Ghost Story - “Thin Air” by Michelle Paver.
It is 1935. A group of Englishmen are preparing to climb Kangchenjungathe third highest mountain in the world. Five men, among them two brothers, and a group of Sherpas supporting their journey with their strength. Doctor Pearce, the main character and narrator, gave up his life, a chance for promotion, a fiancée, to accompany his brother in fulfilling their dreams. They dreamed about this mountain from childhood. And although they are not in the best relationships on a daily basis, the younger of the brothers hopes that this adventure will bring them closer together.
Many years ago, another trip was going the same way. Unfortunately, the few returned alive. The one who survived becomes the beginning of the uncertainty accompanying the doctor. In order to build the aura of danger, the Sherpas beliefs and superstitions add up, the memory mounds and the deteriorating atmospheric conditions are passed from time to time. Slowly, Pearce's psyche begins to play tricks on him. Or maybe it's not the fault of the high? Maybe something is happening on the route that nobody has foreseen?
I must admit that the book reads very quickly and smoothly. There is no downtime or long delays, and in itself is quite short. I like books about himalists very much, I read reportages, I am a big fan, so I was not sure if the novel would meet my requirements. I was expecting a really dark story, a thrilling one. There was no chill. There were not too many emotions at all. The characters from this story are flat and I hardly knew anything about them. I was not even able to imagine their appearance well, I will not mention the characters. The only person I met was the narrator, Dr. Pearce. It is a pity that the author was not tempted to expand the character, maybe if she wrote something more about them the reception could be much better. Especially that you can not refuse author the talent to create descriptions, she created the right atmosphere. I could easily imagine the roar of the wind, the creak of snow or the overwhelming dead. The more I am surprised by this treatment of heroes. The first-person narration forces the reader to look at everything with his eyes, a man who feels anxiety from the beginning. It is really good point of view thanks to which the reader succumbs to the hero's psychosis. I can not say that the novel is bad. Absolutely not. There is a suitable setting, climate and a good plot. For me, however, there was something too little. I could not empathize, I felt no fear, no compassion, nothing. I read it and that's it.
