A review by little_book_witch
The Mountain by Luca D'Andrea
3.0
Luca D'Andrea's 'The Mountain' wasn't what I expected. But that's okay! It turned out to be something I never knew I needed.
After a mountain rescue goes wrong, Jeremiah Salinger is left with a good dose of survivor's guilt in addition to some hardcore PTSD. It's only when he becomes obsessed with an unsolved murder that he finds the drive for life once again, but at what cost?
It's a bit of a slow burn of a book, set in a tiny European town. Locals joke that you can live there for decades without becoming one of them. Their fierce mistrust of any outsiders is clear, and deftly written into a great cast of supporting characters.
I found that there were some pacing issues, but the rich and in-depth descriptions of the culture was really what gave this book it's life. The world building was great, and I really felt like I got a sense of what life in this tiny town was like. Some of the cultural aspects were equally fascinating and wonderful to read about. It seems like D'Andrea either grew up with these traditions or thoroughly did his research.
I found the protagonist a little frustrating. He didn't always make logical decisions, and some of the time it seemed his uncharacteristic actions were only to further to plot to a certain place.
I liked the mystery aspect, but couldn't empathize with Salinger's obsession. I also felt the mystery was drawn out a little too long, stretched a little too thin, with a couple of twists that were unnecessary. It felt at some points that there were just too many strings to form a concise story. I appreciated the complexity but it just got a little messy. I think wrapping it up earlier would have made it much more satisfactory for me, but that's just opinion.
It was only when I got to the end that I realised that it wasn't originally written in English! It was translated perfectly.
All in all, a good book, worth the read but nothing to yell off mountains about.
After a mountain rescue goes wrong, Jeremiah Salinger is left with a good dose of survivor's guilt in addition to some hardcore PTSD. It's only when he becomes obsessed with an unsolved murder that he finds the drive for life once again, but at what cost?
It's a bit of a slow burn of a book, set in a tiny European town. Locals joke that you can live there for decades without becoming one of them. Their fierce mistrust of any outsiders is clear, and deftly written into a great cast of supporting characters.
I found that there were some pacing issues, but the rich and in-depth descriptions of the culture was really what gave this book it's life. The world building was great, and I really felt like I got a sense of what life in this tiny town was like. Some of the cultural aspects were equally fascinating and wonderful to read about. It seems like D'Andrea either grew up with these traditions or thoroughly did his research.
I found the protagonist a little frustrating. He didn't always make logical decisions, and some of the time it seemed his uncharacteristic actions were only to further to plot to a certain place.
I liked the mystery aspect, but couldn't empathize with Salinger's obsession. I also felt the mystery was drawn out a little too long, stretched a little too thin, with a couple of twists that were unnecessary. It felt at some points that there were just too many strings to form a concise story. I appreciated the complexity but it just got a little messy. I think wrapping it up earlier would have made it much more satisfactory for me, but that's just opinion.
It was only when I got to the end that I realised that it wasn't originally written in English! It was translated perfectly.
All in all, a good book, worth the read but nothing to yell off mountains about.