje Prize, and the Dolman Best Travel Book Award in 2006. Described by the The New York Review of Books as "illuminating and consequential," it combines history, travel, literary criticism and first-person narrative, as the author journeys through Scotland, Norway, Iceland, the Baltic and Greenland. Along the way, Kavenna investigates various myths and travellers' yarns about the northerly regions, focusing particularly on the ancient Greek story of Thule, the last land in the North. Before The Ice Museum she had written several novels that remain unpublished.
Kavenna has held writing fellowships at St Antony's College, Oxford and St John's College, Cambridge. She is currently the writer-in-residence at St Peter's College, Oxford. Themes of the country versus the city, the relationship between self and place, and the plight of the individual in hyper-capitalist society recur through Kavenna's novels and in some of her journalism.
She has written for The New Yorker, The Huffington Post, The London Review of Books, The Guardian, The Observer, The International Herald Tribune and The New York Times, among other publications.
Kavenna is now based in the Duddon Valley, Cumbria and has a partner and two young children.
Kavenna spent her childhood in Suffolk and the Midlands as well as various other parts of Britain. She has also lived in the United States, France, Germany, Scandinavia and the Baltic States.
These travels led to her first book, The Ice Museum, which was published in 2005. It was nominated for the Guardian First Book Award in that year, and the Ondaatje Prize, and the Dolman Best Travel Book Award in 2006. Described by the The New York Review of Books as "illuminating and consequential," it combines history, travel, literary criticism and first-person narrative, as the author journeys through Scotland, Norway, Iceland, the Baltic and Greenland. Along the way, Kavenna investigates various myths and travellers' yarns about the northerly regions, focusing particularly on the ancient Greek story of Thule, the last land in the North. Before The Ice Museum she had written several novels that remain unpublished.
Kavenna has held writing fellowships at St Antony's College, Oxford and St John's College, Cambridge. She is currently the writer-in-residence at St Peter's College, Oxford. Themes of the country versus the city, the relationship between self and place, and the plight of the individual in hyper-capitalist society recur through Kavenna's novels and in some of her journalism.
She has written for The New Yorker, The Huffington Post, The London Review of Books, The Guardian, The Observer, The International Herald Tribune and The New York Times, among other publications.
Kavenna is now based in the Duddon Valley, Cumbria and has a partner and two young children.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 52 reviews
September 8, 2024
Kavenna has a lifelong interest in cold and northern places, so the subject of this book was a natural for her. The Ice Museum is partly about travel and there is a long history of travel to the furthest north—Ultima Thule. You can’t think about early historical travel here without including myth and speculation. Pytheas was the first to claim Thule (second century BCE) and said he sailed to what is now Shetland and then 6 days further north. From there things were literally off the map. His writings have enticed travelers and the curious ever since. Kavenna includes stops in Shetland, Iceland, Norway, Munich, Estonia, Greenland, and Svalbard on her trip.
Early travelers sought a real, physical place albeit one with wonders such as a frozen sea, fiery lights, loud noises and monstrous animals. Later searchers sought not only a place but a mythic place. Kavenna covers that too. Saga fans such as 19th century Richard Burton and 20th century Tolkien look to Iceland. Late 19th and early 20th century, with its increase in nationalism and scientific travel, inspired people such as Nansen to see Thule in Norway. At this point people begin to see Thule’s home as mostly in myth. Twistedly, Thule is grasped by Nazis and Quislings for their own purposes.
The 21st century takes Kavenna to literal furthest settlements north such as Thule AFB, new Thule settlement, and Svalbard. Ironically people still want to achieve these furthest norths and Kavenna crosses paths with exclusive travelers at times. The author must travel more cheaply and sometimes begs spaces on scientific expedition and fishing boats. She even manages to travel to Thule Air Base via medical helicopter for a two hour guided tour. For most of us that’s as close as we’ll come to touring the base as most visitors are not welcome.
The Ice Museum is well written but you might find her more than a bit of a wanderer. There were times I couldn’t imagine how things were still on topic, although interesting. By the way, Thule AFB has changed names since this book was published. It is now Pittuffik AFB. Its new name is a loss in cache but honors the early Inuits whose settlement was moved northward during the Cold War. Don’t fret, there is still a town called Thule; the Inuits took the name with them when they were moved (of course that name was originally given by a European).
Early travelers sought a real, physical place albeit one with wonders such as a frozen sea, fiery lights, loud noises and monstrous animals. Later searchers sought not only a place but a mythic place. Kavenna covers that too. Saga fans such as 19th century Richard Burton and 20th century Tolkien look to Iceland. Late 19th and early 20th century, with its increase in nationalism and scientific travel, inspired people such as Nansen to see Thule in Norway. At this point people begin to see Thule’s home as mostly in myth. Twistedly, Thule is grasped by Nazis and Quislings for their own purposes.
The 21st century takes Kavenna to literal furthest settlements north such as Thule AFB, new Thule settlement, and Svalbard. Ironically people still want to achieve these furthest norths and Kavenna crosses paths with exclusive travelers at times. The author must travel more cheaply and sometimes begs spaces on scientific expedition and fishing boats. She even manages to travel to Thule Air Base via medical helicopter for a two hour guided tour. For most of us that’s as close as we’ll come to touring the base as most visitors are not welcome.
The Ice Museum is well written but you might find her more than a bit of a wanderer. There were times I couldn’t imagine how things were still on topic, although interesting. By the way, Thule AFB has changed names since this book was published. It is now Pittuffik AFB. Its new name is a loss in cache but honors the early Inuits whose settlement was moved northward during the Cold War. Don’t fret, there is still a town called Thule; the Inuits took the name with them when they were moved (of course that name was originally given by a European).
December 9, 2020
Having read all of Joanna Kavenna's novels, which show that she is a very versatile writer, I was keen to read her first published book. This is a very personal and idiosyncratic mixture of memoir, travelogue and history, in which she explores the idea of Thule and what it meant to various people through history, ever since Pytheas first described it to his ancient Greek audience.
Her travels take her from the Shetlands to Iceland, northern Norway, Estonia, Greenland and eventually Svalbard (a.k.a. Spitsbergen). On her journey she is accompanied by reflections on those who have preceded her - Pytheas, Columbus, Nansen and Burton among them, but some of her most interesting encounters are less obvious, for example an meeting with the former Estonian President Lennart Meri, whose theory was that some of what Pytheas described may have been folk memories of an major meteorite strike in Estonia a few hundred years earlier, tuli being the local word for fire.
I found it quite an interesting read, but a little frustrating in that she covers so much ground that at times it becomes a little difficult to see the thematic unity.
Her travels take her from the Shetlands to Iceland, northern Norway, Estonia, Greenland and eventually Svalbard (a.k.a. Spitsbergen). On her journey she is accompanied by reflections on those who have preceded her - Pytheas, Columbus, Nansen and Burton among them, but some of her most interesting encounters are less obvious, for example an meeting with the former Estonian President Lennart Meri, whose theory was that some of what Pytheas described may have been folk memories of an major meteorite strike in Estonia a few hundred years earlier, tuli being the local word for fire.
I found it quite an interesting read, but a little frustrating in that she covers so much ground that at times it becomes a little difficult to see the thematic unity.
February 28, 2024
I remember this as less interesting than it should/could have been. Perhaps I should give it another chance, as it remains on our shelves. Perhaps it was cold and lacking in the richness one might have expected because it was about exploration and myths in and around sparsely populated cold areas of the planet… (but, then again, Miss Smilla’s Feeling for Snow shows that cold, boreal wastes can be very well done!)
January 14, 2012
Hmmmm. I really thought I would eat this up, despite the mediocre reviews I kept seeing for it. It has all the elements that usually entrance me--travel, the Arctic, mystery, ancient history, a gorgeous cover (I know, I know, you're not supposed to judge)--and yet somehow it still all fell flat.
Part of the problem for me was that I couldn't quite figure out what Kavenna was trying to do here. The title implies a sort of research journey into the origins and location of Thule, but while Kavenna has clearly done a whole lot of reading on the subject, the way she goes about telling us about it feels flat and regurgitated and somewhat repetitious, and during her actual travels, she seems to mostly just wander around asking random people about Thule rather than talking to historians or other people who might have actually studied it. It seemed weird to me.
The descriptions of places I'm normally fascinated with also just...lacked magic. Though Kavenna repeatedly talked about her enthusiasm for these places and for the mystery behind Thule, I could never actually feel that enthusiasm. It was like she wrote this entire book completely without emotion.
In the end, perhaps her writing style just didn't work for me, I don't know. I really wanted to love this. And I actually am really interested in the history of Thule. But I feel like I'd be better served finding some other book on the subject, because this one just seemed...too scattered.
Part of the problem for me was that I couldn't quite figure out what Kavenna was trying to do here. The title implies a sort of research journey into the origins and location of Thule, but while Kavenna has clearly done a whole lot of reading on the subject, the way she goes about telling us about it feels flat and regurgitated and somewhat repetitious, and during her actual travels, she seems to mostly just wander around asking random people about Thule rather than talking to historians or other people who might have actually studied it. It seemed weird to me.
The descriptions of places I'm normally fascinated with also just...lacked magic. Though Kavenna repeatedly talked about her enthusiasm for these places and for the mystery behind Thule, I could never actually feel that enthusiasm. It was like she wrote this entire book completely without emotion.
In the end, perhaps her writing style just didn't work for me, I don't know. I really wanted to love this. And I actually am really interested in the history of Thule. But I feel like I'd be better served finding some other book on the subject, because this one just seemed...too scattered.
October 31, 2016
I wanted to like this, it promised so much - the legend of Thule, history, mystery, travel and ice. All things I love. But it was rambling, directionless and repetitive. I would need to stop mid-paragraph to remind myself what the topic was when the prose got bogged down in self-indulgent, overly lyrical language. Very disappointing.
February 18, 2021
Kavenna mostly comes across that she doesn’t want to be there - and that she is disappointed by what she finds, and that reading about it and researching it was so much better than visiting the actual places.
To some degree she had unreasonable expectations.
For many years I led trips, including several to Scandinavia. If a kid moaned too much I would ask them if maybe they thought they had chosen the wrong course.
"Looking at your background, we think you maybe more suited to these courses",
and showed them pictures of flower arranging, herb growing and quilt making. (Not that there is anything wrong with those pursuits, they are just the complete opposite to what the course they were on involved; wild camping, bivouac building, gorge crossing...).
That usually did the trick. They didn’t moan so much any more.
It was the Python Lion Tamer scenario.
This came to my mind when reading this. Kavenna is clearly at home researching and writing fiction, but not roughing it in Lapland or the north of Greenland.
I don’t like her writing either, but I suppose that’s not surprising.
This area fascinates me. I love to spend time there. I actively sort out the westerly most point on Iceland and camped through a storm. Not actually as wild as one on Barra; no sleep, uncomfortable to say the least, but I loved it, amongst my strongest memories of travelling.
In summary, I think Kavenna has ‘chosen the wrong course’. She is clearly well-read and a very knowledgeable historian, but I am guessing she didn't read Christiane Ritter's A Woman in the Polar Night - which, as I am sure you won't be surprised, I highly recommend.
To some degree she had unreasonable expectations.
For many years I led trips, including several to Scandinavia. If a kid moaned too much I would ask them if maybe they thought they had chosen the wrong course.
"Looking at your background, we think you maybe more suited to these courses",
and showed them pictures of flower arranging, herb growing and quilt making. (Not that there is anything wrong with those pursuits, they are just the complete opposite to what the course they were on involved; wild camping, bivouac building, gorge crossing...).
That usually did the trick. They didn’t moan so much any more.
It was the Python Lion Tamer scenario.
This came to my mind when reading this. Kavenna is clearly at home researching and writing fiction, but not roughing it in Lapland or the north of Greenland.
I don’t like her writing either, but I suppose that’s not surprising.
This area fascinates me. I love to spend time there. I actively sort out the westerly most point on Iceland and camped through a storm. Not actually as wild as one on Barra; no sleep, uncomfortable to say the least, but I loved it, amongst my strongest memories of travelling.
In summary, I think Kavenna has ‘chosen the wrong course’. She is clearly well-read and a very knowledgeable historian, but I am guessing she didn't read Christiane Ritter's A Woman in the Polar Night - which, as I am sure you won't be surprised, I highly recommend.
March 6, 2014
oooh this is going to be a chore, the writing style has little merit so I am hanging on for some delicious factoids.
jewel #1 - Arne Naess: it's good to have another look at this man who, incidently, has moved to the edges of suburbia now - lol
jewel #2 - Burton's visit to Iceland; Auden's visit to same.
jewel #1 - Arne Naess: it's good to have another look at this man who, incidently, has moved to the edges of suburbia now - lol
jewel #2 - Burton's visit to Iceland; Auden's visit to same.
September 22, 2025
"Illuminating and consequential...Her depictions are a wonderful mixture of the exact and the fanciful-much the way icebergs will assume shapes that blend the solid and the fantastic...Exceptionally readable... reminiscent of Lawrence Millman’s Last Places and Colin Thubron’s In Siberia... compelling... beautiful..." - The New York Review of Books
"The Ice Museum is an account of a poetic tour through northern lands. It's also a history of ideas about remote Arctic places. As the narrator travels, strains from the past keep her company - centrally the classical idea of a land called Thule, a northern Atlantis, seen once and never found again. The route takes her through the lands that have been called Thule: from Shetland to Iceland, Norway, Estonia and Greenland." - The Times (UK)
This book is a fascinating compendium of information with cameos from travellers like Richard Burton, Anthony Trollope, W. H. Auden, and Fridtjof Nansen. There are also very dark moments: the Thule Society, founded after the First World War, had Adolf Hitler and Rudolf Hess amongst its members. The narrator reaches an isolated US military base called Thule; she finds Arctic poets, Inuit musicians and Polar scientists. Finally, she arrives at Svalbard, a beautiful archipelago at the edge of the frozen ocean.
A marvellous compulsively readable and engrossing book.
"The Ice Museum is an account of a poetic tour through northern lands. It's also a history of ideas about remote Arctic places. As the narrator travels, strains from the past keep her company - centrally the classical idea of a land called Thule, a northern Atlantis, seen once and never found again. The route takes her through the lands that have been called Thule: from Shetland to Iceland, Norway, Estonia and Greenland." - The Times (UK)
This book is a fascinating compendium of information with cameos from travellers like Richard Burton, Anthony Trollope, W. H. Auden, and Fridtjof Nansen. There are also very dark moments: the Thule Society, founded after the First World War, had Adolf Hitler and Rudolf Hess amongst its members. The narrator reaches an isolated US military base called Thule; she finds Arctic poets, Inuit musicians and Polar scientists. Finally, she arrives at Svalbard, a beautiful archipelago at the edge of the frozen ocean.
A marvellous compulsively readable and engrossing book.
February 12, 2009
Thule is one of those mysteries of geography, like Atlantis, over which people like to argue - did it or did it not really exist? It has appeared in literature for an incredibly long time, but so much in literature has been passed down over centuries without much to back it up - like an urban legend. It seems every one wants to claim a piece of Thule, and has "origins" in Greenland, Iceland, Norway, Estonia and on and on. The author here goes on a physical journey to try to find some proof in each of the places of the legitimacy of the claims so in essence this is actually more of a travelogue than anything else. There is a lot of history here, the most interesting of which is the discussion of the Nazi party getting extremely excited by the idea of Thule and their desire to use it as a place to create their "perfect" race.
Sort of a surprising read all the way around - not something I normally would have picked up if not for the fact that the book I was actually looking for was not missing from the library shelf and this one was in the vicinity, but something I found exceptionally interesting nonetheless.
And just for the record, the pronunciation is more likely "Toolay" than "Thoole" because, as the author pointed out wittily, the word has made it's way into centuries' worth of poems and never once has it been rhymed with drool.
I thought that was funny.
Sort of a surprising read all the way around - not something I normally would have picked up if not for the fact that the book I was actually looking for was not missing from the library shelf and this one was in the vicinity, but something I found exceptionally interesting nonetheless.
And just for the record, the pronunciation is more likely "Toolay" than "Thoole" because, as the author pointed out wittily, the word has made it's way into centuries' worth of poems and never once has it been rhymed with drool.
I thought that was funny.
June 19, 2017
I adore tomes about exploration, particularly with regard to Scandinavia and the Arctic. I was thus incredibly excited when a copy of The Ice Museum winged its way to me. It is, surprisingly, more of a history book than the travelogue which is advertised. Far more emphasis has been placed upon other explorations than on Kavenna's own journey to find the lost land of Thule.
I did find the facts which she relayed throughout interesting, but her writing oscillated between a little dull, and over the top; it never quite struck a good balance between the two. I really appreciated the quest which Kavenna went on, but the way in which her book is told was rather underwhelming. Whilst it is written with the framework of distinct geographical sections, it ended up - somehow - feeling disjointed. The Ice Museum did not quite live up to its premise as far as I am concerned.
I did find the facts which she relayed throughout interesting, but her writing oscillated between a little dull, and over the top; it never quite struck a good balance between the two. I really appreciated the quest which Kavenna went on, but the way in which her book is told was rather underwhelming. Whilst it is written with the framework of distinct geographical sections, it ended up - somehow - feeling disjointed. The Ice Museum did not quite live up to its premise as far as I am concerned.
March 14, 2018
I truly had no idea what to expect from this, as it wasn't a book I choose, but one that found me! I like my mythology, but had never heard of Thule, so was instantly intrigued. I also have a little fascination with the colder countries of the world, so I didn't think I could go wrong.
To be honest, now that I've read it, I'm still not sure I can classify it. yes, it's a travelogue, but it's also a history book, a poetry book, an observational book on human nature, a biology and a nature book. And it's beautifully written. The prose is amazing and so easy to read - even the parts that may have been a bit far from my interests, were still worth reading, as the words draw you on.
I learnt a lot from this book - I knew little about the rise of Nazism or the history of the Scandinavian countries, both of which are touched on here. Polar explorers, Victorian adventurers, Russian mining, Scientific experiments ... all are covered. The author has a good knack of mixing in the different elements - describing her journey and surroundings, while filling in with history or folktales or future predictions or something else that takes her fancy.
I did love it and I'm not sure why I can't give it a top rating - it's so close it can smell that final star, but maybe at the end I wanted a little more. I'm not sure here or how the book could give me that though!!
To be honest, now that I've read it, I'm still not sure I can classify it. yes, it's a travelogue, but it's also a history book, a poetry book, an observational book on human nature, a biology and a nature book. And it's beautifully written. The prose is amazing and so easy to read - even the parts that may have been a bit far from my interests, were still worth reading, as the words draw you on.
I learnt a lot from this book - I knew little about the rise of Nazism or the history of the Scandinavian countries, both of which are touched on here. Polar explorers, Victorian adventurers, Russian mining, Scientific experiments ... all are covered. The author has a good knack of mixing in the different elements - describing her journey and surroundings, while filling in with history or folktales or future predictions or something else that takes her fancy.
I did love it and I'm not sure why I can't give it a top rating - it's so close it can smell that final star, but maybe at the end I wanted a little more. I'm not sure here or how the book could give me that though!!
June 25, 2023
As someone fascinated by the Arctic and polar exploration, I really wanted to love this book. I was poking around the low 900s of one of my local libraries when I came across this book and immediately decided to check it out, even though I had so many other library books to read.
Partway through this book, I did read the reviews and noticed that most of them aren’t very high. It took me two days to read just 40 pages; even in my busy weeks, that’s really abnormal. I would also notice that I would get through most of a page and not really remember anything I had just read. It was a bit disheartening.
Some of Kavenna’s travels put me off a bit too. She would frequently try to bully her way into places that didn’t normally allow tourists or outsiders. She also wasn’t always terribly kind when she would write about some of the folks she met. I would often read something disparaging about a person she’d met, and wonder what they thought of what she said when they read the book.
It seems this book was a way for Kavenna to travel to all the places that had historically been referred to as Thule, or could have been seen as Thule even now, but the meandering nature of her writing made my eyes want to shut more than I wanted to follow along with her travels. She also doesn’t seem to really *say* anything, other than that these places could have been the Thule written about for thousands of years.
Just quite a bit of a disappointment.
Partway through this book, I did read the reviews and noticed that most of them aren’t very high. It took me two days to read just 40 pages; even in my busy weeks, that’s really abnormal. I would also notice that I would get through most of a page and not really remember anything I had just read. It was a bit disheartening.
Some of Kavenna’s travels put me off a bit too. She would frequently try to bully her way into places that didn’t normally allow tourists or outsiders. She also wasn’t always terribly kind when she would write about some of the folks she met. I would often read something disparaging about a person she’d met, and wonder what they thought of what she said when they read the book.
It seems this book was a way for Kavenna to travel to all the places that had historically been referred to as Thule, or could have been seen as Thule even now, but the meandering nature of her writing made my eyes want to shut more than I wanted to follow along with her travels. She also doesn’t seem to really *say* anything, other than that these places could have been the Thule written about for thousands of years.
Just quite a bit of a disappointment.
February 15, 2020
Where was the Thule that Greek explorer Pytheas claimed to have reached in the 4th century B.C.? The author visited the Scottish Isles, Iceland, Norway, Estonia, Greenland, and Svalbard looking for it. Surprisingly, I found the Estonia story most convincing.
August 27, 2011
I have always been a dreamer. I have always been that guy, the guy who you would always catch staring off into space, dreaming of what it would be like be somewhere else, to be in a place completely foreign and new with endless discoveries and landscapes straight out of a fantasy. In my early to mid twenties, whenever I’d envision the perfect getaway, I always imagined a place cultured and refined, a place filled with interesting history far away from all those fangled beaches where tourists guzzle frilly umbrella drinks, children run amuck, and some irritating tour guide is always dictating your schedule for you… (However, now at 35, I wholeheartedly retract that statement after experiencing the tropical awesomeness of Mexico during my honeymoon).
Still, many travelers stick to their guns when they decide their destinations. For many, the ideal vacation is a solo-sojourn to a remote part of the globe, (and I do mean remote). Joanna Kavenna is such a traveler. Her nonfiction debut, The Ice Museum: In Search of the Lost Land of Thule, is a mythology-infused travelogue that extends to the farthest reaches of the known, and unknown, areas of the northern hemisphere, (Iceland, Greenland, Norway, Estonia, and the Shetland Islands). It may not be a stretch to proclaim that no writer has ever chronicled the otherworldly beauty and sheer isolation of the icy north has well as Kavenna. Her poetic passages leave you longing for her next destination, her next discovery, hoping that she will never stop searching for Thule, because with every crystal-blue fjord and every gleaming glade that Kavenna describes, you will want to be right there with her. I almost wanted to plan a trip to the Norwegian fjords immediately after reading.
Thule is a place of a legend, a sort of Atlantis of the north. The first accounts of its existence come from the Greek explorer, Pytheas, who claimed to have discovered it during the 4th century. Pytheas described Thule as a place of endless splendor beyond the borders of the known world, a place shrouded with, “mist, sea and land, a frozen ocean, a midnight sun in the summer, a twilight sky throughout the winter.” Since its alleged discovery, Thule has been referenced and romanticized in literature by writers as diverse as Virgil, Shelly, Poe, and even Charlotte Bronte. Whispers of a “superior” race existing in this beautiful land later led the Nazis to claim that Thule was the ancient origin of the Aryan race. During the early years of the Third Reich, a “Thule Society” was even created as a means of culminating Aryan propaganda. Kavenna doesn’t shy away from this darkened history to the subject, and even makes some detours in Berlin to investigate the Nazi affiliation with Thule. Her spirited curiosity leads her to many people with vastly different lifestyles: Viking warrior descendents, seal-skinning Enuits, Shetland Island pub-goers, Norwegian women forced into exile due to their Nazi blood ties, drunken Russian coal miners, and even the President of Estonia, (who firmly believes his country to be the one and only Thule). All of Kavenna’s encounters with these people are fascinating, but what will ultimately captivate you are the passages devoted to the landscapes themselves. You will feel like you have found the world’s most best kept secrets. The translucent fields of ice and the deep blue fjords of the distant north offer a sublime beauty far away from the things of man. By the time I got to the end of the book, I couldn’t have cared less whether Thule existed or not because I felt I had already experienced everything that all of the poets and writers have ever said about it.
Still, many travelers stick to their guns when they decide their destinations. For many, the ideal vacation is a solo-sojourn to a remote part of the globe, (and I do mean remote). Joanna Kavenna is such a traveler. Her nonfiction debut, The Ice Museum: In Search of the Lost Land of Thule, is a mythology-infused travelogue that extends to the farthest reaches of the known, and unknown, areas of the northern hemisphere, (Iceland, Greenland, Norway, Estonia, and the Shetland Islands). It may not be a stretch to proclaim that no writer has ever chronicled the otherworldly beauty and sheer isolation of the icy north has well as Kavenna. Her poetic passages leave you longing for her next destination, her next discovery, hoping that she will never stop searching for Thule, because with every crystal-blue fjord and every gleaming glade that Kavenna describes, you will want to be right there with her. I almost wanted to plan a trip to the Norwegian fjords immediately after reading.
Thule is a place of a legend, a sort of Atlantis of the north. The first accounts of its existence come from the Greek explorer, Pytheas, who claimed to have discovered it during the 4th century. Pytheas described Thule as a place of endless splendor beyond the borders of the known world, a place shrouded with, “mist, sea and land, a frozen ocean, a midnight sun in the summer, a twilight sky throughout the winter.” Since its alleged discovery, Thule has been referenced and romanticized in literature by writers as diverse as Virgil, Shelly, Poe, and even Charlotte Bronte. Whispers of a “superior” race existing in this beautiful land later led the Nazis to claim that Thule was the ancient origin of the Aryan race. During the early years of the Third Reich, a “Thule Society” was even created as a means of culminating Aryan propaganda. Kavenna doesn’t shy away from this darkened history to the subject, and even makes some detours in Berlin to investigate the Nazi affiliation with Thule. Her spirited curiosity leads her to many people with vastly different lifestyles: Viking warrior descendents, seal-skinning Enuits, Shetland Island pub-goers, Norwegian women forced into exile due to their Nazi blood ties, drunken Russian coal miners, and even the President of Estonia, (who firmly believes his country to be the one and only Thule). All of Kavenna’s encounters with these people are fascinating, but what will ultimately captivate you are the passages devoted to the landscapes themselves. You will feel like you have found the world’s most best kept secrets. The translucent fields of ice and the deep blue fjords of the distant north offer a sublime beauty far away from the things of man. By the time I got to the end of the book, I couldn’t have cared less whether Thule existed or not because I felt I had already experienced everything that all of the poets and writers have ever said about it.
May 18, 2023
I'm a bit torn between a 2 and a 3 star rating. The author wasn't easy to warm to, and her writing seemed gratuitously uncharitable when discussing the various people she met (all of whom were at least in part trying to help her, or at the very least politely putting up with what seemed to be her awkward conversation). Still, I am fascinated by many of the places visited, so that was what kept me going.
April 24, 2007
I picked up this book expecting an examination of the myths of Thule (which I knew nothing about) and found a travelogue along with some history, but not much about the myths. I barreled through this book as quickly as possible since I'm more interested in pop-anthropology than travelogues (I'd rather go there than read about it). However, now I know where the Thule ski racks come from, although I find I'm disturbed by the choice of the name after the whole Nazi references.
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December 17, 2022Interesting tale of the author's travels through various northern, cold, icy locales in search for the legendary land of Thule. Interesting to learn a bit about areas such as Svalbald, Greenland, etc.
July 4, 2017
Kavenna searches for the legendary land of Thule, first described by a 4th-century BC Greek explorer, who claimed that it lay six days north of Scotland. She follows the routes of previous explorers such as Fridtjof Nansen and Richard Burton and visits the Shetland Islands, Iceland, Greenland, and Svalbarg, among others. Kavenna explores a number of topics, including the Nazis (who viewed Thule as a lost Aryan homeland), the Cold War (the United States maintains an airbase in Greenland called Thule), and man’s impact on the fragile ecosystems of the Arctic. The book contains some beautiful descriptions of the harsh landscape as well as conveying the author’s love of these northern lands. Unfortunately, there are no photos and so the reader has to rely on Kavenna’s long, sometimes convoluted descriptions. Very well written but a bit dense in spots.
February 2, 2020
A fascinating read dealing with subject matter that was mostly unknown to me till now. First there is the mystery surrounding the land of Thule, briefly visited in the 4th century BC, by Pytheas, a Greek, only to disappear in the ice, fog and time. The author takes the reader on a a journey investigating a number of possibilities with some interesting stop-overs, including the misguided racist-driven 'Lebenborn' policy of Nazi Germany, an Aryan-breeding programme, which reinforces existing sentiments of abhorence, but more eye-opening the discrimination against the mothers and children born from this programme by the survivors (victors) in quite a number of European countries occupied by Germany during WWII. Definitely a subject I am going to explore more in further readings. And where was this Ultima Thule? I will leave that to the reader to discover.
March 23, 2017
This was one of those rare times that I slogged through a book but kept going. There were some gorgeous passages, and I'm really interested in the history of the arctic, but damn was it slow going. I think the problem is that the author was writing about something nebulous, or at least going about it in an indirect way. That, or I'm just not that crazy about books that are deeply philosophical and personal to the author's own experience, and that have a vague conclusion leaving you feel like you're back where you started.
"What does Thule mean?"
"Eh, different stuff to different people."
"...Thanks?"
In the end, I did learn more about the history of the Thule legend(s), and European exploration of the arctic. I just didn't enjoy the experience as much as I expected to.
"What does Thule mean?"
"Eh, different stuff to different people."
"...Thanks?"
In the end, I did learn more about the history of the Thule legend(s), and European exploration of the arctic. I just didn't enjoy the experience as much as I expected to.
November 1, 2022
I have come across "Thule", or "Ultima Thule", in poems and readings before, but never tried to discover what those terms really meant. This author goes in search of "Thule", as described by early arctic explorers. The fact that she traveled to some of the remotest frigid places on earth, (and camping in many, at that) was enough to draw me in on her quest. But she also delves into the recent history (20th Century) of each location and the devastating effects that man's quests for power and domination have had on these natural environments. She talks to the locals and she wanders into places she is not welcome. A most intriguing story!
September 28, 2021
This book is magical. It was such a joy to follow her journey through the Arctic regions. Though her writing is certainly colored with postmodern cynicism at times, and possibly too-sumptuous writing, for the most part this book is worth the time. There were sections that were not so believable (did that conversation or interaction REALLY go down THAT way?…seems too perfect.) It’s nevertheless a wild ride.
October 10, 2025
Despite learning a lot about the concept of Thule, I felt the writer only superficially touched the real Arctic. The natural world was almost absent.
I also found the mystifying descriptions of Norway and Oslo quite strange, this landscape is my home and the most normal thing to me. I doubt anyone in Norway would describe a house in Holmenkollen as the outskirts of suburbia. Several Norwegian words was also spelled wrong.
I also found the mystifying descriptions of Norway and Oslo quite strange, this landscape is my home and the most normal thing to me. I doubt anyone in Norway would describe a house in Holmenkollen as the outskirts of suburbia. Several Norwegian words was also spelled wrong.
May 23, 2019
Very dry. Initially I thought this would be fiction; it was not. It was partly the memoir of a ghostly woman of whom I know nothing, partly a travelogue in which everyone the author meets is portrayed in a less than kindly light...everyone, besides the author, is just a little weird, just a little off.
Read
July 26, 2023DNF
at about midpoint. I loved the idea of this book, also the way Kavenna went about it with mingling (travel-)memoir, history and myth.
Unfortunately it got too repetitive. What bothered me most was her almost sulky way of recounting her encounters with local people, they all seem to not meet her expectations in some way, which was firstly just odd and later just infuriating.
at about midpoint. I loved the idea of this book, also the way Kavenna went about it with mingling (travel-)memoir, history and myth.
Unfortunately it got too repetitive. What bothered me most was her almost sulky way of recounting her encounters with local people, they all seem to not meet her expectations in some way, which was firstly just odd and later just infuriating.
Read
October 25, 20202020-Was excited to read this book, but gosh it quickly turned quite boring and repetitive. This one was a slog.
June 21, 2025
As “Thule” is this rather charming and odd novel’s raison d'être, I simply can’t understand why it doesn’t stand alone as the title.
April 7, 2018
This book is like a travelogue of the extreme North. Kavenna is on the search for a place mentioned in philosophy and ancient myths called Thule, but no one seems to know where this land was located. Her search takes her to Norway, Iceland, Greenland, and other small islands near the Arctic Ocean. She observes isolated communities, racism through a quest for purity, natural beauty, and of course lots of ice.
March 23, 2011
“Some said ‘Toolay’, some said ‘Thoolay’, a very few said ‘Thool’. Poets rhymed Thule with newly, truly and unruly, but never, it seemed with drool.”
The Ice Museum: In Search of the Lost Land of Thule was far better in theory than in execution. Former journalist Joanna Kavenna (yes the same one whose book, The Birth of Love, is on this year’s Orange Prize longlist) has a fascination with Thule, which was first described by Greek explorer Pytheas, who claimed to have reached it in 4th century BC. Thule is supposed to be a “land near a frozen ocean, draped in the mist. Thule was seen once, described in opaque prose, and never identified with any certainty again. It became a mystery land, standing by a cold sea. A land at the edge of the maps.”
And somehow, ‘Thule’ became a word used to stand in for anything. e.e.cummings writes of the ‘Ultima Thule of plumbing’. A Thule society was set up in Munich, members included Hitler and Rudolf Hess. A US airbase in Greenland still retains the name of Thule.
Kavenna gives up her cushy job in London and travels through Shetland, Iceland, Norway, Estonia, Greenland and Spitsbergen. What a journey, eh? But the book is a bit of a letdown. Perhaps not entirely her fault, for how many ways can one describe lands of ice, snow and fjords?
I wasn’t expecting to read about Nazis and the World War when I came across this book. But Kavenna is quite determined to explore more about the Thule Society, interviewing Krigsbarn (children born to Norwegian mother, Nazi father) who were thought to be mentally ill, or who were simply shunned and hidden away in children’s homes or mental institutions after the war. She travels to Greenland, desperate to step foot on the US airbase of Thule, and is finally given a few hours to wander around. But it doesn’t make for anything interesting or insightful really. In the end, I had more interest in her shipmates onboard the Aurora Borealis, travelling around Greenland in this former icebreaker, stopping at settlements along the way, like the six German scientists who shared her table:
“Soon they just wanted everyone else to vanish; they said they disliked queuing behind the for food, and passing them life-jackets and waiting while they fumbled for change at the bar. But they kept it up, toasting each other, greeting each other in the mornings like long-lost friends, treading on each other’s toes in the queues and then pretending it was all an accident.”
Or the two employees at the deserted, opulent Villa Ammende in Estonia, where Kavenna is the only guest. And as she leaves, she wonders if the guy who runs the reception and the waitress live it up during this low season:
“The bacchanalia only stopped when the bell tolled through the corridors; then they put on their uniforms and became solemn and monosyllabic. As I drove off I imagined the man on the desk whipping off his grey suit and donning a red velvet smoking jacket, slinking into the billiard room to pot a few balls, before his first whisky of the day.”
Something tells me that Kavenna’s works of fiction might be a better read.
So The Ice Museum summed up: An intriguing endeavour, but in the end, not really a journey that interested me very much, although it did inspire a little bit of wanderlust (I do have a soft spot for tales of arctic exploration).
The Ice Museum: In Search of the Lost Land of Thule was far better in theory than in execution. Former journalist Joanna Kavenna (yes the same one whose book, The Birth of Love, is on this year’s Orange Prize longlist) has a fascination with Thule, which was first described by Greek explorer Pytheas, who claimed to have reached it in 4th century BC. Thule is supposed to be a “land near a frozen ocean, draped in the mist. Thule was seen once, described in opaque prose, and never identified with any certainty again. It became a mystery land, standing by a cold sea. A land at the edge of the maps.”
And somehow, ‘Thule’ became a word used to stand in for anything. e.e.cummings writes of the ‘Ultima Thule of plumbing’. A Thule society was set up in Munich, members included Hitler and Rudolf Hess. A US airbase in Greenland still retains the name of Thule.
Kavenna gives up her cushy job in London and travels through Shetland, Iceland, Norway, Estonia, Greenland and Spitsbergen. What a journey, eh? But the book is a bit of a letdown. Perhaps not entirely her fault, for how many ways can one describe lands of ice, snow and fjords?
I wasn’t expecting to read about Nazis and the World War when I came across this book. But Kavenna is quite determined to explore more about the Thule Society, interviewing Krigsbarn (children born to Norwegian mother, Nazi father) who were thought to be mentally ill, or who were simply shunned and hidden away in children’s homes or mental institutions after the war. She travels to Greenland, desperate to step foot on the US airbase of Thule, and is finally given a few hours to wander around. But it doesn’t make for anything interesting or insightful really. In the end, I had more interest in her shipmates onboard the Aurora Borealis, travelling around Greenland in this former icebreaker, stopping at settlements along the way, like the six German scientists who shared her table:
“Soon they just wanted everyone else to vanish; they said they disliked queuing behind the for food, and passing them life-jackets and waiting while they fumbled for change at the bar. But they kept it up, toasting each other, greeting each other in the mornings like long-lost friends, treading on each other’s toes in the queues and then pretending it was all an accident.”
Or the two employees at the deserted, opulent Villa Ammende in Estonia, where Kavenna is the only guest. And as she leaves, she wonders if the guy who runs the reception and the waitress live it up during this low season:
“The bacchanalia only stopped when the bell tolled through the corridors; then they put on their uniforms and became solemn and monosyllabic. As I drove off I imagined the man on the desk whipping off his grey suit and donning a red velvet smoking jacket, slinking into the billiard room to pot a few balls, before his first whisky of the day.”
Something tells me that Kavenna’s works of fiction might be a better read.
So The Ice Museum summed up: An intriguing endeavour, but in the end, not really a journey that interested me very much, although it did inspire a little bit of wanderlust (I do have a soft spot for tales of arctic exploration).
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