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18th out of 157 books
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The Snow Leopard
When Matthiessen went to Nepal to study the Himalayan blue sheep and, possibly, to glimpse the rare and beautiful snow leopard, he undertook his five-week trek as winter snows were sweeping into the high passes. This is a radiant and deeply moving account of a "true pilgrimage, a journey of the heart."
Paperback, 352 pages
Published
August 4th 1987
by Penguin Books
(first published August 30th 1978)
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Read this, which I've had for years, in 3 days. Brilliant, vivid account of Matthiessen's journey with a biologist and a team of porters and sherpas through the quiet, snow-covered and strange Himalayas. The biologist is seeking to observe the rutting of the region's unique blue sheep. Matthiessen is seeking an encounter with the more secret snow leopard, a not-so-vieled metaphor to the real substance of the journey, which is a quest for enlightenment. Interwoven are reflections on the histo...more
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I discovered a lot about myself by reading this book; one, I love learning about the spiritual experiences of authors, two, I love learning about people that culturally different than me, and three, I don't particularly like reading about the particulars of the terrain. I don't think I would have had the same response has I read this book thirty years ago. I know a little about spiritual development and Buddhism, so I appreciated the author's comments about both. However, I was, as usually, disa...more
I really took my time with this book. I didn't want to be disturbed by the sounds of subway trains, interrupted by phone calls or daily trivialities. This wasn't a read I just 'fit in' but truly savored. And oh, my heart hurts a little now that it is over. It is a slow book, and thus may not appeal to those looking for action or conclusion even. It is a book that celebrates the spark of life that propels us towards transcending our heavy human existence in pursuit of something...more. Here, the ...more
FIVE STARS AND BEYOND! This memoir chronicles, in the form of a daily log, the months-long trek Matthiessen took in the Himalaya with legendary wildlife biologist George Schaller. GS had planned the expedition to observe montane wildlife - primarily the snow leopard and its prey, the blue sheep. PM, a student of Buddhism, made the journey as a kind of pilgrimage after the death of his wife. Their ultimate destination was a range so remote it was nearly impenetrable by travelers and its villages...more
I started reading this book, expecting to enjoy it. I love travelogues, natural history and animal discoveries, studying animal behavior... and I put this book down. Matthiessen's tone drove me bonkers. I may try it again later. He is not a lens through which to observe a part of the world...it's all about him, and, quite frankly, I found him boring.
Carolanne
marked it as probably-not
Brandon read a little of this out loud to me and I really liked it and maybe one day if I am stuck on a deserted island, I will read this! Although, I don't know if my mind is deep enough for all the Buddhist philosophy! But I feel like this is the type of books I should be reading, instead of….oh lets pretend that I am re-reading the whole Flowers in the Attic series and I know it is really trashy but yet I can’t put it down. See! Instead of filling my mind full of perverted brother/sister rela...more
For those who read this book a long time ago, when it won the National Book Award in 1978, and for those who have never availed themselves of the pleasure, I must break my lame habit of not reporting and encourage you to read (or re-read) this book. Peter Matthiessen treks with his biologist friend, GS, to the inner Dolpo region of the Himalaya - GS, to study the mating habits of the bharal ( a rare breed of "blue" sheep), and Matthiessen, to find himself after the death of his wife, n...more
Cliches become cliches because of their truth. So noting that the journey is more important than the destination fits here, in a book whose title refers to the author's quest to view the snow leopard in its Himalayan habitat during a perilous late fall journey to the remote Dolpo region of Nepal, an area so far from the rest of the world that the author's traveling companion notes the total absence of machine sound, even the engine noise of a plane. Matthiessen fails to see the snow leopard, b...more
I heard a recent interview with Peter Matthiessen, which inspired me to read the classic that made him revered among nature enthusiasts and spiritual seekers-of-meaning. I have found the book to be more of a meditation than an objective account of a journey, and I'm slowly absorbing it, a few passages at a time.
It's interesting, sometimes even inspiring, but in terms of holding interest, I find it less than compelling. A stream-of-consciousness chronicle, it's a series of closely re...more
It's interesting, sometimes even inspiring, but in terms of holding interest, I find it less than compelling. A stream-of-consciousness chronicle, it's a series of closely re...more
In his first summers, forsaking all his toys, my son would stand rapt for near an hour in his sandbox in the orchard, as doves and redwings came and went on the warm wind, the leaves dancing, the clouds flying, birdsong and sweet smell of privet and rose. The child was not observing; he was at rest in the very center of the universe, a part of things, unaware of endings and beginnings, still in unison with the primordial nature of creation, letting all light and phenomena pour through. Ecstasy ...more
The author journeys across the Himalaya into Tibet facing the mountains and his true self. High in the mountains, awesome in their stillness and silence and yet vibrating with energy, Emptiness is only an illusion that contains all Life. Looking through clear air at a landscape of snow and rocks shimmering in the sunlight the author perceives his own reflection as he takes part in the perpetuating life, but realizes that he’s unable to completely abandon his thought habits and freely follow the ...more
This one was sitting on a free book shelf for a while, but I eventually took a look, and it seemed interesting, so I snagged it. Glad I did! Mountain trekking + "Eastern" religions. Good stuff.
12: Himalaya - the alaya (abode, or home) of hima (snow).
42: Amazingly, we take for granted that instinct for survival, fear of death, must separate us from the happiness of pure and uninterpreted experience, in which body, mind, and nature are the same. And this debasement of...more
12: Himalaya - the alaya (abode, or home) of hima (snow).
42: Amazingly, we take for granted that instinct for survival, fear of death, must separate us from the happiness of pure and uninterpreted experience, in which body, mind, and nature are the same. And this debasement of...more
Traversing the mountainsides in the relative warmth of the huddle of human bodies in a closed vehicle, I heard the wind whipping outside. The valleys were green after the onset of the rains and the water in the river had a shade of turquoise to it. Far away on the mountainsides appearing and re appearing in the mist were the herds of Yak. There were dwellings of men scattered among the valleys and it always surprised and excited me to know of humans who lived amidst so much silence. On the slick...more
Peter M. has a way with words. Some of his descriptions are magical. But two things get in the way. One is that he seems to say that he was high (not in the altitudinous sense) throughout the trip, and did not enjoy coming down. This, in a travel writer, from whom we require truth above everything else, is a negative: what was real? The other is that he is overly attached to mysticism. He seems to not know what is, ultimately, obvious: he is the core of the story and the rest is dross. Yes, we ...more
A non-fictional account of a memorable trek through the Himalayas and Nepal by a celebrated writer. This book was highly recommended to me by my older brother, a practising Buddhist and connoisseur of great books so I took his word for it. Matthiessen tells an incredible story that gets off to a rough but quickly shifts into a gear suited to the icy terrrain he treks through. Each step, each vista, each village charts the author's spiritual progress as he ascends higher and deeper into a remo...more
I read this in Laos but lost it somewhere in Muang Khua, so had to wait until returning home to read the last 100 pages. Reading this while eating alone in restaurants gave the impression of a conversation with Matthiessen that stopped and started with my meals, and also lying in bed. Such an ideal way to read this book. It taught me some about Buddhism, about which I am extremely ignorant, and motivated me to learn more from different sources. In Nong Khiaw, a roach as big as a mouse crawled un...more
I was so excited about reading this while in Mongolia- not far from where snow leopards used to be seen. But, I was disappointed to find that the book, although celebrated during the 1960's, was a really self-centered account, I thought, about one man's travels and his struggles with his divorce and estranged child, his feeling of having missed too many important years through drug experimentation, and so on. He took off on tangents, which took on a strained quality, in trying to associate them ...more
Yes, this book is beautifully written. It describes the himalayas in great detail and there are some truly beautiful passages. However, there is also too much who-put-what-tent-where narrative which just bored me.
Matthiessen's condescending attitude towards the people he met along the way makes uncomfortable reading. He seems to have no respect for them or their way of life. It is fitting that Tukten, who gets drunk and bullies the other porters, is his favourite.
He spends a large proportion o...more
Matthiessen's condescending attitude towards the people he met along the way makes uncomfortable reading. He seems to have no respect for them or their way of life. It is fitting that Tukten, who gets drunk and bullies the other porters, is his favourite.
He spends a large proportion o...more
This is a wonderful book! Originally published in 1978 and republished a couple of years ago, it follows the author's journeys through Tibet and Nepal to find the snow leopard. The writing throughout is beautiful and full of delightful details of the countryside, people and wildlife, as well as with observations on the erosion and deforestation often found. The journey is hard, days are spent trekking through snow and along narrow ledges on the side of impossibly vertiginous mountains. The journ...more
I read this book years ago based on a friend's recommendation. He is a science teacher who travels with students to many countries, and he has recommended good books to me in the past. I found this book fascinating- it's historical and mystical/metaphorical. I still don't fully grasp the Buddhist way and the search for enlightenment, etc., but this book certainly helped me understand that more. I like that the book is much more than searching for a VERY rare leopard; it's really about searching ...more
Best book I've ever read.
Most of my reading list has stemmed from Adventure Mag's top 100 Adventure books of all time list (where I found this one). And while this is a wonderful tale of hardship, endurance and adventure, it's much more than that. Since reading this book, I have been on a quest to finish the rest of the Matthiessen collection, but so far this one remains my favorite.
If, like me, you are equally interested in natural history, the Himalayas, hiking, and r...more
Most of my reading list has stemmed from Adventure Mag's top 100 Adventure books of all time list (where I found this one). And while this is a wonderful tale of hardship, endurance and adventure, it's much more than that. Since reading this book, I have been on a quest to finish the rest of the Matthiessen collection, but so far this one remains my favorite.
If, like me, you are equally interested in natural history, the Himalayas, hiking, and r...more
Per my book club, I brought a copy of this on a rainy back packing trip with only a week to finish. He bounces from spiritualism to nature travel throughout the book. I learned a lot - firstly that summer rain in the sierras is not rough mountain weather, and a lot about religious history. I also learned that goats and sheep have different preference when it comes to sucking their own genitalia and drinking their lovers urine (water sports!). Finally I learned that in the 70s it makes sense to s...more
Matthiessen is one of my favorites, in fiction and nonfiction. I read this book chiefly because I have recently returned from the Himalayas, walking the trail on which he begins his 2-month odyssey. I am not a Buddhist, but learned all about it here.
Matthiessen is struggling to overcome his grief and guilt over the death of his estranged wife. He is also guilty about leaving his young son for such a long time. This sets up a grave conflict with his Buddhist desire for "nothingness"...more
Matthiessen is struggling to overcome his grief and guilt over the death of his estranged wife. He is also guilty about leaving his young son for such a long time. This sets up a grave conflict with his Buddhist desire for "nothingness"...more
the snow leopard is my favorite animal, and i've liked other books i've read that are influenced by buddhism, so i had high hopes when i found this at the library. i was disappointed (and didn't finish it). it's basically a very long journal following one american guy's hike with a researcher into the mountains in nepal, describing the various people he encounters in pretty stereotypical ways (maybe because it's from the 1970s, but there was no need then, either), and not finding any snow leopar...more
A masterpiece of travel and nature writing that gloriously transcends both genres. This is one of the best books I've ever read in the English language. Yes, that's right. I'm including a quote at the end of this review so you can see what I'm talking about. When you get to that quote, try reading it aloud. The beauty of those words spoken will break your heart.
At age 46, in 1973, Peter Matthiessen walked, with biologist George Schaller, from Kathmandu to the Crystal Moun...more
If I had to choose between trekking the Himalaya for myself in this lifetime or reading Matthiessen's book, I would choose the book--that is how much I relished this sensitive soul's exquisite perceptions of the psychic emanations of his journey. His complete engagement with the landscape brings it to life for the reader, and I feel that I am navigating the landscape of his spiritual journey as much as the physical--the mountains, villages, flora and fauna he describes so skillfully. The inner...more
Heidi Thorsen
added it
I started this book because my husband loved it, but I made it about halfway, gave up, then just flipped open to random pages to skim to the end. The book is basically a day-by-day travel diary. How much you enjoy it depends on how much you care about the minute variances in each day during a trek through remote terrain in the 1960s. As far as I was concerned, I pretty quickly lost interest in knowing that the author was able to wash his socks in a stream one day that he wasn't able to do the...more
I liked the style, and I appreciate the trek story and local detail of a region that I know next to nothing about. And clearly, the author is amazingly disciplined in his style--few authors are as tight and controlled and yet elegant in their writing as Matthiessen. But for some reason, I was just not in the mood for Zen Buddhist teachings when I read this. The book is more about reaching a state of mind than reaching a destination--and these little spiritual and philosophical lessons are int...more
Matthiessen's book is now on my favorites list. The book is successful on many levels. First, this book is gripping as a travelogue, full of vibrant images and an otherworldly quality. Secondly, the book serves as an exploration of the author's struggle to come to terms with his wife, Deborah Love's, death the year before as well as his own fear of inadequacy as a father (e.g., he seems to struggle with the very fact that he has left his children for this epic journey to Inner Dolpo). Finall...more
This book is a classic for a reason. Matthiessen beautifully describes his journey to the land of the snow leopard, and in the end it doesn't matter that he never catches a glimpse of one: the journey itself is what matters.
Matthiessen undertook this journey, and later wrote the book, in a time when he was coping with the heartbreaking loss of his wife, and the lens of loss does color Matthiessen's reflections along the way. That adds extra depth to what could otherwise have been ju...more
Matthiessen undertook this journey, and later wrote the book, in a time when he was coping with the heartbreaking loss of his wife, and the lens of loss does color Matthiessen's reflections along the way. That adds extra depth to what could otherwise have been ju...more
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Peter Matthiessen was born in New York City in 1927 and had already begun his writing career by the time he graduated from Yale University in 1950. The following year, he was a founder of The Paris Review. Besides At Play in the Fields of the Lord, which was nominated for the National Book Award, he has published six other works of fiction, including Far Tortuga and Raditzer. Mr. Matthiessen's ...more
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“And only the enlightened can recall their former lives; for the rest of us, the memories of past existences are but glints of light, twinges of longing, passing shadows, disturbingly familiar, that are gone before they can be grasped, like the passage of that silver bird on Dhaulagiri.”
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“It is related that Sakyamuni [the historical Buddha] once dismissed as of small consequence a feat of levitation on the part of a disciple, and cried out in pity for a yogin by the river who had spent twenty years of his human existence learning to walk on water, when the ferryman might have taken him across for a small coin.”
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