Beyond the Cold by Michael Kleiner

Beyond the Coldby Anonymous

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October 05, 2007: 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