Shiver by Nikki Gemmell

I can catalogue Antarctica by touch.

The touch of air sucked dry on my cheek, the fur of
a day-old seal pup, the touch of an iceberg, a blizzard,
a lover, the touch of sweat at minus twenty-three,
of a camera stuck to the skin on my face, of cold like glass
cutting into my skin, of a snowflake, of a dead man, of
doctor's fingers on my inner thigh, of a tongue on my eye.

A young woman gets the chance of a lifetime.
To go to 'the land of mythical tragedies, the place
of ships' hulls being crushed by ice, of long journeys
into darkness and death, of soles falling from feet and
being strapped back on, of teeth freezing and splitting,
fingers dying,  toenails coming away, mates disappearing
through holes in the ice, mates walking away into
blizzards, saying I'm just going outside and may
be some time, and never coming back . . .'

Surrounded by the cruel beauty of the last great wilderness
on earth, she finds herself transfixed
by the power of the land.

Travelling and living with a close-knit and idiosyncratic
team, Fin learns the rules and taboos of community life in
Antarctica, and then promptly breaks the strictest taboo of
all - she falls in love. The consequences are shattering. 

Lyrical, haunting and sometimes painfully moving,
Shiver is a first novel of great power and beauty. 

Genres: Travel - Romance - Contemporary - Adventure - Literary Fiction - Australia - Australian Author
Condition: Very good
Published: First published 1997. This edition published 2004 by Vintage.
Pages: 273
ISBN: 174051324x
Weight: 270g