Author(s): Gretel Ehrlich

Non-Fiction

"A hymn to the Inuit people's rootedness in a landscape and tradition; and a threnody to what we in the developed world have lost. It is a well-worn theme, but Ehrlich here makes it her own." SARAH WHEELER,'TLS' Greenland is the largest island on earth, and all but five percent of it is covered by a vast ice sheet, an enduring remnant of the last ice age. Gretel Ehrlich travels across this unearthly landscape in the company of indigenous Greenlanders who, miraculously, have lived for thousands of years in this uniquely hostile environment. A poetic meditation on the gift of life, 'This Cold Heaven' is also an unforgettable and timeless tribute to the far latitudes, the realm of the great dark, of ice pavilions, polar bears and Eskimo nomads. "A lyrical but marvellously unsentimental accountAll the characters in 'This Cold Heaven', including Ehrlich herself, strive to live, not brokenly, not weakly, but appreciating the sun's gift of life." JOHN BURNSIDE, 'Scotsman' "Ehrlich's enthusiasm is infectious and her indomitable determination to make a record of a culture under threat is admirable. Who would not wish to listen to the groaning of the ice moving against ice, 'to be alive and on a dogsled in Greenland'?" KATE CHISOLM, 'Evening Standard' Reviews 'A passionately written accountIt could well be one of the last portraits of a land and a way of life that is about to be lost forever.' The Times 'Beautifully writtenher book is a celebration of place and people that makes almost nostalgic reading as the planet warms, icebergs melt and the Inuit and seals and polar bears wonder how long their way of life will last. Financial Times A lyrical but marvellously unsentimental account. John Burnside Her enthusiasm is infectious and her indomitable determination to make a record of a culture under threat is admirable. Evening Standard