Am I truly the only person who hated this book? The story is basically about a man who is obsessed with this girl who has been abused in childhood. When she leaves her husband, he goes off in search of her, only to find her under the authority and abuse of 'the Warden' He makes attempts to free her but eventually she frees herself. This all happens against the backdrop of a rapidly advancing ice age. Eventually he catches up with her and rescues her from the ice and against her will. On a ship to a warmer climate he finds out that actually she isn't that interesting after all. He then abandons her in the warm place to go soldiering only to find that absence makes the heart grow fonder. So back he now goes to the warm place which is now freezing cold to find that she has been waiting alone for him. He rapes her then buggers off, has a change of heart and comes back for her. And I haven't even mentioned the many ways he imagines her violently dying!
So, I found the characters thoroughly dislikable and the course of events completely unbelievable. He finds this girl by instinct alone every time. Really? The only redeeming factor was the writing itself although I hate all this surrealist stuff, I find it confusing but that's just me, I'm shallow. The sentences were short and punchy and moved the story along quickly, thanks goodness. I almost DNFd it but at only 157 pages I thought it couldn't hurt to finish. Wish I hadn't!