Title of the Book: Into Thin Air
Author: Jon Krakauer
Number of Pages: 332
Rating: ☆☆☆☆
Review:  Imagine the most tragic and disastrous expedition up Mount Everest. Now imagine being immersed into the novel written by the man that survived that exact expedition. Into Thin Air, crafted by Jon Krakauer, articulates the details of his trip up the infamous mountain. Krakauer was paid to travel up the mountain by an outside magazine, and his expedition starts off with repeated acclimation climbs  and getting to know his fellow climbers. As they continue up the mountain, the expedition becomes more and more risky. It’s not until a massive storm rolls onto the mountain that everything starts to slip down a slippery slope.  

This novel is woven with deep moments of tension, along with intense depictions of his emotions. This novel is so unique because I feel as though I am making the trek up with Jon Krakauer alongside him throughout the entire book. Krakauer is able to articulate his emotions and the senses he is interpreting into words like no other. From his writing, I can tell Krakauer is very aware of his surroundings and the types of people around him. In his novel, he is constantly analyzing to a deep self-aware level. For example, he is always scrutinizing the dynamics between the climbers and the lack of a teamwork environment. Krakauer’s language and tone are both incredibly intense. However, without this severe writing style, Jon Krakauer’s book would not be what it is. It would not feel as though the reader is living inside the novel. There is an unexplainable level of passion that is driven straight from the writer to the reader in this novel.

Although this entire novel was masterfully crafted, there were a few moments that resonated with me. As Kakauer was analyzing the dynamics between his climbing team, he said that they were only linked together through circumstance, not through commitment to each other. The team was not truly working together and supporting each other on deep emotional levels. This moment of scrutiny really showed me how a team must work together, and be rooted in loyalty, or else the team will fall apart and distance itself. There were also moments of extreme perseverance that I loved and connected with, but I cannot spill the details without ruining the book!

Overall, I would definitely recommend this novel to someone else, especially if they enjoy action stories and moments of major tension. Into Thin Air tells the story of an expedition unlike anything else that has ever occurred, and the author does a spectacular job of recreating every moment of it. Jon Krakauer in general has written a fantastic books, and this novel hits a whole new level because he actually experienced what he was writing about.