300 Kelvin in the Afternoon

300 Kelvin in the Afternoon

300 Kelvin in the Afternoon was published in June 2007 by Alexandria Publications. An extended excerpt of the novel was published in 2008 in the New York-based translation venue InTranslation.

“George Pavlopoulos’ first novel is based on a real, historical event: S. A. Andrée’s Arctic balloon expedition of 1897, undertaken by three Swedish men: engineer and physicist, Salomon Andrée, photographer, Nils Strindberg, and engineer, Knut Fraenkel.  The novel charts the story of the expedition, from its atmospheric beginning at the port of Gothenburg, to the characters’ brief yet delightful sojourn on an obscure little island in the middle of the Arctic sea, to their final demise in cold and inhospitable, Spitsbergen. Interspersed with short chapters populated by a host of modern-day characters, ranging from an obsessive Japanese collector of vintage boots, to an eccentric inventor of cameras, to an unusual collector of matches, 300 Kelvin in the Afternoon, is a surprising journey into what connects us all to the three explorers and to each other: our common humanity.

Written when the author was 26 years old, the novel has been praised for its unique narrative power, sophisticated purity and emotional depth. Variously described by critics as “a latter day version of Jules Verne without the fairy tale aspects and with more psychology,” and as “a contemporary version of the male adventure novel of the 1900s,” 300 Kelvin in the Afternoon takes the reader on a fascinating journey of discovery and makes for a moving and unforgettable read.”