merqri's review against another edition
2.0
This is yet another Archer book with its unmistakable characteristics. This is no Kane and Abel but still manages to climb the peaks of fiction bestsellers maintaining readers' interest.
Truth is sometimes stranger than fiction and for this fictionalized story of the mountaineer George Mallory, the truth is still obscured and subject to speculation. Jeffrey Archer carves an intriguing tale taking the known elements of Mallory's life and chooses to give a conclusion to the hung fate of their fateful expedition.
Before reading the book, I had no idea who George Mallory was and I was under the impression that the team of Edmund Hillary, a person from New Zealand and the sherpa mountaineer Tenzing Norgay was the first to climb the highest peak of planet earth in 1953. George Mallory's tragic expedition was a generation before that in 1924. Thanks to the subject of this book, I came to know about previous expeditions.
The book has the characteristic Archer pattern of beginning the story from the birth of his central character as he begins to weave the narrative to reach the climax. However, this time, the story is based on true events, and hence the over-dramatisation of his early years felt out of place. There are dramatic events in Paris, Venice, then the real bits about his participation in the first world war. In the end, it remains a slightly believable yet fictional character study.
The successful complete expedition is from 1953, which is a generation after Mallory's attempts. When you think about that, a completely different narrative design with these different time periods, the supremely demanding nature of this quest would have made the book genuine and more interesting. This would have needed a shift of focus from a single person life story (something Archer is good at) to a more objective-based, in this case, mountaineering or even Everest as a challenge. As it stands now, it feels like Archer used the alluring uncertainty of that expedition to propel his fiction work directly in the bestseller's list. This was first published in 2009 when Archer was already world-famous, people would have encouraged a different style and a more experimentative approach might have resulted in a very different book.
Jeffrey Archer has a gift of storytelling but he needs to think out of his own confines. For me, nothing will surpass Kane and Abel, and that start to end character buildup approach has now culminated with that work.
Truth is sometimes stranger than fiction and for this fictionalized story of the mountaineer George Mallory, the truth is still obscured and subject to speculation. Jeffrey Archer carves an intriguing tale taking the known elements of Mallory's life and chooses to give a conclusion to the hung fate of their fateful expedition.
Before reading the book, I had no idea who George Mallory was and I was under the impression that the team of Edmund Hillary, a person from New Zealand and the sherpa mountaineer Tenzing Norgay was the first to climb the highest peak of planet earth in 1953. George Mallory's tragic expedition was a generation before that in 1924. Thanks to the subject of this book, I came to know about previous expeditions.
The book has the characteristic Archer pattern of beginning the story from the birth of his central character as he begins to weave the narrative to reach the climax. However, this time, the story is based on true events, and hence the over-dramatisation of his early years felt out of place. There are dramatic events in Paris, Venice, then the real bits about his participation in the first world war. In the end, it remains a slightly believable yet fictional character study.
The successful complete expedition is from 1953, which is a generation after Mallory's attempts. When you think about that, a completely different narrative design with these different time periods, the supremely demanding nature of this quest would have made the book genuine and more interesting. This would have needed a shift of focus from a single person life story (something Archer is good at) to a more objective-based, in this case, mountaineering or even Everest as a challenge. As it stands now, it feels like Archer used the alluring uncertainty of that expedition to propel his fiction work directly in the bestseller's list. This was first published in 2009 when Archer was already world-famous, people would have encouraged a different style and a more experimentative approach might have resulted in a very different book.
Jeffrey Archer has a gift of storytelling but he needs to think out of his own confines. For me, nothing will surpass Kane and Abel, and that start to end character buildup approach has now culminated with that work.
monicamjw's review against another edition
4.0
Did what any good historical fiction novel should do: made me care about the characters and the occasion enough to want to learn more.
kleedc73's review
4.0
This book is a fictionalized account of the life of George Mallory, the first person who (may) have managed to reach the summit of Mount Everest. The story flows really well, the setting is authentic and interesting and, even though people familiar with the actual facts involved will know how the story ends, I still found it exciting. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who likes historical fiction and/or books on mountain climbing.
ahem_dayan's review
3.0
It's dragged a lot in the beginning but as the book reached its last 150 pages, the story was entirely gripping but not good enough to warrant a reread.
jodiehanley's review
adventurous
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
judyward's review
4.0
This is a fictionalized biography of George Mallory, who many think was the first man to reach the summit of Mount Everest. In 1924, in his second attempt to conquer Mt. Everest, Mallory, the climbing leader, was last seen 600 feet from the summit by one of the members of his climbing team. Mallory had told everyone that when he reached the top of Everest, he was going to leave a picture of his wife, Ruth, that he always carried in his wallet. Mallory disappeared after this last sighting and his body was not found until 1999--without the picture of his wife in either his wallet or his pocket leading many to believe that he had been successful before his death. Interesting. This book is full of information about mountain climbing, the psychology of men who dedicated themselves to scaling the highest peaks in the world, and also the political infighting in the Royal Geographic Society in England.
jaxboiler's review against another edition
sad
slow-paced
2.0
I decided to give this book a try without realizing what it was about. I ground through it but I didn't enjoy it
okenwillow's review against another edition
5.0
Comme on ne change pas une équipe qui gagne, je poursuis ma découverte de Jeffrey Archer après sa saga virevoltante des Clifton.
Cette fois, l’auteur s’est inspiré d’un héros national anglais, un alpiniste qui a laissé derrière lui un mystère jamais résolu : a-t-il oui ou non atteint l’Everest avant de mourir ? Je précise qu’il s’agit ici plus d’une biographie très romancée que d’une simple biographie, il ne faut donc pas s’attendre à de l’exactitude ou à des faits tous scrupuleusement avérés, mais Archer retrace très bien l’aventure qu’a dû être la conquête de l’Everest. L’auteur nous présente tout d’abord Mallory dans sa petite enfance, où l’on devine déjà la casse-coup intrépide qu’il sera plus tard. En grandissant, George Mallory fera souvent preuve de témérité et exercera ses talents de grimpeur en de nombreuses et insolites circonstances. Parvenu à l’âge adulte, marié et père de famille, son dernier défi avant de se poser sera d’atteindre l’Everest, sommet le plus haut du monde, encore jamais foulé par le pied de l’Homme.
Arche nous met habilement dans le contexte de l’époque, l’équipe choisie pour l’expédition n’en savait pas plus que le commun des mortels quant à ce qui allait les attendre à de telles altitudes, jamais atteintes par l’Homme. Leur équipement, ayant profité des avancées et des expéditions lors de la conquête polaire, s’avère néanmoins bien rudimentaire comparé à ce que nous connaissons de nos jours. Les bouteilles d’oxygène, dont l’usage est alors très controversé *, et envers lesquelles Mallory est plutôt hostile, constituent un sommet de confort et de technologie. La méconnaissance de ce qui attend l’expédition, les conditions malgré tout précaires, le matériel modeste, la route totalement inconnue jusqu’au dernier moment, tout contribue à rendre l’aventure aussi captivante que dangereuse. On peut se demander comment, dans de telles conditions, il put y avoir des survivants. Les accidents, chutes, avalanches, maladies induites par le mal des montagnes, délires causés par le maque d’oxygène, et autres avaries semblent relever plus de la fatalité, de l’inévitable, que du concours de circonstances. J’ai été effarée de voir que depuis cette époque, plus des 200 alpinistes sont morts en tentant l’ascension de l’Everest. J’ai été encore plus étonnée de savoir que plus de 3500 individus avaient relevé le défi.
Si malgré la découverte du corps congelé de Mallory en 1999 le mystère reste entier concernant la réussite de ce dernier et d’Irvine, l’auteur donne sa propre version, mais évite d’en faire des tonnes et reste assez sobre et proche des faits connus. Et même si l’issue fatale n’est pas une surprise, le final n’en demeure pas moins chargé d’émotion. Un bien joli roman sur une magnifique aventure humaine qui me donne follement envie d’aller voir l’adaptation cinématographique en préparation, avec…Benedict Cumberbatch.
Cette fois, l’auteur s’est inspiré d’un héros national anglais, un alpiniste qui a laissé derrière lui un mystère jamais résolu : a-t-il oui ou non atteint l’Everest avant de mourir ? Je précise qu’il s’agit ici plus d’une biographie très romancée que d’une simple biographie, il ne faut donc pas s’attendre à de l’exactitude ou à des faits tous scrupuleusement avérés, mais Archer retrace très bien l’aventure qu’a dû être la conquête de l’Everest. L’auteur nous présente tout d’abord Mallory dans sa petite enfance, où l’on devine déjà la casse-coup intrépide qu’il sera plus tard. En grandissant, George Mallory fera souvent preuve de témérité et exercera ses talents de grimpeur en de nombreuses et insolites circonstances. Parvenu à l’âge adulte, marié et père de famille, son dernier défi avant de se poser sera d’atteindre l’Everest, sommet le plus haut du monde, encore jamais foulé par le pied de l’Homme.
Arche nous met habilement dans le contexte de l’époque, l’équipe choisie pour l’expédition n’en savait pas plus que le commun des mortels quant à ce qui allait les attendre à de telles altitudes, jamais atteintes par l’Homme. Leur équipement, ayant profité des avancées et des expéditions lors de la conquête polaire, s’avère néanmoins bien rudimentaire comparé à ce que nous connaissons de nos jours. Les bouteilles d’oxygène, dont l’usage est alors très controversé *, et envers lesquelles Mallory est plutôt hostile, constituent un sommet de confort et de technologie. La méconnaissance de ce qui attend l’expédition, les conditions malgré tout précaires, le matériel modeste, la route totalement inconnue jusqu’au dernier moment, tout contribue à rendre l’aventure aussi captivante que dangereuse. On peut se demander comment, dans de telles conditions, il put y avoir des survivants. Les accidents, chutes, avalanches, maladies induites par le mal des montagnes, délires causés par le maque d’oxygène, et autres avaries semblent relever plus de la fatalité, de l’inévitable, que du concours de circonstances. J’ai été effarée de voir que depuis cette époque, plus des 200 alpinistes sont morts en tentant l’ascension de l’Everest. J’ai été encore plus étonnée de savoir que plus de 3500 individus avaient relevé le défi.
Si malgré la découverte du corps congelé de Mallory en 1999 le mystère reste entier concernant la réussite de ce dernier et d’Irvine, l’auteur donne sa propre version, mais évite d’en faire des tonnes et reste assez sobre et proche des faits connus. Et même si l’issue fatale n’est pas une surprise, le final n’en demeure pas moins chargé d’émotion. Un bien joli roman sur une magnifique aventure humaine qui me donne follement envie d’aller voir l’adaptation cinématographique en préparation, avec…Benedict Cumberbatch.
jaredpence's review
4.0
I listened to the audiobook read by Roger Allen and thoroughly enjoyed it. Combining unique conflicts like man vs. nature (they climb mountains including Everest twice), man vs. man (the politics of the Geographic Society are intense!), and man vs. himself (George is committed to his climbing, but also to his family and battles with decisions including whether to lead expeditions to Everest, whether to join the military in WWI, and whether to go on a speaking tour to the United States). The writing is engaging and often funny and the ending was compelling even though you knew what would happen from the very beginning.
If this novel is lacking, it is probably in the tightness of the narrative. Because it is based on real people, there are often details and experiences included that don't strengthen the plot or develop the characters. And there are so many characters--again, probably because it is based on real people--but it feels like some accuracy sacrifices should have been made for the sake of the narrative.
If this novel is lacking, it is probably in the tightness of the narrative. Because it is based on real people, there are often details and experiences included that don't strengthen the plot or develop the characters. And there are so many characters--again, probably because it is based on real people--but it feels like some accuracy sacrifices should have been made for the sake of the narrative.
ryanjamesburt's review
4.0
I have always like Jeffery Archer so perhaps I was predisposed to like this book. But it was a very interesting book about a man trying to be the first to climb mount Everest. The main character is based on a real person which I didn't realize till after I had finished the book. A man who disappeared on the mountain only to have his body found years and years later. Did he reach the top? Will we ever know? Good read.