In 1909, while dreaming of the Himalaya, Norwegian mountaineer Alf Bonnevie Bryn and a fellow young climber, the Australian George Ingle Finch , set their sights on Corsica to build their experience. The events of this memorable trip form the basis of Bryn’s acclaimed book Tinder og banditter – ‘Peaks and Bandits’, with their boisterous exploits delighting Norwegian readers for generations. Newly translated by Bibbi Lee , this classic of Norwegian literature is available for the first time in English. Although Bryn would go on to become a respected mountaineer and author, and Finch would become regarded as one of the greatest mountaineers of all time – a legend of the 1922 Everest expedition – Peaks and Bandits captures them on the cusp of these simply two students taking advantage of their Easter holidays, their escapades driven by their passion for climbing. As they find themselves in unexpected and often strange places, Bryn’s sharp and jubilant narrative epitomises travel writing at its best. Balancing its wit with fascinating insight into life in early twentieth-century Corsica, the infectious enthusiasm of Bryn’s narrative has cemented it as one of Norway’s most treasured adventure books. Peaks and Bandits embodies the timeless joy of adventure.
It recounts the haphazard antics of 3 young men in the early 1900s traveling with fake money, laxative pills and a snake named James throughout Corsica to discover its valleys, mountains, bandits and women.
Particularly enjoyed the self-depreciating humour that I did not think a Norwegian mountaineer could be possess. None of this, 'I've vanquished this mountain,' more, 'that's kinda surprising we didn't kill ourselves climbing that.' An enjoyable, refreshing read for someone who likes to giggle as opposed to be overawed by mountain exploits.
Peaks and Bandits is the story of Alp Bonnevie Bryn and George Ingle Finch's student holiday to the Mediterranean island of Corsica. Now freshly translated by Vertebrate Publishing, the travelogue appears in English for the first time.
Mountaineering is only the back-drop for tales of James the snake, the discovery of a matriarchal society and various other capers which ultimately lead them to stand a top of tall objects. I expected something a bit more sombre given the track record of the author but from the first pages it's clear that no one is taking themselves or their ambition very seriously, it's just a few mates having a laugh on a budget.
With events taking place in 1909, Peaks and Bandits was only published years later in 1943. Despite the gap, the events are still described with the arrogance of youth. Alp presents his sometimes preposterous theories about mountains and the world, but thanks to their inexperience and good-nature, everything works out nicely in the end.
The book is a great weekend read and a nice antidote to more recent mountain literature which focuses on the joy of suffering. Highly recommended!
Great Corsican climbing adventure, and funny. This was a perfect book for a recent 2 night camping trip. Light, interesting and witty, it reminded me of The Ascent of Rum Doodle but being fact not fiction even better for it. Clearly they were adventurous climbers, Bryn the author becoming notable for first ascents in his native Norway and Finch as a member of the 1922 Everest expedition, but this adventure was so much more. A reminder of an age when the adventure was door to door, the overland travel by rail and boat, exploring unknown (to tourists) valleys and being amongst mountain people who had little notion of tourist mountaineers. That's how it was before guidebooks and cheap air travel, and perhaps in coming years mountaineers will fly less and rediscover the adventure of the whole journey. The historical aspect, even if it isn't a comprehensive history of Corsica, sheds light on families, mafia and banditos - who turn out to be not quite what I at first thought - all beautifully interwoven into their mountain adventures. Bryn's quirky thoughts and theories delighted me. This book is apparently a 'classic of Norwegian literature'. I don't know how it came to be translated by Bibbi Lee, or how Vertebrate Publishing came across it but I am glad they did! I loved it. Highly recommended.
Although this book is described as 'jubilant', it was only upon reading it that I found the author possesses a wonderful, whimsical, sometimes surrealist, and sometimes decidedly satirical, sense of humour. This adds much liveliness to the narrative throughout.
Our cast of characters, too, is interesting, ranging from our youthful student antagonists to various protagonists along the way. The 'bandits' of the title, however, turn out to be very friendly indeed, and even (PLOT SPOILER), in the case of the author, distant relatives!
My particular favourite scenes in the book were those involving James the snake, and the mysterious mountain village full of beautiful girls and run by a matriarchal gangster who insists that the youth eat (and otherwise enjoy) their fill.
Fun, lively, and full of adventure, it's easy to see why this has become a Norwegian classic. A truly riveting read, and full of ripping adventure, I highly recommend this little book to armchair adventurers and real life risk takers alike.
First published in 1943, ths classic of Norwegian literature has only now been published in English (in an excellent translation by Bibbi Lee).
In later life, Alf Bonnevie Bryn became an acclaimed mountaineer, writer and engineer but this book covers an expendition he made as a student. He and the Australian George Ingle Finch (who himself in later life became one of the greatest mountaineers of all time) made a trip to Corsica in 1909.
Even before getting to Corsica the pair were demonstrating their mountaineering prowess by climbing the rigging of the boat taking them to the island. What follows is a humourous telling of a real adventure, full of incident and memorable characters including a snake called James.
This short (less than 120 pages!) narrative not only gives an engrossing and entertaining view of the mountaineering aspect of the expedition, but also gives insight into the Corsican culture of the time. So alongside the details of difficult climbs, river crossings, improvising snowshes and skis from found materials and coping with the very basic facilities (even in the then best hotels in Corsica) the book gives very interesting insights into the way of life in rural Corsica. In the early twentieth century Corsica was a land of banditos and long running blood vendettas between families. In addition, the book offers a potted history of forests in Corsica from the rich forest cover that lasted until around 1600 to the pipe making industry that used tonnes of pine roots from Corsican forests from the middle of the 19th century into the 20th century. The author also offers an interesting perspective on the concept of geographical discovery:
"Neither George nor I have been recognised by geographical science as the discoverers of Corsica. Also we have been too reticent to demand such recognition, even though it may have been well deserved. The discovery of a populated country will always be a strictly subjective endeavour. Both Leif Erickson and Columbus separately discovered America. The only difference between them on one hand and me and George on the other, was that they did not know what the country was called."
This ia well worth reading whether you're interested in the mountaineering or the history of Corsica. It packs a huge amout into a short narrative and is consistently interesting, informative and amusing. Bibbi Lee's translation is excellent too, the reader gets a real feel for the author's own voice and the humour works (humour is one of the things that can be most difficult to translate).
This book is brilliant fun, very much the sort of rollicking yarn which you can imagine being related over whisky in a mountain hut. Though some of the exploits seem to have come straight from The Ascent of Rum Doodle, surprisingly this is a factual account!
It opens with the author dangling on one side of an Alpine ridge, with his partner in a similar situation on the opposite side.... But unlike many other accounts of mountaineering peril, it skips neatly via an anecdote of OG Jones into explaining why they were there in the first place - to move a stolen weather station to the top of the mountain to impress a girl! And then we rush on to the expedition to Corsica, in which anyone will recognise the travails of the impoverished students equipping themselves with counterfeit coins, doing battle with the inhabitants of guesthouses and bars, taking the cheaper trains, and having a jolly good time throughout.
An attempt at buildering the outside of the Leaning Tower of Pisa (and a footnote detailing the Italian first ascent of its North Side), a snake named James, some impromptu skiing, a decidedly Homeric visit to a hidden valley occupied by a matriarchal society of beautiful women and enormous sheep, and a familial connection to the local bandits - all are described with charm and vigour. I read it in one sitting, laughing aloud at each new revelation or seat-of-the-pants escape!
The translator, Bibbi Lee, has done a fantastic job of rendering the droll and self-deprecating tone of the narrator, and despite all the antics of the author and his friends, there was a surprising amount of historical insight too. Who would believe that the author's friend George goes on to become a legend of the 1922 Everest expedition and the author himself made many first ascents in Norway? This book is a great reminder that even smaller journeys and lower peaks can offer infinite amusing adventures.
Described as a classic of Norwegian literature, this little gem recounts the travels and adventures of two student climbers on an exploration of Corsica in 1909. Written with a dry wit and understated accounts, their exploits are highly amusing, sometimes farcical, and the tale is wrapped in historical and topographical detail. The author adopts a self-effacing role as sidekick to the occasionally dangerous George, an Australian who is often up for a bit of a rumble with some of the characters they encounter. The hapless Max, George’s inexperienced younger brother, makes an appearance part way through their 2 month long expedition and his youthful energy is soon exploited by Alf and George. A light-hearted history of Corsica is interspersed with accounts of hidden villages, bandit families and vendettas, pranks with a snake on two annoying policemen, dispensing laxatives to unwary sick villagers, passing off counterfeit coins and a range of unplanned climbing epics. It is the stuff of adventure and travel writing in an era when transport and accommodation were challenges to be endured before the central purpose of exploratory climbing could even begin. Bryn has a delightful turn of phrase, the humour permeates throughout the book, the characters are larger than life, especially his friend George (George Ingle Finch, 1888-1970), who is credited as the first person to climb above 8000 metres on the 1922 Everest expedition as well as recording a number of Alpine first ascents. Bryn himself was responsible for several first ascents of Norwegian peaks, excelled in many sports, wrote crime fiction and was a respected expert in patent law. A short period piece to make you smile, and a fine addition to the climbing genre.
The adventures of a couple of newly acquainted friends and their hilarious escapades in Corsica is a must read for anyone with even just a passing interest in travel, whether they climb or not.
Unlike modern climbing books about reaching the summit, training hard and sending these guys were doing it for fun and the climbing was almost secondary to the adventures they had meeting the wildly varied and interesting locals along the way (and then having to avoid some of them afterwards!).
If you want something fresh to read, despite its vintage grab this, you won't be disappointed.
Jeg vil nok tippe at mye av handlingene i boka er nærmere roman enn sakprosa, men akkurat det har ikke så mye å si, når lesegleden blir så stor som i denne morsomme og ikke minst spennende reiseskildringen fra Korsika. Også skal man ikke alltid ødelegge en god historie med for mye fakta.
This book proved to be an unexpected pleasure, a delightful read. It was not at all what I expected. Initially I was a bit concerned that the book might offer a rather dated account of what in reality is the tale of two student's mountaineering holiday to Corsica in 1909! It couldn't have been further from the truth. The book infact reads pretty much like any modern travel account of student travel on a budget, where two friends seek ever more ingenious ways of making their funds go further, except without website links and selfies to distract you. A true tale of raw mountaineering and exploration adventure with some Corsican history thrown in for good measure. Comic incidents which are extremely entertaining litter the travelogue such that it is truly difficult to put the book down. You really want to discover what the pair get up to next. As I say the book, now finally translated from the original "Tinder og Banditter" which was originally published only in Norwegian way back in 1943, is a tale of an intrepid "Easter holiday" to Corsica in 1909. Two young students who were later to go on to become famous for their future exploits, Norwegian Alf Bonnevie Bryn (especially for his first ascents back in Norway) and Australian George Ingle Finch (for his role in the 1922 Everest Expedition) travel by land and sea to, at the time, the remote Mediterranean island of Corsica, which was often troubled by longstanding family feuds especially in it's isolated and remote valleys which the two intrepid adventurers sought to discover on their various journeys over the mountains between poorly mapped valleys. A bit reminiscent in parts to "The Ascent of Rum Doodle" but factual rather than pure fiction. I found myself reading many of the comic incidents a number of times to make sure I got the full impact. If you want to learn how wearing your boots on your feet halves the weight you need to carry you'll find advice on page 16. If you've wondered what role a bath and a snake play in the world of mountaineering or how to make your own skis read on. We are also treated to tales of climbing the Leaning Tower of Pisa, how to rank mountains to ensure you only ascend those worth climbing and many more incidents, of which, I will not spoil the surprise, will raise a smile throughout the book, including a final wee teaser to leave you thinking about the real purpose of their adventure. Enough said. A small but perfectly formed mountaineering travelogue undertaken with a great sense of adventure and fun.
Highly enjoyable read. Now that it is translated into English it should be in every mountain adventurers bookcase.
Even though this book describes events from over a hundred years ago, it is still very enjoyable and full of the exuberance of youth on a trip with a lack of knowledge and a minuscule budget, something that resonated with myself. It gives a fascinating snapshot of life in the Corsican mountains in the early 20th century, but sprinkled with humorous moments throughout.
A short read, but well worth it. Perfect for a night in a tent.
This book is definitely not to be taken too seriously. If you are looking for details of awe inspiring ascents and epic tales of survival, keep looking. You will, however be entertained by the exploits of Alf and his two companions as they caper across Corsica in the early years of the 20th centaury. It had a few proper laugh out loud moments and generally jogged along in an irreverent manner. One wee point of contention for me was a central plot twist involving the abuse of a snake. It's definitely a book of it's time but I'd recommend it for a long journey or a winters night in your tent.
A delightful offbeat climbing book, translated from the Norwegian. Obviously very adventurous climbers for the time, the author made a good few first ascents in Norway. A time when adventure was often more local and when you travelled further how you could being among folk who had little notion of tourist mountaineers. Some good stuff on Corsica and the underhand goings on there as well.
Great fun! "there was clearly a steep rock face, but never steeper than vertical"! "Even though you have filled your hat with crumpled-up paper - something you should always do if you have a novice climber above you on a mountain - this helps very little against a one-quart ceramic jar full of C&B marmalade"
This was a delightfully witty dip into a world of old school adventure and exploration. Before adventure holidays were a thing this is a great read for anyone into climbing walking or simply going somewhere new.
Stories from mountaineering in Corsica around the turn of the 20th century. At times the stories are very funny and the book is entertaining throughout. Recommended.
At times really witty, this book is something of a gem, recounting the exploits of a couple of university students as they take on Corsica. I have now doubt there is a fair amount of embellishment and exaggeration in the tale, but this oddly lends it an authenticity as we know this is what the young are prone to do. It has made me more curious about the island's history, and its hills.