Glaciers is a slim little novel by Alexis M. Smith. It takes place in Portland, OR over the course of one day in the life of twenty-something Isabel. This is a book about longing. Longing for a past that is gone, longing for a future she imagines and longing in the present for a relationship with a soldier who is about to be shipped off to war.

Isabel remembers her past growing up in Alaska and watching the glaciers already melting away. She fills her life with vintage clothes and thrift store items, postcards that tell the stories of other peoples lives she likes to imagine. She dreams of love and a future in a faraway city she has never been to.

A lyrical, beautifully written novel that despite its brevity, packs a huge emotional punch. Filled with evocative details, we find ourselves completely drawn into Isabel’s world; we are asked to slow down and pay attention to what endures, something we forget to do in this crazy sped-up world we are all living in. A highly recommended read.