Mountaineering adventure for ladies. This fictional account of George Mallory's 1924 attempt on Mount Everest injects a love story into the adventure by alternating chapters between Mallory on Everest and his wife Ruth back home in Cambridge. Rideout privileges the characters' feelings over their climbing: in their tents and on the mountain, the climbers' thoughts inevitably drift homeward. Only Ruth's chapters are written in the first person, revealing where the author's sentiments lay.
Most of the mountaineering action takes place during evenings in camp, with the Mallory and Sandy Irvine dealing with the various discomforts of high-altitude climbing (freezing cold, difficulty breathing, nausea, hallucinations). Above All Things vividly captures the physical and mental toll of living in the "death zone." It is less successful with the mountaineering details, which Rideout is clearly less interested in.
Ultimately Above All Things is a tragic love story, with a foregone conclusion for those who know the fate of George Mallory.
Most of the mountaineering action takes place during evenings in camp, with the Mallory and Sandy Irvine dealing with the various discomforts of high-altitude climbing (freezing cold, difficulty breathing, nausea, hallucinations). Above All Things vividly captures the physical and mental toll of living in the "death zone." It is less successful with the mountaineering details, which Rideout is clearly less interested in.
Ultimately Above All Things is a tragic love story, with a foregone conclusion for those who know the fate of George Mallory.
No comments:
Post a Comment