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3.35 AVERAGE
3.35 AVERAGE
challenging
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
challenging
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Yann Martel's The High Mountains of Portugal is made up of 3 vaguely connected stories that take place over the course of almost 80 years. The main connection between the stories is found in their themes. They are all deeply concerned with religiosity, grief, and our evolutionary connection to chimpanzees. We are not fallen angels, but risen apes. In each of the stories the main character has lost his wife. In the first story, Homeless, the man also lost his son and father all in the same week. He begins walking backwards everywhere as an objection, he literally turns his back on God. And he goes in search of an artifact that mocks God, a depiction of Christ on the cross, but Christ has the features of an ape. When he finds what he seeks he realizes he doesn't actually want it anymore. The second story, Homeward, centers another widow. A doctor who's deeply religious wife visits him in the form of a ghost to talk about the allegorical nature of Jesus, and how the same allegories can be found in the writing of Agatha Christie. The man then performs an autopsy and finds, among other surreal things, a chimp cradling a bear cub inside the body. In the third story, Home, our last widower leaves his old life on a whim and moves to his ancestral home in The High Mountains of Portugal with a chimp named Odo who he bought from a run down research facility. I think that taken together the stories progress in the same way that one progresses through the stages of grief. The first man was young, in his 20s, and he was working through denial, and, especially, anger. The second man, middle aged, was tackling bargaining and depression. The last man, older, started in depression, but ultimately found acceptance. Interestingly the men's interest in religiosity started very strong and literal in the first man, became tempered and allegorical in the second, and the final man wasn't concerned with religion at all. Similarly, In the first story the idea that people are risen apes is presented as blasphemous, the second story takes our animal nature as a simple fact while also questioning the idea of blasphemy at all. And the third story has a man who spends the last season of his life trying and somewhat succeeding in strengthening his connection to the natural world and its rythyms. This man dies content. I loved this book very much, although it is slow paced and took quite a while for me to get really into. The writing is superb and luscious. Perfect usage of magical realism to tell an important and philosophical story. It reminded me of The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho in that way. The faint but unmistakable overlay of surrealism across the whole composition is what really elevated it to me, imbuing the book with an invitation to make it your own.
Martel never fails to play with my mind. And my heart. His stories are always deeply moving - if not violent - and he always asks us to go on an adventure and trust him. With this book, I wasn't so sure I wanted to.
The first half left me at a loss - I was all wtf? But as I came into the second half of the book, he hooked me. I just closed my eyes and jumped (not literally) and started to pull themes out for what he was really saying.
By the end of the first read through I was mystified, enchanted and curious. And a bit sad that the story was over. So I went right back through and read it a second time. And everything became clear.
This is a fabulous post-modern take on a lot of really interesting stuff - I won't spoil the discovery for you here. But like most of his novels, you have to be prepared to enjoy a story full of for whimsy, imagination and you need to pay attention. And then do it all over again.
I'm giving my brain a break but will re-read it again in a couple months. I just can't stay away from his stuff.
The first half left me at a loss - I was all wtf? But as I came into the second half of the book, he hooked me. I just closed my eyes and jumped (not literally) and started to pull themes out for what he was really saying.
By the end of the first read through I was mystified, enchanted and curious. And a bit sad that the story was over. So I went right back through and read it a second time. And everything became clear.
This is a fabulous post-modern take on a lot of really interesting stuff - I won't spoil the discovery for you here. But like most of his novels, you have to be prepared to enjoy a story full of for whimsy, imagination and you need to pay attention. And then do it all over again.
I'm giving my brain a break but will re-read it again in a couple months. I just can't stay away from his stuff.
It took me more than a little effort to finish this book, but I am glad that I did. As usual, the guiding questions and interview at the end helped shed light on an otherwise confusing premise. Mattel’s writing is beautiful even if his concepts are a little eccentric.
Three stories woven with common themes: Portugal, chimpanzees, grief, death, and a physical journey.
*
This book was a slow meditation - and looking at the reviews, I can see that many people just couldn't get past the plodding of the first story. Perhaps it was easier with the audiobook format. Following Tomas on his journey was a struggle - but that was the point. The second story with Dr. Eusebio took a fantastical bent, and included probably one of the most interesting philosophical soliloquies I've ever read, delivered by the doctor's wife, Maria, drawing distinct parallels between Jesus and the writing of Agatha Christie. The third story, truly a love story, was beautifully done and plucked my heartstrings. I wanted to take a roadtrip with this wonderful little chimp, Odo.
Beautifully done, with many thoughtful pieces throughout - this one will stay with me for a long while.
*
This book was a slow meditation - and looking at the reviews, I can see that many people just couldn't get past the plodding of the first story. Perhaps it was easier with the audiobook format. Following Tomas on his journey was a struggle - but that was the point. The second story with Dr. Eusebio took a fantastical bent, and included probably one of the most interesting philosophical soliloquies I've ever read, delivered by the doctor's wife, Maria, drawing distinct parallels between Jesus and the writing of Agatha Christie. The third story, truly a love story, was beautifully done and plucked my heartstrings. I wanted to take a roadtrip with this wonderful little chimp, Odo.
Beautifully done, with many thoughtful pieces throughout - this one will stay with me for a long while.
adventurous
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
The book is divided into three sections, and I found each section to be better than the last. The novel took me a while to get into-I wasn't super invested in the initial main character, or his storyline, so the first section really plodded along. The second section drew me in, and the last section kept me more glued to the page. Each section's main character deals with a major loss in their life, and what I found most compelling about the novel was discovering how each of these characters dealt with that loss uniquely.
Has Martel become a worse writer, or have I become a more critical reader? Whichever the case, The High Mountains was disappointing. It reads more like three separate short stories than like a novel. None was very memorable on its own. Presumably they're meant to count for more than the sum of their parts, but I couldn't make itadd up.
Dreadfully disappointing. I loved Life of Pi immensely, and the Helsinki Roccamatios was not bad, but Yann Martel's last two books have been pretty terrible for me. He can be such a fantastic writer, but the heavy-handed literary themes in this particular novel were off-putting to say the least. The book is basically three loosely (very loosely) connected stories, none of which have any resolution or real interest. The final section was the most interesting for me, but even it too eventually proved disappointing. I wanted so badly to like this book (especially after I was so badly burned after Beatrice and Virgil), but alas, this was not to be the case.