melatonin1mg's review against another edition
2.0
“Face to face with real death one does not think of the things that torment the bad people in the tracts, and fill the good people with bliss. I might have speculated on my chances of going to Heaven; but candidly I did not care. I could not have wept if I had tried. I had no wish to review the evils of my past. But the past did seem to have been a bit wasted. The road to Hell may be paved with good intentions: the road to Heaven is paved with lost opportunities.”
Was suddenly fixated on consuming nonfiction media about difficult feats and disasters, so I thought this novel would be right up my alley...and it kinda was?
There was an immense amount of detail. Too much, especially for a modern reader who has a terrible attention span like me. Day-to-day accounts of every little action and weather shift were told, and it was awfully repetitive. My brain was fried. I spent an unfortunately large chunk of the novel reading with my eyes, and not my brain. Though arguably, the painfully slow pacing did accurately reflect how tedious their daily journey was.
With that being said, Cherry-Garrard's writing was beautiful. His tenderness towards animals shined through his very frequent descriptions of the ponies and penguins. The men's characters were fleshed out eloquently. In particular, Scott was portrayed as a complex figure, both as a neurotic man and someone who Cherry-Garrard regarded highly. Having only heard vaguely of the expedition prior to reading, the tension built wonderfully in the latter half of the novel as I wondered how and why exactly things fell apart. Reading about their preparations, the kinds of rations they ate, their treatment of scurvy, etc. was fascinating too.
Ultimately, the novel questioned if the suffering and tragedy was really worth the potential scientific breakthrough. As a modern reader, with hindsight of how the expedition ended, I would say no. I don't subscribe to the English heroism perpetuated by these kinds of stories either. There's a point where suffering can't be glamorized anymore and these men went far past it.
Yet...Cherry-Garrard meticulously detailed both the various life-endangering mistakes they made AND the incredible heart and labour each man put into the expedition. Over and over, he emphasized their camaraderie, their unfailing endurance, and refusal to leave anyone behind. The tragedy that those qualities were not enough to keep a man alive in those awful conditions, is heartbreaking.
Overall, the novel deserved better from my horrendous attention span, and I'll remember it best for its immense amount of details, and also heart.
Was suddenly fixated on consuming nonfiction media about difficult feats and disasters, so I thought this novel would be right up my alley...and it kinda was?
There was an immense amount of detail. Too much, especially for a modern reader who has a terrible attention span like me. Day-to-day accounts of every little action and weather shift were told, and it was awfully repetitive. My brain was fried. I spent an unfortunately large chunk of the novel reading with my eyes, and not my brain. Though arguably, the painfully slow pacing did accurately reflect how tedious their daily journey was.
With that being said, Cherry-Garrard's writing was beautiful. His tenderness towards animals shined through his very frequent descriptions of the ponies and penguins. The men's characters were fleshed out eloquently. In particular, Scott was portrayed as a complex figure, both as a neurotic man and someone who Cherry-Garrard regarded highly. Having only heard vaguely of the expedition prior to reading, the tension built wonderfully in the latter half of the novel as I wondered how and why exactly things fell apart. Reading about their preparations, the kinds of rations they ate, their treatment of scurvy, etc. was fascinating too.
Ultimately, the novel questioned if the suffering and tragedy was really worth the potential scientific breakthrough. As a modern reader, with hindsight of how the expedition ended, I would say no. I don't subscribe to the English heroism perpetuated by these kinds of stories either. There's a point where suffering can't be glamorized anymore and these men went far past it.
Yet...Cherry-Garrard meticulously detailed both the various life-endangering mistakes they made AND the incredible heart and labour each man put into the expedition. Over and over, he emphasized their camaraderie, their unfailing endurance, and refusal to leave anyone behind. The tragedy that those qualities were not enough to keep a man alive in those awful conditions, is heartbreaking.
Overall, the novel deserved better from my horrendous attention span, and I'll remember it best for its immense amount of details, and also heart.
sarah_dietrich's review against another edition
4.0
Beautifully written account of Scott's fateful Terra Nova expedition to the South Pole. The basics of the story are well known - Scott tries to be the first person to reach the South Pole, he gets there to find that Amundsen beat him, then Scott dies on the way back. This book fills in the fascinating details of the whole trip. It's written by Cherry-Garrard and he does a wonderful job, he's a beautiful writer. Cherry-Garrard was part of Scott's expedition, spending two years in Antarctica and travelling part-way to the Pole with Scott. He's able to draw heavily on his own experiences, plus the diaries and first-hand accounts of others.
Cherry-Garrard's account seems accurate in almost all aspects, but I can't help thinking that he's an unreliable narrator when talking about how noone on the expedition ever, ever complains about anything, and they are all such admirable, hard-working, selfless gentlemen. I think he's done this because he feels like he has to do right by his dead friends. He also glosses over the grusome details of frostbite and other hardships,. Loved the book, but -1 star for these few shortcomings.
Cherry-Garrard's selection for the expedition is bizzare- he's not a scientist, not in the navy, has no experience, and is so short-sighted he's half blind, making him unable to navigate safely on the ice and leaving him reliant on others. We're told that he was chosen because Wilson liked him, but that seems like a terrible reason to send someone on the worst journey in the world. Cherry-Garrard's family was quite wealthy and he made a donation to the cash-strapped expedition, so I do wonder how big the donation really was and if that was the reason he was selected. Whatever the reason for his selection, Cherry-Garrard more than proves himself on the ice and is highly trusted & respected by Scott's inner circle, Wilson and Bowers.
The two introductions are best read at the end, as they spoil key details of the best moments of the book. The only info you need before reading is:
- Scott first tried to reach the pole on the Discovery Expedition of 1901–1904
- Seven members of the Terra Nova expedition were also on the Discovery expedition, including:
-- Wilson (Scott's closest confidant, vouched for Cherry-Garrard's includion in the expedition)
-- Edgar Evans
-- Crean
-- Lashly
- Shackleton was also on the Discovery Expedition, then split from Scott and led his own future expeditions (Nimrod expedition, 1907–1909 and Endurance expedition, 1914–1917)
Cherry-Garrard's account seems accurate in almost all aspects, but I can't help thinking that he's an unreliable narrator when talking about how noone on the expedition ever, ever complains about anything, and they are all such admirable, hard-working, selfless gentlemen. I think he's done this because he feels like he has to do right by his dead friends. He also glosses over the grusome details of frostbite and other hardships,
Spoiler
dude shivers so hard that his teeth shatter and he barely mentions it!! He also leaves one vital question unanswered - where/how did they poo when they were living in a tent in perpetual darkness and it was -60C outside!Cherry-Garrard's selection for the expedition is bizzare- he's not a scientist, not in the navy, has no experience, and is so short-sighted he's half blind, making him unable to navigate safely on the ice and leaving him reliant on others. We're told that he was chosen because Wilson liked him, but that seems like a terrible reason to send someone on the worst journey in the world. Cherry-Garrard's family was quite wealthy and he made a donation to the cash-strapped expedition, so I do wonder how big the donation really was and if that was the reason he was selected. Whatever the reason for his selection, Cherry-Garrard more than proves himself on the ice and is highly trusted & respected by Scott's inner circle, Wilson and Bowers.
The two introductions are best read at the end, as they spoil key details of the best moments of the book. The only info you need before reading is:
- Scott first tried to reach the pole on the Discovery Expedition of 1901–1904
- Seven members of the Terra Nova expedition were also on the Discovery expedition, including:
-- Wilson (Scott's closest confidant, vouched for Cherry-Garrard's includion in the expedition)
-- Edgar Evans
-- Crean
-- Lashly
- Shackleton was also on the Discovery Expedition, then split from Scott and led his own future expeditions (Nimrod expedition, 1907–1909 and Endurance expedition, 1914–1917)
horrorwine's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
sad
tense
slow-paced
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racial slurs
they sure loved to give animals cool names in the Edwardian period didnt theythelonelycastle's review against another edition
4.75
I think I experienced the entire range of emotions while reading this book. Cherry is truly a great writer and manages to portray these horrendous events with such humility and honesty. This is truly on of the greatest memoirs ever written.
mark_lm's review against another edition
5.0
A fantastic account of the tragic Scott Antarctic expedition of 1910 - 1913 written by Apsley Cherry-Gerrard, a member of the team, in 1922. I have the 2012 Folio Society edition. It includes many excerpts from the author's own diary and from those of Scott, Bowers, and Wilson. There are some beautiful photographs and extensive detailed discussion of every aspect of the continent, the sea, the wildlife, the men and their condition. Cherry-Gerrard wrote a laudably even-handed criticism of Scott and the techniques used by the expedition. There is a strong component of Edwardian stiff upper-lip heroism with frequent mention of how cheerful the sick were right up to the end. There is evidence of British class structure with the discussion of the death of seaman Evans being distinctly different from that of the officers. Of some medical interest - the team members understood that fresh fruits and vegetables could prevent scurvy, but the concept of a vitamin wasn't described until 1912 and the chemical structure of vitamin C wasn't known until the 1930s - some other older theories are held to by the team's doctors. Also, ptomaine poisoning is mentioned several times, since the idea that food poisoning was due to a bacteria-made toxin was not known then. Scott uses the abbreviation DV in his diary. I hadn't seen this, it is for Deo volente, God willing, as in if Evan's feet don't worsen we will make it to the next depot, DV. He also uses the expression Queer street. I've seen this before in some Sherlock Holmes stories and in Brideshead revisited. An example would be, if Evan's feet do worsen we will all be in Queer street. There are some maps in the text and a glossary at the back, so be sure to look for them when you wonder what sastrugi are.
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re:the possibility that Scott had scurvy see: http://www.idlewords.com/2010/03/scott_and_scurvy.htm
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re:the possibility that Scott had scurvy see: http://www.idlewords.com/2010/03/scott_and_scurvy.htm
wintersavenger's review against another edition
5.0
Took a bloody long time to get through, but worth it.
Cannot begin to imagine the agony these men went through on their journey. The title of the book doesn't do the horrors of the journey justice.
Cannot begin to imagine the agony these men went through on their journey. The title of the book doesn't do the horrors of the journey justice.
xenonread's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
5.0
This book is a very slow read but it is extremely immersive. You feel as if you are there with the men, their losses and triumphs are yours. You may know everything that happens, but it does not remove any of the emotion or suspense from the reading. This book serves to enshrine the all men who went to Antarctica, including those who lived and died.