Sep 04, 2009 08:18 PM
4553 Views
(Updated Sep 04, 2009 09:20 PM)
Some people have dreams that are so outrageous that if they were to achieve them, their place in the history would be guaranteed.
But what if one man had such a dream & when fulfilled it, there was no proof that he had achieved his ambition?
Jeffery Archer’s Paths of Glory is inspired by the true story of one such man called George Leigh Mallory & being a master story teller he has spun a yarn that is very engrossing till the last page.
Hats off to the author to get the plot from a true story, which is about the adventures of mountain climbing, conquering Everest to be precise, then met the mountaineer, historian, George Mallory II, etc to get some info about the incidents that took place between 1892 to 1924 and then convert it into a book of 460 pages of engrossing read. He must be saluted for writing the nail biting mountain climbing sequences.
For George Mallory mountain climbing was his first love & Ruth his wife, was his second love. And he was killed by one of his love.
The author has built the main character with such fineness that it grows with you as the time heads forward from 1892 to 1924, which is the beauty of this book.
The journey of George, which begins with his admission in Cambridge, speaks volume about the character. He was not allowed to enter the premises because his appointment was at 3 & he was late by few minutes. Had he have failed to get the admission, he would have been the first Mallory for the four generations not to be educated at Cambridge. He climbs the wall & enters the premises to meet his appointment.
Reaching on top of the Mount Everest was his dream. He wanted to be the first man to do that & it was a dream come true when he was chosen to lead the team selected to climb Mount Everest. He promised his wife that this was his last climb & the rest of his life they will live together.
The journey to the destination via Bombay & Tibet border is very well narrated. India was then under the British rule & Mr. Archer did explain how we were treated by them. The corruption at Tibet border was a shocker to read.
Their target was to climb the top, which is 29002 feet above the sea level. George & one of his associate manages to climb the height of 28500 plus feet & when they were just at a stone throw distance from their target the unexpected storm forced them to call off their mission.
On their return he was still treated as a hero as no one has managed to climb that height before.
2 years later in 1924, the committee again nominates him to lead the team to climb Mount Everest. His wife permits him as it was his dream to conquer Everest. But destiny had something else stored for him. He did manage to reach the top with another person & died while they were climbing down after making history, though there was no proof of their achievement.
The book besides narrating the story of George Mallory opens those closed doors, which no common man has managed to peep through. Example - British wanted only a British man to be the first man to make history. No other national. The game the selection committee plays while selecting the team. How to disqualify the player you don't want to be in the team.
The book though based on mountain climbing adventures has its share of romance between George & his wife Ruth. There are some beautifully written letters by George to Ruth, which gives new dimensions to the relationship between a husband & a wife.
This book is strongly recommended to all.
