Tuesday, March 5, 2013
Brutal
I do not know why, but this book is probably the most difficult thing that I have ever had to read. It is not the content, or the style, but the way that it is written. For some reason, more so than any other adventure or fantasy narrative that I have ever written, this is nearly unbearable. When Simpson breaks his leg and describes his injury I almost cringed in real life. Perhaps I feel this way because it is a true story, but I literally had to put the book down and stop reading for a while. It just seemed too real and malicious to be true. I just had such a vivid picture of the pain and suffering that he was experiencing that I could not keep on reading. It is one thing for people to read about death and suffering in long lost history text books or fictional stories, but a real first hand account is something completely different. Reading this almost felt like watching a snuff film or something awful like that. It was too real and drawn out; it was painful to read because it made me feel sadistic to have the book in my hands. Honestly, I think that if I had the choice I would not have finished the book. I am proud of him for making it down the mountain and surviving his one in a million ordeal and I think that it is something worth celebrating, but I had no desire to live the experience as Simpson wrote it.
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I completely agree on every level. Simpson's narrative was definitely the most difficult for me to read thus far in the semester. I did not at all enjoy reading the brutally descriptive details of his leg injury and excruciating pain; however, I developed a strong dislike for the book before catastrophe even struck. More than the uncomfortable details, I think I found his writing style most problematic. Compared to Krakauer's incorporation of relevant anecdotes or Norgay's inclusion of Buddhist ethics, I found Simpson's writing style too straightforward and dry. I was honestly bored for the duration of the narrative. I could tell Simpson was not a writer before the event and did not find his first attempt too successful. I greatly admire his ordeal and rescue, however, and would be interested in hearing his motivational speech.
ReplyDeleteAfter seeing the movie, it was brutal to watch even the reenactment of the climb. The leg breaking scene and the cutting of the rope scene were especially powerful. Having a great soundtrack didn't hurt either. But it definitely magnified the sense of danger for me. Even more harrowing was the loneliness that Simpson had to go through. (Side note: I think he's a fantastic actor) Every howl of agony seemed to strike a chord in me and I almost questioned the believability of his survival. In my opinion, there are some things that really cannot be conveyed with as much force unless you see it. That's the type of reaction I had while watching the film. Seeing Simpson dangling helplessly on the rope is so moving and I couldn't take my eyes off of it. The film adaptation seemed really close to the book and I'm glad I saw it. I think the film deterred me from ever mountain climbing even near that level.
ReplyDeleteI disagree on the topic of writing style. I thought that considering how harrowing Simpson's ordeal was, the only appropriate way in which to communicate it was in a straightforward, no-flourishes manner. Anything else would have diminished Simpson's experience in the re-telling, and as difficult as it may have been to read, that's also the point. It was a nasty ordeal, and I appreciated Simpson's attempt to present it as such. In addition, considering the difficulty he had in dealing with his experiences, I can't reasonably expect Simpson to write me anything flowery. Giving it straight was probably the only way he was able to get through the writing process.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Clark regarding the film taking the pain and difficulty of this story to a another level. Joe even says while narrating the film that he literally could not put his feelings at certain times into words, and so it's only natural (I think?) that I felt the book did not grip me quite as much. Not only from a pain point of view, but even from a mountaineering point of view, I had a difficult time picturing what was happening--as such, I was inclined to detach myself from the texts in the difficult times as a way to hurry to the end, where I knew he would make it out alive. In the movie, that simply was not an option. The movie was useful in giving us a better sense of the setting, and also accomplished what the book understandably could not--take his pain, so great it was beyond his capacity to describe it, and instead show it to us in the most horrifying way.
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