Fiction / Free Verse Poem
336 pages
5 Stars
Herr Ransmayr had me with the first two words: "I died"
What? Wait a minute. If you are dead how can you write such a beautiful book? I had to keep reading and frankly found it difficult to put down.
The story is narrated by Padraig and is about growing up with his brother, Liam, the alpha male, the father's favorite, the one who knew no fear. It tells how Liam not only got Paddy to move to his island off the coast of Ireland but got him to go on a trip he didn't want to make to Tibet to climb a mountain that flew.
This is a story of two men who love each other, who fight, who grow, how one learns acceptance and the other learns survival. I laughed out loud in places, and I cried in places, and I truly think I am better for having read this book. It is one I will read a second time, perhaps a third.
Please, don't let the idea of it being blank or free verse, a long narrative poem, cause you not to pick it up, and read it. I guarantee you will only be aware of the form when you first pick it up. The story is gripping from the beginning, to the flashbacks to Captain Daddy and his maneuvers in the Irish mountains, to the climbing of the mountains in Tibet. Ransmayr is a master at his craft.
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