Polarfront’s ideal library

There are a thousand ways to prepare for a voyage to the Far North. Poring over a map, dreaming over photographs, following the weather, imagining the fjords, the glaciers and the sea ice… And then there are books.

Long before you cross the Arctic Circle, literature can already give you a feel for these lands: the silence, the cold, the vastness, but also the human stories that unfolded there. Explorers heading into the unknown, trappers cut off for months on end, sailors trapped in the ice, Inuit and Sámi peoples, scientists, adventurers of the past and travelers of today have all helped tell the story of the North.

And aboard Polarfront, there is no shortage of chances to read. Settled in the Coriolis lounge as the scenery glides by, in your suite after a day of exploring or out on deck when the weather allows, opening a book about the very lands you are traveling through gives reading a very special flavor.

So here is our ideal library to take along on a voyage to Svalbard, Greenland or northern Norway.

READING THE FAR NORTH

Explorers’ accounts, novels, crime fiction, memoirs, Inuit literature… Our selection deliberately mixes genres and eras. Because there is no single way to tell the story of the Arctic.

Some books make you want to set off. Others help you understand the history of the lands you travel through. Some make you physically feel the cold and the isolation. And others give a voice to those for whom the Far North is not a destination, but a land where their people have lived for generations.

SOAKING UP THE COLD AND THE LANDSCAPES

To Build a Fire — Jack London A few pages are all it takes to feel the power of the cold and the fragility of human beings against the elements. An absolute classic of Far North literature.

Un monde sans rivage (A World Without Shores) — Hélène Gaudy Hélène Gaudy revisits the incredible polar expedition of Salomon August Andrée, who set off from Svalbard by balloon in 1897 hoping to reach the North Pole. A fascinating story, and also a beautiful meditation on exploration, dreams, images and vastness.

The North Water — Ian McGuire A dark, powerful novel that takes the reader aboard a 19th-century whaling ship in Arctic waters. An almost physical immersion in the sea, the cold and the violence of a world where nature makes the rules.

Travels in Alaska — John Muir For lovers of nature and wide-open landscapes. Glaciers, fjords, forests and vast wilderness, described by one of America’s great naturalists.

IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF THE GREAT EXPLORERS

The Arctic has inspired some of the greatest adventure stories in history. Aboard Polarfront, as glaciers drift by or the ship nears the sea ice, these stories suddenly become very real.

Le Marcheur du pôle (The Pole Walker) — Jean-Louis Étienne Jean-Louis Étienne recounts his solo expedition to the North Pole in 1986. Cold, solitude, effort, doubt and a fascination with the vast polar wilderness: a great classic of contemporary French exploration.

Boréal and Banquise (Pack Ice) — Paul-Émile Victor Two books that open the door to the world of the man who devoted much of his life to Greenland, to the Inuit peoples and to French polar exploration.

Le Roman des pôles (The Story of the Poles) — Fridtjof Nansen, Roald Amundsen, Jean-Baptiste Charcot A wonderful introduction to the heroic age of polar exploration, bringing together accounts by some of the greatest names in that story.

L’Aventure des pôles (The Adventure of the Poles) — Farid Abdelouahab An accessible look at the history of exploration, built around the travel journals of the great polar explorers.

South — Ernest Shackleton Even though this adventure takes place on the other side of the globe, in Antarctica, you cannot talk about polar literature without mentioning Shackleton. His expedition remains one of the most extraordinary stories of survival and leadership in the history of exploration.

Là où le temps et la glace sont les seuls maîtres (Where Time and Ice Are the Only Masters) Published in 2025, this book looks back at the expeditions across the Arctic between 1818 and 1876. A fine way to go back to the origins of modern polar exploration.

SVALBARD: IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF THE ARCTIC PIONEERS

As Polarfront sails among the fjords of Spitsbergen, the glaciers and the old trapping grounds, it is hard not to think of those who traveled through these same landscapes long before us.

Voyage d’une femme au Spitzberg (A Woman’s Journey to Spitsbergen) — Léonie d’Aunet A must-read. In 1839, Léonie d’Aunet set out on an expedition that took her all the way to Spitsbergen. Her account offers a gripping glimpse of the Svalbard of the early explorers, carried by a female voice that is astonishingly modern for her time.

Four Against the Arctic — David Roberts The extraordinary story of four Russian sailors shipwrecked on Spitsbergen in the 18th century and forced to survive there for several years. A fascinating survival story that takes on a whole new dimension when you experience the isolation of these coasts for yourself.

L’Expédition (The Expedition) — Monica Kristensen A crime novel set in Svalbard, written by a Norwegian glaciologist and polar explorer. Mystery, icy landscapes and an end-of-the-world atmosphere: an excellent read to get into the spirit of Spitsbergen.

Damien, du Spitzberg au Cap Horn (Damien, from Spitsbergen to Cape Horn) — Gérard Janichon A great tale of sailing and adventure. Aboard Damien, Gérard Janichon and Jérôme Poncet set off on an extraordinary voyage that took them, among other places, into the waters of Spitsbergen.

Le Passeport de Monsieur Nansen (Mr. Nansen’s Passport) — Alexis Jenni A lovely way to approach Fridtjof Nansen from a different angle: explorer, scientist, diplomat and humanitarian, whose story goes far beyond his polar expeditions.

GREENLAND: DISCOVERING THE ARCTIC FROM THE INSIDE

In Greenland, perhaps more than anywhere else, it is worth looking beyond the explorers’ accounts. The history of this land is inseparable from that of the people who live there.

The Last Kings of Thule — Jean Malaurie A foundational work. Jean Malaurie recounts his stay with the Inughuit of northwestern Greenland in the early 1950s. At once an exploration narrative, a human adventure and an ethnographic record, this book remains a major reference for understanding the Arctic through the people who live there.

Sanaaq — Mitiarjuk Nappaaluk A major work of Inuit literature. Through the daily life of Sanaaq and her family in Nunavik, the reader discovers the Arctic from the inside, far from the traditional gaze of Western explorers.

Le Rêve d’un Groenlandais (A Greenlander’s Dream) — Mathias Storch Published in the early 20th century, this book is considered the first Greenlandic novel. A particularly interesting read for hearing a voice from Greenland itself and discovering Greenlandic society at a turning point in its history.

La Fille du grand hiver (Daughter of the Great Winter) — Isabelle Autissier Published in 2026, this novel is inspired by the story of Arnarulunnguaq, a young Inuit woman who accompanied Knud Rasmussen on his great expedition across Greenland and the Canadian Arctic in the 1920s. A novelistic way of giving its rightful place back to a figure long left in the shadow of the great explorers.

Briser la glace (Breaking the Ice) — Julien Blanc-Gras A change of tone with this account of a voyage to Greenland aboard a sailboat. Julien Blanc-Gras tells the story of his adventure with humor, curiosity and self-deprecation. A light, funny and wonderfully effective read that will make you want to set sail.

Ímaqa: A Greenland Adventure — Flemming Jensen A funny, offbeat novel that approaches Greenland far from heroic tales of exploration. Another way to discover Greenlandic culture and society.

De pierre et d’os (Of Stone and Bone) — Bérengère Cournut A poetic, sensory novel inspired by Inuit cultures. A book that gives pride of place to the elements, animals, beliefs and the relationship between human beings and their environment.

Boréal — Sonja Delzongle For thriller fans: a contemporary plot set in Greenland, among icy expanses and scientific expeditions.

Round out your reading with Paul-Émile Victor’s Boréal, Banquise and La Civilisation du phoque (The Seal Civilization), to rediscover one of France’s great figures in the exploration and study of Greenland.

NORWAY: BETWEEN THE SEA, LAPLAND AND THE POLAR NIGHT

In northern Norway, books tell of another side of the Far North. That of villages clinging to the coastline, windswept islands, fishermen, reindeer herders and Sámi culture.

Forty Days Without Shadow — Olivier Truc Probably our top pick before a voyage to northern Norway. This crime novel takes us to Kautokeino, in the heart of Lapland, in the footsteps of the Sámi and the reindeer herders. Polar night, tundra, snowmobiles, traditions and tensions between cultural heritage and the modern world: the atmosphere of the Far North is everywhere.

And the good news is that the adventure continues with Le Détroit du loup (The Wolf’s Strait), La Montagne rouge (The Red Mountain) and Les Chiens de Pasvik (The Dogs of Pasvik), which expand the world of the Reindeer Police and gradually take the reader ever farther into the far north.

The Unseen — Roy Jacobsen A magnificent novel set on a small island in northern Norway. A family lives there to the rhythm of the sea, the seasons and the storms. Understated and deeply evocative, the book beautifully captures the very special relationship that people on the Norwegian coast have with the elements.

Shark Drunk — Morten A. Strøksnes Two friends go in search of a Greenland shark off Skrova, in the Lofoten archipelago. At once an adventure story, a meditation on the sea, a work of science and a quirky travelogue: the perfect read before sailing along the Norwegian coast.

Lame de feu (Blade of Fire) — Ingeborg Arvola In 1859, Brita Caisa leaves Finland with her two children and heads for Vadsø, in Finnmark. A great, powerful and physical journey across the Scandinavian Far North, in which the landscapes and the elements become almost characters in their own right.

La Loi des Sames (The Law of the Sámi) — Lars Pettersson Another way into contemporary Sámi society. Through an investigation set around Kautokeino, the novel explores reindeer herding, traditions and the complex relationship between cultural heritage and modern society.

A FEW PAGES BEFORE YOU LEAVE… OR FACING THE VIEW

Reading about the Far North before you leave means the voyage has already begun.

But bringing one of these books aboard Polarfront offers a different experience. Reading Léonie d’Aunet as the mountains of Spitsbergen take shape, Jean Malaurie off the coast of Greenland or Morten A. Strøksnes while sailing among the islands of northern Norway creates a strange dialogue between the page and the landscape.

The places glimpsed in books suddenly stop being abstract. They are right there, behind the window or beyond the rail.

So before you close your suitcase, save a little room for a book. It could well become one of the most precious companions of your voyage.

NO BOOK IN YOUR SUITCASE?

Don’t worry if you have forgotten your favorite book or would rather save room in your luggage: the Polarfront library is there for you! Well stocked, it offers a wide choice of books covering a great variety of subjects: exploration narratives, books on the polar regions, novels, coffee-table books, books on wildlife and nature… Something to suit whatever you feel like reading. Make yourself comfortable in the Coriolis lounge, choose a book from the shelf and let the landscapes of the Far North accompany your reading.