ABOVE ALL THINGS

by Tanis Rideout
 
When I started this book I knew absolutely nothing about Mt. Everest or any of the people who have climbed it.  I had no idea who the first person was to make it to the top. But even if you are someone who knows a lot of Everest history, I think this will still be an extremely enjoyable book, just a bit less suspenseful.
 
This breakout first novel tells the story of George Mallory and his third attempt to summit Mt. Everest in 1924.  But the novel splits its time between Mallory’s narrative and that of his wife, Ruth. Somehow Rideout makes the wait for news at home just as exciting and suspenseful as the climb itself. And without her side of the experience I would have found it much harder to empathize with or understand Mallory’s obsessive need to summit at all costs.
 
Above All Things is based on the facts available and many of the letters between George and Ruth, but is largely speculative, particularly in some of the more dramatic moments. I won't say more about the plot in case you, like me, don’t know how Mallory’s adventure ended.  But I will highly recommend this as a beautiful work of historical fiction that introduced me to people and places that were entirely new to me and have stuck with me for many months after finishing their story. (Lily)