A Novel Life: Above All Things by Tanis Rideout

Publish Date February 4, 2014

1924. George Mallory is arguably the last great British explorer, having twice tried—and failed—to conquer Mount Everest. The mountain has haunted him, but his attempts have captivated the hearts of a nation desperate to restore its former glory after World War I. Yet George has sworn to his wife, Ruth, that he will not mount a third attempt. He will remain with her and their three children instead of again challenging the unreachable peak.

Then, one afternoon, Ruth reads a telegram addressed to George: “Glad to have you aboard again.” And with this one sentence, the lives of the Mallorys, and the face of the nation, are irrevocably changed.

My Review:

I have to admit that climbing Mount Everest has never been something that I wanted to do or had an interest in. Starting this book I had no background or information on mountain climbing. Within the first couple chapters I was hooked. I could not put it down. Ruth was an interesting to me as George was. Seeing how Ruth dealt with being left behind, yet again, and raising her three young children kept me entertained. George’s adventures on the mountains kept me on the edge of my seat. I had to know if he would get to the next camp, would he make it through the night fighting off frostbite, and most importantly would he make it to the summit.

Above All Things was a slow read. I did find myself having to go back and re-read a page or paragraph and having to page back to see exactly whose memory I was reading. I didn’t feel like the words were always smoothly written, but yet I could not put the book down. By the time George was making the final push to make it to the summit, I loved this book and knew I would definitely share and recommend this book. While there is romance, there is so much more to this book. I truly feel that men and women alike will truly enjoy reading this story.