by James Salter
First published 2012
Vernon Rand spreads tar on California rooftops by day, but his real life begins on the rock faces of nearby mountains. The charismatic climber lives for the vertical world, where talent and nerve matter more than anything else. The local ranges no longer challenge him enough. Rand makes his way to the French Alps, drawn by their legendary peaks and true mountaineering culture. The fearsome Alpine walls demand everything he has learned about climbing and more. Each ascent pushes him closer to the edge between triumph and disaster. Rand discovers that danger awakens something vital in him. The moments when death feels closest are precisely when he feels most alive. His quest for bigger walls and steeper faces becomes a test of who he really is.
Genres: fiction, literary-fiction, adventure, contemporary
Vibes: emotional, intimate, suspenseful
Tropes: character-growth, man-vs-nature
Setting: California, French Alps
Period: 20th-century
218 pages · Kindle Edition · Open Road Media