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Product Description
Book Description
A thrilling and moving new novel from the acclaimed author of Touching the Void.
Product Description
As her hand slips from his grip, Patrick's life is shattered, forever changed. The Sound of Gravity is a harrowing, dramatic and powerful tale of love, loss and redemption as that haunting split-second memory changes the course of a lifetime. Trapped high on a stormbound mountain face in the icy depths of winter, the stricken young man is forced to fight for his life. Half a lifetime later, haunted by grief and guilt, Patrick is freed from his self-imposed vigil when at last the mountain releases his heart-rending secret.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
It has been a long time since I picked up a work of fiction and have been so captivated by the writing. I wasn't familiar with this author and picked up the book idly whilst browsing. I bought it straight away and read it in three sittings. As with the other reviewer, to comment further on the synopsis would be to ruin the story, so I won't do that but I will say that this book is beautifully written and constructed. You won't want to put it down. The character of Patrick is highly developed and it seems that you really see the depths of his thoughts.
Thoroughly enjoyable and recommended. It is refreshing to find a modern novel that is both beautifully written and with a good story line as opposed to many modern novels that are purely concerned with art for art's sake.
Great story, wonderfully written. That's all that need be said.
Thoroughly enjoyable and recommended. It is refreshing to find a modern novel that is both beautifully written and with a good story line as opposed to many modern novels that are purely concerned with art for art's sake.
Great story, wonderfully written. That's all that need be said.
23 of 28 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
It is always hard to praise a work of fiction without giving much of a plot away and spoil a firsthand experience a reader would otherwise have. I won't add much more to the synopsis but would tell you this: it is very moving, beautifully written and if you have a bit of spare time can be read in one or two sittings. The impact is of course longer and if you haven't read other works of the author you would rush to get them straight away. Highly recommended.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Joe Simpson is well known for his none fiction writing about mountaineering, so much so that he (or his publishers) felt the need to add "A Novel" to the title of this book. This is an important point, for while Simpson has published a novel in the past, fiction writing has not really help to build his deserved reputation as a writer.
So readers need to be prepared for this change of direction.
The second thing that many people may find surprising is that this novel is a love story. It's about the love of a woman lost, a love refound and, ever present in the background, the love of the mountains.
The open pages of this book are remarkable - and it's probably worth reading the whole book just to find out where the such a remarkable beginning ends. Some reviews have suggested that the first section of the book - revolving around a death and a desperate descent from a mountain - it too long, too detailed and too slow. I disagree - this is what Simpson knows best, and the detail along with the compression and expansion of time in this section of the book clearly has the ring of experience to it.
The second half of the book - set 25 years after the first - sees the development of the more standard (and possibly predictable) section of the book. Simpson does not shy away from showing mountaineers as less than noble, and I think it is this feeling of realism that saves this section of the book from sentimentality.
At their heart the best mountaineering books are about the relationship between the climber and the mountain. The parallels to human relationships are clear - obsession, passion and risk all play a role in both mountaineering and love. And it may not be a coincidence that exposed or poorly protected sections of climbs are known as `committing'. Once you commit, your life may never be the same.
I don't think this book is destined to become a classic, but it is an interesting exploration of the links that can form between people and mountains.
If you want a book that explores the details of climbing routes and gear placements, this will not be the book for you.
If, on the other hand, you want to read a book that explores a different aspect of mountaineering - the way that the mountains can come to mean so much more than just a physical challenge - then this book may be for you.
Recommended.
So readers need to be prepared for this change of direction.
The second thing that many people may find surprising is that this novel is a love story. It's about the love of a woman lost, a love refound and, ever present in the background, the love of the mountains.
The open pages of this book are remarkable - and it's probably worth reading the whole book just to find out where the such a remarkable beginning ends. Some reviews have suggested that the first section of the book - revolving around a death and a desperate descent from a mountain - it too long, too detailed and too slow. I disagree - this is what Simpson knows best, and the detail along with the compression and expansion of time in this section of the book clearly has the ring of experience to it.
The second half of the book - set 25 years after the first - sees the development of the more standard (and possibly predictable) section of the book. Simpson does not shy away from showing mountaineers as less than noble, and I think it is this feeling of realism that saves this section of the book from sentimentality.
At their heart the best mountaineering books are about the relationship between the climber and the mountain. The parallels to human relationships are clear - obsession, passion and risk all play a role in both mountaineering and love. And it may not be a coincidence that exposed or poorly protected sections of climbs are known as `committing'. Once you commit, your life may never be the same.
I don't think this book is destined to become a classic, but it is an interesting exploration of the links that can form between people and mountains.
If you want a book that explores the details of climbing routes and gear placements, this will not be the book for you.
If, on the other hand, you want to read a book that explores a different aspect of mountaineering - the way that the mountains can come to mean so much more than just a physical challenge - then this book may be for you.
Recommended.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
A story of heart-wrenching devotion to a lost love
Joe Simpson's credentials mountaineering writer are well known. I was surprised and intrigued to see a novel written by him. Read more
Published 11 days ago by H. O'Sullivan
Very hard going - had to give up in the end
I was very disappointed by this book and to be honest I ended up having to give up on it. I found it really difficult getting to grips with his style of writing and found it really... Read more
Published 1 month ago by Misqué
Promising
I've read a couple of Joe Simpson's non-fiction books and they are good. I had the problem with them though that they are full of mountaineering vocabulary and it makes them... Read more
Published 2 months ago by R. P. Sedgwick
Well written but long-winded (contains spoilers)
I got this from Amazon Vine on the back of Joe Simpson's previous book "Touching the Void" which I throughly enjoyed. This is a novel however, rather than a true story. Read more
Published 4 months ago by Telboy
Not For Me
The peril of being a Vine reviewer is that sometimes you pick something that, whilst it isn't by any general definition terrible, turns out not to appeal to you. Read more
Published 4 months ago by C. Green
Captivating
I'd been waiting for another book from Joe Simpson for a good number of years having greatly enjoyed his previous works. Read more
Published 5 months ago by J Dunster
Disappointment
Well I have read all Joe Simpson's books and absolutely loved them. But sorry to say I just couldn't get on with The Sound of Gravity. Read more
Published 5 months ago by Mrs. J. A. Thompson
Mixed feelings about this one, but overall I liked it
Ostensibly this is a love story set against the backdrop of mountaineering and the savage conditions of winter climbing. Read more
Published 5 months ago by Alison
Better than I had expected!
As an average climber and fan of the outdoors, I'm fully aware of "Touching the void" and Joe's life. However, I'd no real idea what to expect from the book when I ordered it. Read more
Published 6 months ago by oldstuff
Imagination has no boundaries
When I chose this book, it was because I was clearly remembering the wonderful descriptions of mountainous areas which Joe Simpson had written about in 'Touching the Void'. Read more
Published 6 months ago by Richard M. Seel
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