Above All Things

Above All Things (2012) by Tanis Rideout. This is a moving, tragic novel about the 1924 attempt by George Mallory to climb Mount Everest. The book shifts back and forth between Everest and England, first telling the story from the point of view of Mallory, then from the point of view of his wife, Ruth, who was waiting for him back in England. Needless to say, Mallory's attempt to climb Everest was unsuccessful, but the book itself is a great success, bringing to life what it must have been like to live in the 1920s in a time when English expeditions were making their first assaults on the peak. By the time the novel ended, I really felt great sympathy for Ruth, Mallory's widow, who had gone through the agony of waiting for him and then not having him come back. The book is based on historical facts, although the author has taken many liberties in order to make it flow and to give it an authentic feel. This is a very good book. Grade: B+