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Beyond the Cold: An American's Warm Portrait of Norway
By Michael Kleiner
The book combines childhood memories of living for a year in another country and perspectives upon return trips as an adult. Readers see the development of an affinity for a country not my own.
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Description
What effect does a year spent in another country have on a child? Is it just another year in his childhood no different than any of the others? Or can it be a turning point influencing his future endeavors, work, opinions, and relations with people? Can he adopt a culture not his own? What happens when he returns to that country as an adult and then makes subsequent visits? Michael Kleiner takes us on an interesting and unique journey -- his journey -- in Beyond the Cold: An American’s Warm Portrait of Norway, from living in Norway as an 11-year old with his family to returning for the first time 16 years later as an adult through five more visits. Writing in a journal style with warmth, sensitivity, humor, caring, and insight, Kleiner shows how he develops a strong affinity, appreciation and passion for this Northern country, its culture, beauty and people. As the story progresses, he moves beyond just the wonderful reunions with friends and descriptions of his travels around the country, to making commentary on Norwegian and American societies. This timeline from childhood to adulthood makes the book different than usual travel/autobiography essay type books which are written only from adult perspectives.
A Warm Portrait of Norway and the Norwegian People
I am no stranger to fine travel books, memoirs, or books that define other cultures. But Michael Kleiner’s Beyond the Cold gives us all three in one. Beginning at age 11, when he and his family spent a full year in Norway, continuing through his seven return trips, this author lived and learned amongst Norwegians. He traveled the country with the refreshing eye of a native exploring his homeland for the first time, as he visited and revisited places of particular interest over a course of twenty-some years. We are treated to an insider’s view of the sites, hearts and minds of these people and the emotional tug these elements evoked for him as a growing boy and at various stages in his adult life. I could feel the excitement of discovery as I vicariously strolled through Frogner Park, giggling at the site of the charming statue of a young child in the midst of a temper tantrum! I could feel the anxiety of the author as an eleven-year old boy, suddenly plunged into a foreign country, all at once confronted with the multiple adjustments of new language, peer group, geography, climate, and customs. I learned a bit about Norwegian history, their museums, culinary treats, and ski trails. But most of all, this American author helped me internalize the meaning of true friendship through the warmth of the Norwegian people, their customs, lifestyle and values.
Lois W. Stern
Author of Sex, Lies and Cosmetic Surgery
A Warm Porotrait of Norway and the Norwegian People
I am no stranger to fine travel books, memoirs, or books that define other cultures. But Michael Kleiner’s Beyond the Cold gives us all three in one. Beginning at age 11, when he and his family spent a full year in Norway, continuing through his seven return trips, this author lived and learned amongst Norwegians. He traveled the country with the refreshing eye of a native exploring his homeland for the first time, as he visited and revisited places of particular interest over a course of twenty-some years. We are treated to an insider’s view of the sites, hearts and minds of these people and the emotional tug these elements evoked for him as a growing boy and at various stages in his adult life. I could feel the excitement of discovery as I vicariously strolled through Frogner Park, giggling at the site of the charming statue of a young child in the midst of a temper tantrum! I could feel the anxiety of the author as an eleven-year old boy, suddenly plunged into a foreign country, all at once confronted with the multiple adjustments of new language, peer group, geography, climate, and customs. I learned a bit about Norwegian history, their museums, culinary treats, and ski trails. But most of all, this American author helped me internalize the meaning of true friendship through the warmth of the Norwegian people, their customs, lifestyle and values.
Lois W. Stern
Author of Sex, Lies and Cosmetic Surgery
http://www,sexliesandcosmeticsurgery.com
cosmeticsurgery@optonline.net