''Climbers'' is a literary novel by the British author
M. John Harrison
Michael John Harrison (born 26 July 1945), known for publication purposes primarily as M. John Harrison, is an English author and literary critic.Kelley, George. "Harrison, M(ichael) John" in Jay P. Pederson (.ed) ''St. James guide to sci ...
.
First published in 1989 and apparently set several years earlier, the book had been out of print for several years but was reissued in paperback by
Phoenix in 2004. It has attracted considerable critical acclaim and won the
Boardman Tasker Prize for Mountain Literature
The Boardman Tasker Prize for Mountain Literature is an annual prize of £3,000 awarded by the Boardman Tasker Charitable Trust to an author or authors for "an original work which has made an outstanding contribution to mountain literature". The p ...
in 1989. It was not, however, universally popular with the British climbing public and received at least one negative review in the popular magazine ''Climber''.
Plot summary
The novel concerns the adventures of “Mike”, who, recovering from a failed marriage, falls in with a clique of hard core
northern rock climbers
Rock climbing is a climbing sports discipline that involves ascending routes consisting of natural rock in an outdoor environment, or on artificial resin climbing walls in a mostly indoor environment. Routes are documented in guidebooks, and o ...
and becomes immersed in an intense and inward-looking lifestyle in which climbing is so important that “real life” is all but excluded.
Mike is initially fascinated by this rather strange group of people and is in awe of their focus and technical competence on the rock, while their obvious incompetence in more mundane areas of life only seems to increase their glamour. For a while Mike loses himself in this closed little world but in the end seems to become disenchanted with its narrowness.
The overall tone of the book is very much one of disappointment and alienation. The pivotal event is the death of the enigmatic “Sanky” who falls 30 feet from the
5b crux of a climb he has soloed without difficulty many times in the past. His friends cannot believe he has died on an undistinguished climb that was well within his technical competence and seem to have difficulty understanding the obvious fact that a 30-foot ground fall is more likely to result in death than a twisted ankle.
The locations are easily recognisable by anyone who has climbed in the
Peak Peak or The Peak may refer to:
Basic meanings Geology
* Mountain peak
** Pyramidal peak, a mountaintop that has been sculpted by erosion to form a point Mathematics
* Peak hour or rush hour, in traffic congestion
* Peak (geometry), an (''n''-3)-d ...
and
Pennines
The Pennines (), also known as the Pennine Chain or Pennine Hills, are a range of highland, uplands mainly located in Northern England. Commonly described as the "Vertebral column, backbone of England" because of its length and position, the ra ...
.
Harrison does find beauty in this sometimes harsh and occasionally post industrial landscape but in keeping with the general tone of the book his eye is sometimes rather jaundiced. Describing the pleasant view from the top of
Stanage Edge he chooses to focus on the cement factory at
Hope
Hope is an optimistic state of mind that is based on an expectation of positive outcomes with respect to events and circumstances in one's own life, or the world at large.
As a verb, Merriam-Webster defines ''hope'' as "to expect with confid ...
. Although the story is set in the (mostly) picturesque town of
Holmfirth
Holmfirth () is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees, West Yorkshire, England. It is located south of Huddersfield and west of Barnsley; the boundary of the Peak District National Park is to the south-west. The town is sited on t ...
, he devotes his descriptive powers to Lodge's supermarket, the one truly hideous building in the town.
In several interviews Harrison has said that he was pleased with the book.
References
1989 British novels
Climbing and mountaineering books
Victor Gollancz Ltd books
Novels set in Yorkshire
Holmfirth
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