Why the Hell Bother?
How Climbing the Seven Summits Changed My Life.
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3.6 • 5 Ratings
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- $3.99
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- $3.99
Publisher Description
A book for adventurers, enthusiasts and spectators alike. The author presents a neutral and, at times, painfully honest account of the trials and tribulations, both physical and emotional, associated with preparing for and engaging in the "Seven Summits" challenge. At times, the sheer scale of the adventure seems to border on the unimaginable - but the reader is constantly provided with the fine details, against the most truly remarkable backdrop, that make this story both compelling and inspiring throughout. I expect some people to read this book and immediately sign up to the nearest and most incomprehensible of challenges and I expect others to read it and breathe a sigh of relief that the thought had not occurred to them, but, and in every way more than that, I expect that everyone that reads this wonderful narrative will delight in the humanity of the retelling.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Gilbert (The Last American Man) grafts the structure of romantic fiction upon the inquiries of reporting in this sprawling yet methodical travelogue of soul-searching and self-discovery. Plagued with despair after a nasty divorce, the author, in her early 30s, divides a year equally among three dissimilar countries, exploring her competing urges for earthly delights and divine transcendence. First, pleasure: savoring Italy's buffet of delights the world's best pizza, free-flowing wine and dashing conversation partners Gilbert consumes la dolce vita as spiritual succor. "I came to Italy pinched and thin," she writes, but soon fills out in waist and soul. Then, prayer and ascetic rigor: seeking communion with the divine at a sacred ashram in India, Gilbert emulates the ways of yogis in grueling hours of meditation, struggling to still her churning mind. Finally, a balancing act in Bali, where Gilbert tries for equipoise "betwixt and between" realms, studies with a merry medicine man and plunges into a charged love affair. Sustaining a chatty, conspiratorial tone, Gilbert fully engages readers in the year's cultural and emotional tapestry conveying rapture with infectious brio, recalling anguish with touching candor as she details her exotic tableau with history, anecdote and impression. (On sale Feb. 20)
