{"product_id":"icefields-9780671002206","title":"Icefields","description":"\u003cb\u003eWinner of: \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cli\u003e The Banff Grand National Prize for Literature\u003c\/li\u003e \u003cli\u003eThe Writers Guild of Alberta Best First Book Award\u003c\/li\u003e \u003cli\u003eThe Commonwealth Best First Novel Prize (Caribbean and Canada Region)\u003c\/li\u003e \u003cbr\u003e At a quarter past three in the afternoon, on August 17, 1898, Doctor Edward Byrne slipped on the ice of Acturus glacier in the Canadian Rockies and slid into a crevasse . . . \u003cbr\u003e Nearly sixty feet below the surface, Byrne is wedged upside down between the narrowing walls of a chasm, fighting his desire to sleep. The ice in front of him is lit with a pale blue-green radiance. There, embedded in he pure, antediluvian glacier, Byrne sees something that will inextricably link him to the vast bed of ice, and the people who inhabit this strange corner of the world. In this moment, his life becomes a quest to uncover the mystery of the icefield that almost became his tomb. \u003cbr\u003e Within the deceptively simple framework of a tourist guidebook, \u003ci\u003eIcefields\u003c\/i\u003e takes a breathtaking, imaginative look at the human spirit, loss, myth, and elusive truths. Here is an impressive literary landscape, and an expedition unlike any you have ever experienced.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThomas Wharton \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eThomas Wharton was born in Grande Prairie, Alberta, a northern Canada oil and gas boomtown. He spent much of his youth moving from town to town, and settled for a few years in Jasper, Alberta. The small town so influenced Wharton that he set his debut novel, \u003ci\u003eIcefields\u003c\/i\u003e, there. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eAfter a variety of jobs -- including hiking guide, bookstore clerk, lab technician, and technical illustrator -- he set his sights on writing. Receiving his M.A. in English from the University of Alberta in 1993, Wharton turned his thesis into his first novel, \u003ci\u003eIcefields\u003c\/i\u003e. NeWest Press published his debut in 1995 in his native Canada, where it received critical acclaim, and hit local bestseller lists. Washington Square Press, a division of Pocket Books, published the U.S. edition of \u003ci\u003eIcefields\u003c\/i\u003e on September 9, 1996. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eWharton is currently working on his Ph.D. in English at University of Calgary. He lives with his wife and two small children. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e(Click here to read an interview with the author.)\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Atria Books","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50726444925202,"sku":"9780671002206","price":14.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_35ae3a88-625f-49c1-acd6-3c3c6a72b68d.jpg?v=1734870024","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/icefields-9780671002206","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}