[.ca] Ice Child (ISBN 0451410610)

From Amazon.com:
There are writers who meticulously research their subject but reveal only the tip of the iceberg to their readers. Then there's Elizabeth McGregor. It's not that she skimps on research--on the contrary, she has a very large iceberg of information at her disposal. But she doesn't hide a bit of it below the surface, and the result is a truly epic novel that glories in the details of two worlds: Victorian Arctic exploration and modern medicine. Jo Harper is a contemporary London journalist saddled by her editor with a story she doesn't want. Namely: Douglas Marshall, an eminent archaeologist, has set out on a trek to research the (real-life) Franklin expedition, which disappeared more than a century ago during a hopeless search for the Northwest Passage. Now Marshall has gone missing too. In the course of her preliminary spadework, Jo finds an archived BBC program wherein Marshall describes the folly of Franklin's endeavor: Just a few short miles of ice. What was that to the greediest colonizing nation in the world? What were the months of darkness, and the strongest sea currents on the planet? The finest nautical minds of the age talked about it as if it were an afternoon jaunt, brushing aside a few natives, bears, and bits of tundra. McGregor alternates Jo's story with a running account of the Franklin expedition, narrated by a 16-year-old sailor named Gus. Meanwhile, Marshall is found, and he and Jo pursue a clearly doomed romance. When their child is born with a rare blood disease, the distraught mother commissions a modern-day Arctic expedition to save the baby. Whether her characters are in the tundra or a hospital ward, McGregor's narrative has the momentum of a ship under full sail. Instead of bogging the book down, the carefully accumulated details propel it forward. Here is a large, complicated, lovingly made adventure that reads as easily, and as irresistibly, as a romance. --Claire Dederer

What an unusual novel!:
I've gotta pick up books like this out of the blue more often! It was such a tremendous surprise to me to find a well-written and articulate novel, based on a historical happening that I had never heard about. Most of the other reviewers have given a good synopsis of the surface story in this book. A young single mother is raising her son after the accidental death of the child's father, who was an academic explorer. The child comes face to face with a catastrophic illness, aplastic anemia, and the only real potential donor is the step-brother of this boy, a young adult, who the mother had alienated by charging him with responsibility for the death of the father of both. The story revolves around the search for this step-brother who is blaming himself for the loss of his father, and trying to follow in his father's footsteps as a means of forgiveness and absolution. Underlying this poignant story is the true story of the 1845 Franklin expedition. I had no idea that even that late in the 19th century they were still trying to find a passage through the Northwest, over the American Continent. As per usual, the British need to explore and expand human knowledge, put them in the driver's seat. Two ships, combining sail and steam as the ultimate in technology at that time period, tried to make their way through the ice floes of the northern seas. Even with their best efforts including the metalization of the hulls of the ships and massive provisions from the new methods of storing foodstuffs in cans (for longer keeping), the ships were doomed to failure. I checked online to the great quantities of information available concerning the Franklin expedition. Such notable groups as National Geographic are STILL searching for evidence of these ships and the locations of both the ships and the men, who were never heard from again. Only a few buried bodies and a a couple of canisters with information written by the captains concerning the whereabouts of these great ships have been found in over 150 years. McGregor did her research and got the expedition information right, even though she had to create a 'voice' in the presence of a young boy on ship. In the midst of the heroic efforts of these men to survive and further the growth of human knowledge, the story of what actually led to their demise is horrifying. Once again, like with the shuttle Challenger, the greed of those men/corporations providing materials for these 'ships' doomed these men to almost sure death. In this case, it was the canned goods, which were sealed with tin that leaked lead into the meat inside. On top of that, the meat inside was often put in without prior cooking, and the temperatures reached for sealing the cans were not high enough to cook either the middle of the meat, nor complete the vacuum. This meant that the meats were raw, and over time became disgusting and putrid, as well as many of the tins contained botulism (one of the faster acting toxins even used in biowarfare today). There is written evidence of an inquiry into the tin cans from the 1850's and the exposure of this horrific negligence in order to gain more money by the man who supplied these goods to the royal navy of Britain. Once again, man's inhumanity to man raises it's ugly head. The book is extremely articulate, the pictures drawn by the author well-done. The agony of the mother and those who love this child who is going through chemotherapy and the push for a bone marrow transplant are accurate (as I've been through it with a friend's daughter who did not survive with leukemia). I went through this book in two days flat even with work and dissertation.Highly recommended!!! Karen Sadler, Science Education

Well done:
Historical fiction is often difficult to read, but McGregor did a wonderful job blending a historical story (which she stayed very true to throughout the novel) with two other main story lines. Transitions were almost always seemless and, although a few chapters in I sometimes got confused with all the names and the switching back and forth, I am so glad I stuck with it. After those few chapters of getting to know the characters and their situations I was enthralled and didn't want to put it down for anything. Her characters are very realistic and the lives of the characters have become a part of me as though I were by their sides through their hardships.

Intrigue now and then:
Although Elizabeth McGregor moves back and forward in time in her novel "The Ice Child", it is so well written that no confusion abounds. This tale of obsession and romance will lead readers into new territories and through a myriad of emotions. The drama, action and authentic charactors keep you turning the pages through to the end. Well plotted and easily read. Beverly J Scott author of Righteous Revenge

Haunting but Flawed:
Prior to reading "The Ice Child", I'd never heard of the Franklin expedition and was unfamiliar with past Arctic Explorations and the search for the Northwest passage. McGregor writes a story that switches from the Franklin expedition of the past to the present day tale of a mother trying to save the life of her ill son. The chapters of "The Ice Child" which are told from the point-of-view of a member of the Franklin expedition are remarkably well-done, involving, and educational. While we can already guess the ultimate fate of the Arctic explorers, I was still engrossed by their story and was delighted to learn what life as an 1845 explorer was like. The novel's present day story pales in comparison however. Nothing about the present day characters particularly grabbed me and I never felt emotionally involved with their tale. The central character suffers so much tragedy in such a short time that I felt I never got to know her. She merely moved from one tragic event to the next without ever becoming a fully developed character. This part of the novel was very weak, and for that reason I'm giving it 3 stars. However, two weeks after reading the book I find the story of the Franklin expedition popping into my mind at odd moments. I'm still haunted by their tale, and believe "The Ice Child" would have been a much better story if it had stuck with the Artic exploration alone.

A good read:
As an imaginative exploration of history's hold on us, this book deserves top marks. Through the device of three separate stories it succeeds in establishing the resonance of events, remote in time and place. Skillfully and credibly Elizabeth McGregor forges a connection between a disastrous voyage of polar exploration in the 1840s and 21st century Britain. Unfortunately, one of the novel's central supports, the modern-day story of a journalist, her polar explorer lover and their desperately sick child, fails to carry its weight. It revolves around a cast of poorly constructed characters with whom it is difficult to develop much empathy. The plot, thin at best, borders on the banal. Although exhaustively researched, that part of the story never really grabs hold, never rings true. However, Ms. McGregor is on much firmer ground when she takes us to the Arctic. There the story takes on a luminous life. The characters are compelling and the account of their ordeal moving. Here, the fruits of the author's research evoke fascination - as opposed to irritation. In the hands of this skillful writer the story attains a magisterial quality, worthy of the tragedy at its heart.