«There's a sense that when you have a bunch of people in a situation of extreme stress and duress, there will be something timeless about human nature that dictates that people will respond in pretty much the same way. I've been describing it as a historical novel about nationalism, cannibalism and unrequited love, with the nationalism being the important part. It is really about the nationalism and tribalism of our present day as it is about the 1870s.»

«I love the way the shrinkage of the [ice] floe imposes this tightening dramatic focus to the action. They are being forced closer together even as they are trying to pull further apart. I like to think of it as an adventure story for adults rather than a Hardy Boys type thing. I sort of avoided the genre of historical fiction in the past because I always thought of it as a sub-genre and I knew it could easily lend itself to either costume drama or boyish adventure. I wanted it to be more complicated thematically and intellectually but I also wanted it to be a page-turner.»

«I like to think of the book as darkly comic but I don't think too many people have responded that way yet, which is fine, ... I see this as weirdly comic, but not in a thigh slapping way, that these people have become obsessed with this piece of ice as if it is land.»