A Gripping Tale of Triumph and Tragedy: Touching the Void, the Last Great American Novel

Sean: Joe really does have a beautiful writing style, for someone from Sheffield! The details he remembers from the climb and events after made this book hard to put down. As a climber from Sheffield myself, I thoroughly enjoyed the added technical details.

United Kingdom on Jul 16, 2023

Jim-C: Amazing book, amazing story

Germany on Jul 15, 2023

Susie: An inspiring story made all the more incredible for its truth and honesty . Incredible and well written . It’s hard to say it’s enjoyable but it’s certainly unforgettable .

United Kingdom on Jul 11, 2023

David Noonan: This is a book that you can’t put down.
The very imagination which overcame my testosterone as a young man considering risky adventures, evoked the horror of Joe’s experiences in my mind.
I wanted to stop reading it, but I couldn’t.
Amazingly well written, concise and evocative text and an incredible story of survival…..don’t miss the chance to read it!

Australia on Apr 26, 2023

KatMarie: I finished Touching the Void a few days ago and can’t get it out of my head despite my mixed feelings. This story is completely engrossing and wholly consuming. I would have read it cover to cover in a single sitting if I’d have picked it up earlier in the day. As it was, I put it down around 2 or 3 am and ending up dreaming of the disastrous events on the mountain all night. I picked it up again up immediately upon awaking.

Part of what makes this book so compelling is that these horrific events are written beautifully by the participants in them. Simpson does a masterful job of articulating the joy and inspiration of climbing as well as the frustrations and irritations of the setbacks. But where this story really excels is in the way Simpson brings to life his and Yates’ terror, horror and heartbreak when things go catastrophically and tragically wrong.

Where my feelings are mixed is in the arrogance and egomania that compelled Simpson (and to a lesser extent Yates) to make this climb in the first place. I have read a number of books and watched a few documentaries on other disastrous mountain climbs. I am always fascinated yet frustrated with and a little...

United States on Jun 06, 2021

Cheryl: Survival on an entirely different level than a TV show. Survival when no one expects you to live. Simpson's story is one of total perseverance, dogged determination, and hope. It touched me in a way I didn't expect. I've read a number of hiking and survival books that had obvious, reliable endings. With this one, I kept having to remind myself that Simpson lived. And he's telling the story. It's not a fantastical yarn spun by an author who's only experience comes from research: This really happened. The fact that I had to keep reminding myself of that made me appreciate this book even more. Simpson's writing is engaging, it captured me completely; I had to force myself to put it down.

I'm an avid hiker, and I've been in positions where I've had to turn around because the situation was becoming unsafe or time was against me. Because of that, I kept expecting them to turn around at some point or for an injury to occur sooner, forcing them to accept defeat. Their "can do" attitude and their thoughtful determination allowed them to summit and make it as far down as they did. However, it was also their downfall. I read "Deep Survival" by Laurence Gonzales prior to this, and he...

United States on May 05, 2020

Bradley M: This was a page turner.
While I’ve read a few mountaineering tragedy books, this was a much more acute recounting of a personal survival story in a place that is difficult enough to survive in, even when you don’t have a broken leg. There is no team or expedition. It’s just two guys in the mountains, alone. Then tragedy strikes.
You certainly feel their helplessness.
Admittedly, I sped through this book. I knew there was going to be an accident and I knew Joe’s climbing partner was going to cut the rope - these are things that are in the description. And I knew that Joe was going to survive (the book was written by him), so the addicting part of this book for me was experiencing his struggles along the way and ultimately the moment he finds safety.
So, because of the nature of the action in this book, it keeps you ‘on the edge of your seat’ and it goes fast. You are also genuinely terrified for Joe as he recounts his obstacles, and he also intertwines the perspective of his climbing partner, Simon throughout key points in the story. This really adds dynamic to the story, and huge conflict - as after Simon cuts the rope, his story moves from rescue to...

United States on Dec 04, 2017

Richard Bagshaw: Joe Simpson and Simon Yates, two young but proficient mountaineers, were the first to scale the West Face of the Siula Grande in 1985. The story of their ascent would itself have made for an interesting read. This is, however, merely a doom-laden prelude to the disaster which befalls the two climbers. During their descent from the peak, Simpson falls and breaks his leg; leaving him unable to climb unaided. What follows in the extraordinary tale of he and Yates' elemental struggle to make it back to base camp in near-impossible circumstances.

Touching the Void is a powerful work. The tale itself is a simple but gripping account of survival; man is pitted against a nature so raw and unforgiving it will likely seem alien to most readers (myself included). Simpson's prose is masterfully understated. He describes the beauty of the Andean setting and his deteriorating mental state towards the end of his descent with the same crisp precision as the technical details of his climb. The hostility of the environment and the unravelling of his body and mind are harrowingly detailed. Indeed, if Touching the Void has a flaw, it is that is it sometimes unforgiving in its simplicity. Very...

United Kingdom on Oct 29, 2013