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The Ice Storm

First edition cover
Author	Rick Moody
Country	United States
Language	English
Genre(s)	Family, Drama, Tragicomedy
Publisher	Little Brown & Co
Date published	1994
Media type	Print (Hardcover and Paperback)
Pages	279 pp
ISBN	ISBN 0316579211

The Ice Storm is a 1994 American novel by Rick Moody. The novel recived large amounts of acclaim by readers and critics alike, widely hailed as a funny, acerbic, and moving hymn to a dazed and confused era of American life.^[1] Image File history File links This is a lossless scalable vector image. ... Image File history File links Icestormnovel. ... Rick Moody (born Hiram Frederick Moody III October 18, 1961 in New York City), is an American novelist and short story writer best known for The Ice Storm (1994), a chronicle of the dissolution of two suburban Connecticut families over Thanksgiving weekend in 1973. ... In political geography and international politics a country is a geographical entity, a territory, most commonly associated with the notions of state or nation. ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... A family in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso in 1997 A family consists of a domestic group of people (or a number of domestic groups), typically affiliated by birth or marriage, or by analogous or comparable relationships — including domestic partnership, cohabitation, adoption, surname and (in some cases) ownership (as occurred in the... This does not cite any references or sources. ... Tragicomedy refers to fictional works that blend aspects of the genres of tragedy and comedy. ... A publisher is a person or entity which engages in the act of publishing. ... 1994 (MCMXCIV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated as the International Year of the Family and the International Year of the Sport and the Olympic Ideal by United Nations. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article may require cleanup. ... ISBN-13 represented as EAN-13 bar code (in this case ISBN 978-3-16-148410-0) The International Standard Book Number, ISBN, is a unique[1] commercial book identifier barcode. ... See also: 1993 in literature, other events of 1994, 1995 in literature, list of years in literature. ... A novel (from French nouvelle Italian novella, new) is an extended, generally fictional narrative, typically in prose. ... Rick Moody (born Hiram Frederick Moody III October 18, 1961 in New York City), is an American novelist and short story writer best known for The Ice Storm (1994), a chronicle of the dissolution of two suburban Connecticut families over Thanksgiving weekend in 1973. ...

In 1997, the novel was adapted into an acclaimed a feature film directed by Ang Lee, featuring a cast including Joan Allen, Kevin Kline, Sigourney Weaver, Christina Ricci, Elijah Wood and Tobey Maguire. The Ice Storm is a 1997 drama film by Ang Lee, it is based on the 1994 acclaimed novel by Rick Moody, The Ice Storm. ... Ang Lee (Chinese: ; Hanyu Pinyin: ) (born October 23, 1954) is an Academy Award-winning film director from Taiwan. ... Joan Allen in a scene from The Contender Joan Allen (b. ... Kevin Delaney Kline (born October 24, 1947) is an Academy Award- and Tony Award-winning American stage and film actor. ... Sigourney Weaver (born Susan Alexandra Weaver on October 8, 1949 in New York City) is an Oscar-nominated American actress. ... Christina Ricci (born February 12, 1980) is a Golden Globe and Emmy Award-nominated American actress. ... Elijah Jordan Wood (born January 28, 1981) is an American actor. ... Tobias Vincent Maguire (born June 27, 1975) is an American actor. ...

Plot summary

The novel is set before, during and after Thanksgiving, leading up to a threatening ice storm and centers two neighboring families, the Hoods and the Williams', and the difficulties they have dealing with the tumultuous political and social climate of the day, in affluent small town America, in 1973. The novel is narrated from four different perspectives, each of them a member of the two families, who are promoting their own opinion and views of the several complications that arise throughout the novel, including their encounters and daily life. The Hood family is overridden with lies: Ben is currently in an affair with his married neighbor Janey, his wife Elena shoplifts, her daughter ventures on her own sexual liasions with both females and males of her age, including her neighbor's: Mikey and Sandy. The First Thanksgiving, painted by Jean Leon Gerome Ferris (1863-1930). ... Ice storm could refer to: A type of winter storm characterized by freezing rain. ... Year 1973 (MCMLXXIII) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display full calendar) of the 1973 Gregorian calendar. ...

The Hoods are Ben, Elena, Paul and Wendy and the Williams' are Jim, Janey, Mikey, and Sandy. The story focuses on a brief period of time when a major ice storm hits their town of New Canaan, Connecticut, just as both families are melting down from the parents' alcoholism, escapism and adultery, and their children's drug use and sexual experimentation. Ice storm could refer to: A type of winter storm characterized by freezing rain. ... New Canaan is a town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States, 8 miles (13 km) northeast of Stamford, on the Five Mile River. ... It has been suggested that this article be split into multiple articles. ... Alcoholism is the consumption of, or preoccupation with, alcoholic beverages to the extent that this behavior interferes with the drinkers normal personal, family, social, or work life, and may lead to physical or mental harm. ... Escapism is mental diversion by means of entertainment or recreation, as an escape from the perceived unpleasant aspects of daily stress. ... Adultery is voluntary sexual intercourse between a married person and a partner other than the lawful spouse. ... Recreational drug use is the use of psychoactive drugs for recreational rather than medical or spiritual purposes, although the distinction is not always clear. ... This article is about sexual practices (i. ...

Characters

• Ben Williams
• Elana Williams
• Paul Williams
• Sandy Williams
• Janey Carver
• Jim Carver
• Mickey Carver
• Sandy Carver

Themes and analysis

The novel's central themes are the loss of innocence and moral compass in middle-upper class Americans, and the 1970s era. It also deals with several underlying themes, not as bold as the previous two, including the Watergate scandal and suburban secrets, such as sexual experimentation by youths, and the same thing being done by their adults, who are somewhat failing to be role models for their children, as well as their absence from their children's lives, which causes the most significant problem in the novel. The novel is also set during the time of the sexual revolution, which is obviously a central part due to the fact that a recurring theme in the novel is sexuality. The rapidly changing sexual era are reflected in the lives of both families, who, as the revolution approached, have experimented with new, taboo sexual acts, such as incest and adultry.^[1] The 1970s decade refers to the years from 1970 to 1979. ... The Watergate building. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... This article is about cultural prohibitions in general, for other uses, see Taboo (disambiguation). ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Adultery is generally defined as consensual sexual intercourse by a married person with someone other than his or her lawful spouse. ...

Critical reception

The Ice Storm was largely commended for its audacity and daring the many daring subjects explored in the novel.^{[citation needed]} Critic Adam Begley of the Chicago Tribune called the novel: "A bitter and loving and damning tribute to the American family.... This is a good book, packed with keen observation and sympathy for human failure"^{[citation needed]} while The Guardian called it "one of the wittiest books about family life ever written."^{[citation needed]} Amanda Heller of The Boston Globe stated "Moody brings this profusion of metaphor to order with a fierce, subversive intelligence. His characters, drawn with a manic acuity that isn't fully accounted for until the end, stay with us long after we've finished reading."^{[citation needed]} // The Chicago Tribune is a major daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois and owned by the Tribune Company. ... The Guardian is a British newspaper owned by the Guardian Media Group. ... The Boston Globe is the most widely circulated daily newspaper in Boston, Massachusetts and in the greater New England region. ...

The novel was a moderate success commercially; however its sales where boasted in 1997 with the release of the film adaptation.^{[citation needed]}

Film adaptation

The film adaptation of The Ice Storm featured a cast including Sigourney Weaver, Kevin Kline, Joan Allen, Christina Ricci, Tobey Maguire and Elijah Wood. The film was a success d'esteem as an art house film and critically acclaimed despite a poor box office, however it gained a modest reception on subsequent home video releases.^{[citation needed]} While remaining more or less faithful to the book, some details were changed. Most notably, Weaver and Jamey Sheridan's characters were named Janey and Jim Carver, while in Moody's book, their name was Williams. Sigourney Weaver (born Susan Alexandra Weaver on October 8, 1949 in New York City) is an Oscar-nominated American actress. ... Kevin Delaney Kline (born October 24, 1947) is an Academy Award- and Tony Award-winning American stage and film actor. ... Joan Allen in a scene from The Contender Joan Allen (b. ... Christina Ricci (born February 12, 1980) is a Golden Globe and Emmy Award-nominated American actress. ... Tobias Vincent Maguire (born June 27, 1975) is an American actor. ... Elijah Jordan Wood (born January 28, 1981) is an American actor. ... This article or section is in need of attention from an expert on the subject. ... The home video business rents and sells videocassettes and DVDs to the public. ... Jamey Sheridan (born July 12 1951 Pasadena, California) is an American actor. ...

References

1. ^ ^{a b} The Ice Storm at Reading Guides; accessed April 3, 2007.