Ice

The most frequently awarded and translated novel by Jacek Dukaj

The story of Ice takes place in an alternative reality in which World War I never happened. It’s 1924 and the Congress Kingdom of Poland remains under the rule of the Tsar and in the Belle Epoque. Warsaw is icebound. Snow storms bury the roads in the middle of summer. Gleissen – unearthly angels of Frost – walk the streets of the city, freezing truth and lies…

Benedykt Gierosławski, a talented mathematician and incorrigible gambler, is sent on the Transsiberian Express to the icebound Irkutsk by the Tsar’s Ministry of Winter. From there he is to set off to search for his father, seemingly able to communicate with gleissen.

Ice shows a world changed at the level of logic: Winter is ruled by the two-valued logic, Summer – by a three-valued one. This change brings consequences on all levels of the presented world and the text of the novel, from the physics to the law, from psychology to religion, to a special form of narration.

The novel has won many literary awards, e.g. the European Union Prize for Literature and the Magnesia Litera.

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The richness of Ice is immense. Dukaj has confirmed his mastery in creating a reality based on thorough physical, historical, ethnographic, geographical, philosophical and, finally, theological studies. And since this is a total novel, there is also room for a romantic storyline.

Paweł Dunin-Wąsowicz, Tygodnik Powszechny

Jacek Dukaj's writing is usually classified as science fiction, but Ice defies such simple descriptions. Ice is a traditional novel in form, or rather deliberately stylised as traditional, perhaps even a pastiche of the traditional novel. Dukaj's narrative is one of broad perspective, seeking to provide a grand panorama in both a geographical sense – European and Asian – and a chronological sense – a complete description of the history of an era, of great history.

Marek Radziwon, Gazeta Wyborcza