July 2021 book of the month club

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rubysmama

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I finished the book last week, and wrote this review shortly after, because I knew if I waited till now to write it, I'd have forgotten half of what I'd read. :lol:

So here goes...

I’d never heard of George Mallory before, so reading this novel introduced me to him and his life-long obsession of climbing. Since he was a real person, and not a fictionalized character, I'd like to know which parts of the novel were based on fact, and which were from the author's imagination. Obviously his family and climbing partners were real. But did he really climb the walls of the school, when he was late for his appointment? Somehow, I think not.

I didn’t find the book to be a “page turner” until I was motivated by my library loan nearing expiry, and then I read most of it in just a few days. Once we got to the actual Everest climbing attempts it got much more interesting, than the earlier parts with his life at the schools, and at war.

I found I had a hard time keeping all the characters clear in my head, and only a few, like George Finch and Guy Bullock were easy to remember.

If I’d never read the description for the book, I would not have known Mallory died during the 2nd attempt to conquer Chomolungma, so part of me wonders if the prologue takes away the suspense of knowing how things turn out. And because I knew he was going to die, it put a bit of a depressing feel to my mood whenever his wife and children were mentioned.

Because none of the names of the climbers were familiar to me, I did forget the 2nd name mentioned in the prologue, which left me to wonder who Mallory would choose as his partner for the final leg of the climb.

The prologue also confused me a bit, with the realization that Ruth’s picture was not found on Mallory’s body, so throughout the book, I was expecting them to split up, or for him to cheat on her, especially when the wealthy widow showed up on scene. So was happy that he stayed faithful to Ruth.

Did Mallory reach the top of Everest? I’ll say, yes. I mean, what do I know, but it would have made him happy, so I’d like to think he had a few minutes, at least, of joy on knowing he was the first man to reach the top of the world, before he fell to his death.

I thought it was interesting, sad really, that his daughter, Claire, was left a widow with 3 children, like her mother, after her husband died in a climbing accident.

All in all, an interesting book, albeit a little depressing. I’ll rate it 3 stars out of 5.
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verna davies

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I read this book last year and enjoyed it just as much the second time around. For me it had everything, fact, fiction, romance, adventure, comedy, I loved the witty one liners.

I know many of the characters in the book existed but should imagine that most of the dialogue was fictional or handed down from relatives and friends and ended up as Chinese whispers. Having looked up the photo of General Bruce, I would think that the story of his bath and fine wines are true. I can't imagine the 6ft man being the only way to measure 20 miles needed to walk each day, if it's true, poor man. Loved the though of the coin being left at the summits as a mark of respect to the mountains.

I laughed at the part where Mallory and Bruce were stripped of belt, shoes, etc before the Dzongpen allowed them into Tibet. I should think that did happen.

I loved the descriptions of India, the sheer poverty, heat and sprinkling sand on the tracks to ensure grip for the train, for me it brought it to life. An arduous journey just to get to the base of Everest before starting the actual climb.

Sad that Sherpa Nyima died along with the other Sherpas, it would have been fitting for him to be the first Sherpa to reach the summit. I wonder if he had lived, would the outcome of Mallory and Irvine been different.

I enjoyed the part about his childhood and college years, I think it was needed to show his character but found the part about the war a little slow and wonder if it was necessary.

It amazes me how people put themselves through so much to achieve their goal, Mallory had this overwhelming obsession to be the first to conquer Everest, stronger than his love of his wife and three children who he adored and adored him. Was he brave or foolish.

I'm glad they found his body, it gave me an indication of the ever changing conditions as he lay there from 1924 until 1999. So many climbers must have passed it on their attempts and successes on Everest.

It seems fitting that Mallory's son John should climb to the summit years later and leave the photo of George and Ruth. Did Mallory make it to the top, I choose to think so.

I give this book ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
 

gilmargl

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I have just given up - with about 50 pages still to go. I couldn't face reading any more. After the failed attempt to climb Mt Everest, the trip to America was unbearable - I think I need something more lighthearted at the moment. Sorry! Perhaps I'll continue readimg this book some other time.
 

verna davies

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I have just given up - with about 50 pages still to go. I couldn't face reading any more. After the failed attempt to climb Mt Everest, the trip to America was unbearable - I think I need something more lighthearted at the moment. Sorry! Perhaps I'll continue readimg this book some other time.
At least you have it a good go.
 
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rubysmama

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read this book last year and enjoyed it just as much the second time around. For me it had everything, fact, fiction, romance, adventure, comedy, I loved the witty one liners.
Great review, V verna davies !!! You mentioned several things I'd already forgotten, like sprinkling sand on the train tracks. And the poor 6' tall man that had to lay down to track measurements!

I have just given up - with about 50 pages still to go. I couldn't face reading any more. After the failed attempt to climb Mt Everest, the trip to America was unbearable - I think I need something more lighthearted at the moment. Sorry! Perhaps I'll continue readimg this book some other time.
Awww, that's too bad, being so close to the end. Maybe you'll pick it up some other time and finish it, as it does go quickly, at the end. But, of course, you know there isn't a happy ending, so maybe you never will. 🤗

For me, reading it was a little like watching the Titanic movie, knowing some of the people were real, and were going to die before the end. :(
 

Boris Diamond

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It was a good read, but it left me with the feeling of wondering what really happened. I wondered what was real. Truth is very important to me. At first I thought the letters must be real, but after reading reviews, I am left wondering. One reviewer said that Archer had extensive interviews with a surviving close relative, and whether the letters were real would be left to the reader. :dunno:

I suspect that many things mentioned in the book were real. As V verna davies mentioned, there were things like putting the sand on the tracks for traction that brought it to life. There were other things that made it seem real, but I did wonder what was fiction. I have been present for an interview for the newspaper and what ended up in the newspaper did not seem to me what was said in the interview. Certainly writers will embroider their stories to make them more attractive to the reader. My main question is how much was real and how much was rumor or fancy.

I've always been a faithful kind of guy, and I was pleased when he climbed out the window at the rich widow's house, though I understand the temptation he must have had. Mallory seemed like a good guy and his marriage seemed like a storybook occurrence. I get suspicious when a relationship is portrayed as being so perfect. On the other hand, if it was that good, perhaps the support, love and faith he got from his wife helped make him the man he was.

I also had some problems keeping all the characters straight, but I let it go and it did not turn out to be that important. Did he make it to the top? Since he did not have his wife's picture which he had said he would leave on the top of Chomolungma, I am going to guess that yes, he did make it to the top. It is a great mystery what really happened and I guess we will never know.

I would rate it higher if I were not left with so much uncertainty about what really happened. I have not read that much historical fiction and perhaps I will feel that way about other historical fiction I read.

As I said, it is a good read, but I am giving it 3 out of 5 stars.
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verna davies

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We will never know if he was the first to conquer Everest but Shackleton and Sherpa Tenzing claimed that victory many years later. I read it as if it were mainly fiction as hand me down stories often end up nothing like the original so maybe enjoyed it a little more than others. Boris Diamond Boris Diamond , I also lost track of who was who, so many names and I had forgotten about climbing out of the window.
 
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rubysmama

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I found myself googling some of the names to find out if they were real or fictional.
I can't believe I didn't think of Googling, well, anything. But better late, than never. :lol:

George Mallory and Andrew Irvine
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George and Ruth Mallory
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Mount Everest
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rubysmama

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Just look at that mountain.
It's really beautiful, isn't it. Too bad it's now littered with frozen bodies and human waste. :(

And there was me thinking I'm the great adventurer because I have climbed Snowdon, Everest makes it look like a pimple.
That's pretty cool, though! I've never climbed anything. Not even a pimple. :lol:
 

mani

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We will never know if he was the first to conquer Everest but Shackleton and Sherpa Tenzing claimed that victory many years later. I read it as if it were mainly fiction as hand me down stories often end up nothing like the original so maybe enjoyed it a little more than others. Boris Diamond Boris Diamond , I also lost track of who was who, so many names and I had forgotten about climbing out of the window.
Sorry.. I'm butting in here as I haven't read the book, and may have the wrong end of the stick, but weren't Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay considered to be the first to climb Mt Everest? I remember Tensing Norgay gave a talk at my school.. he was just lovely.
 

verna davies

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Sorry.. I'm butting in here as I haven't read the book, and may have the wrong end of the stick, but weren't Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay considered to be the first to climb Mt Everest? I remember Tensing Norgay gave a talk at my school.. he was just lovely.

They were the first recorded but Mallory and Irvine were seen as close as 600ft from the top but not actually seen at the top. In the book Mallory carried a photo of his wife in his pocket that he was going to put on the summit. When his body was found, he didn't have that photo. Did he reach the top and lay the photo, we will never know.
 

mani

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They were the first recorded but Mallory and Irvine were seen as close as 600ft from the top but not actually seen at the top. In the book Mallory carried a photo of his wife in his pocket that he was going to put on the summit. When his body was found, he didn't have that photo. Did he reach the top and lay the photo, we will never know.
You mentioned Shackleton and Sherpa Tenzing claiming it?
 

pearl99

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I finished yesterday.
I think too Mallory did make it, (wishful thinking maybe because of the book) although logically from 1924 to 1999 anything could have happened to the photo. But I read that things found on him were very well preserved.
And it is nice that the first verified people included a Sherpa. I think no one would have made it without the help of the sherpas. They are essential, at least back then. There are more modern stuff and gear to take along now, but I'm sure still have to have the sherpas. I was very sad that Nimiya died.

I have some mixed feelings about historical fiction, I always have to look up things to see what was true and what was not. I didn't see anything saying Mallory did climb the Eiffel Tower and St. Mark's. But it always makes me learn more about the subject and think about what the subject of the book was. Gets some imagination going. I vaguely knew the name but couldn't have said what he was famous for.

I had a hard time keeping some characters straight too, since some weren't a big presence in the book or delved in to. When Geoffrey Young appeared later I thought he was the one that had a thing for Ruth. I had to go back and find that, and it was really Andrew.
Ruth and George sounded so happy, that was nice to read. I wonder if the letters were real or made up by the author. I hope it was real. It was romantic reading about their courtship, how George knew from the start, and kind of outsmarted Andrew- even if it wasn't true.

I can't imagine at all putting yourself through what people do to climb Everest. It's mind boggling, the snow- ice- temperatures- frost bite- illness- risk- what do they eat! Anything appetizing? Sleeping in howling wind, slogging through waist deep snow. For weeks on end. A friend's brother recently attempted to climb Denali. He got bad altitude sickness, brain swelling, frostbite, pneumonia...from the brain swelling he's still not back to normal. He had planned to climb Everest next year but I doubt that will ever happen.

It was amazing to read what they go through on a climb, I did enjoy just being awed by it.

I liked his childhood years of climbing everything- I loved climbing things, trees- rocks- whatever, not to this extent but it brought back memories.

I wish I had a better memory for details in a book, I meant to write things down but I didn't. I do remember in the book he was very much for women's rights. Good for you, George.

I'd give it 3.5 stars.
 
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rubysmama

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When Geoffrey Young appeared later I thought he was the one that had a thing for Ruth. I had to go back and find that, and it was really Andrew.
Oh, right, I forgot George swooped in and "stole" Ruth from Andrew. Kinda reminds me of Jon Bon Jovi and his wife's history. They met in high school, but she was friend's girlfriend. The friend joined the navy, left town, and Jon was there to keep Dorothea from getting lonely. :lol: Except for a short breakup, they've been together ever since! Too bad George and Ruth's love story ended much too soon.

I can't imagine at all putting yourself through what people do to climb Everest. It's mind boggling, the snow- ice- temperatures- frost bite- illness- risk- what do they eat! Anything appetizing? Sleeping in howling wind, slogging through waist deep snow. For weeks on end.
As someone who despises winter, I can't imagine wanting to torture yourself "just" to climb a mountain. The book did spend some time describing the conditions, but not enough to really give me a good picture in my mind of what it was like. About food, they kept having the same food at every meal, but I can't remember what it was. Sardines, maybe? :dunno:

A friend's brother recently attempted to climb Denali. He got bad altitude sickness, brain swelling, frostbite, pneumonia...from the brain swelling he's still not back to normal. He had planned to climb Everest next year but I doubt that will ever happen.
I hope your friend's brother will eventually totally recover. Frightening, that something like that can happen, but not surprising considering the harsh conditions they face with a climb.
 

verna davies

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The food they had must have been terrible, sardines and Kendall Mint Cake but I would imagine that was nothing compared to the weather, the description of eyelids freezing, losing fingers and toes, brutal.

I agree with you pearl99 pearl99 , very doubtful they would have succeeded without the Sherpas.
 

gilmargl

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Well I did finish the book - last night while sitting with my new foster cats. Skimmed over the bits I couldn't stomach. So sad!
I am fairly certain that climbing the Eiffel Tower, fire escape etc. were all incidences made up by the author; the actual wording of the letters, too. But other details, such as the clothing and food were probably correct. I find historical fiction, when the main characters really lived, rather disconcerting, but, in this case, at least the basic framework of the story was correct so the added incidences created a certaim amount of lightheartedness and made the novel easier to read and appreciate. Does the film of either of the 2 expeditions still exist?

I feel bad about the fact that I was not really in the mood for such a book, so I will give it ⭐⭐⭐⭐!
 

verna davies

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Well I did finish the book - last night while sitting with my new foster cats. Skimmed over the bits I couldn't stomach. So sad!
I am fairly certain that climbing the Eiffel Tower, fire escape etc. were all incidences made up by the author; the actual wording of the letters, too. But other details, such as the clothing and food were probably correct. I find historical fiction, when the main characters really lived, rather disconcerting, but, in this case, at least the basic framework of the story was correct so the added incidences created a certaim amount of lightheartedness and made the novel easier to read and appreciate. Does the film of either of the 2 expeditions still exist?

I feel bad about the fact that I was not really in the mood for such a book, so I will give it ⭐⭐⭐⭐!
Well done for finishing it when your heart wasn't in it. I agree with you about the food and clothing, I imagine that's well documented. There is a documentary made in 2010 called The Wildest Dream about Mallory and Conrad Anker who found his body all those years later. There is also a docudrama made in 2013 called Beyond the Edge about Hillary and Sherpa Tenzing.
 
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