The Ice Storm

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This article is about a novel. For the film based on this novel see The Ice Storm (film)

Title The Ice Storm

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

The Ice Storm (1994) is a novel by Rick Moody published in 1994 and subsequently adapted as an acclaimed 1997 film directed by Ang Lee.

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 Carvers, and the difficulties they have dealing with the tumultuous political and social climate of the day, in affluent small town America. 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.

The novel was hugely acclaimed by readers and critics alike, widely hailed as a funny, acerbic, and moving hymn to a dazed and confused era of American life. ^[1]

Plot summary

The Hoods are Ben, Elena, Paul and Wendy and the Carvers 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.

The climax arrives during a key party, which all of the adults in the film attend, and which ultimately forces the Carvers and Hoods to reexamine their priorities and the directions of their lives. While busy at the party, their children run amok around the town; some of them are discovering the sexual side during the party. One of the children, Mikey Williams, is busy playing in the storm, and is electrocuted after an electric current caused by a falling power line sets sparks through a collapsing tree and runs through a rail he is leaning on, eventually killing him.

Themes and analysis

The novels 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 childrens 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.

Film adaptation

The film adaptation starred 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.^{[citation needed]}de:Der Eissturm es:La tormenta de hielo fr:Ice Storm pl:Burza lodowa sv:The Ice Storm

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