Touching the Void: The True Story of One Man's Miraculous Survival

Touching the Void is, simply put, the story of the human spirit's ability for survival against all the odds. There are many occasions where both Joe and Simon could have given up; many moments when it could all have been for naught; but they kept going, and both lived to tell the tale. Simpson's writing is, as ever, vivid and visceral, putting you up on Siula Grande with him. We vicariously experience his time in the crevasse, his efforts on the glacier, and then his crawl back towards the camp, wondering if there will be anybody there even if he does make it. You know all along that he survives, but when he reaches safety you want to cry out because he describes it so painfully well. This is what the book is about.

With the impending release of the movie, and widespread radio coverage in the UK featuring interviews and editorials, a terrible misconception has crept in. Almost everyone who has come into the shop and asked me about the book has said, "I heard about this book on the radio. It's about a climber who cuts the rope on his friend. Do you have it?" By focussing on Simon Yates' cutting of the rope, it seems that everyone is missing the point. Far from a cold-hearted act, everybody fails to acknowledge that had Yates not lowered Simpson down several thousand feet of the mountain, a non-stop feat of incredible courage and fortitude, Simpson would not have survived, period. Simpson himself does not blame Yates for his actions, and this is the lead we should be taking. All these people who have never been on a mountain in their lives saying, "Ooh, he broke the code, he shouldn't have done that," just have no idea.

I'm glad the book is selling well, and deservedly so, but I wish it could sell for the right reasons and not because people want the inside story on The-Man-Who-Cut-The-Rope.


The Odyssey of Joe Simpson   June 30, 2001
sweetmolly (RICHMOND, VA USA)
19 out of 21 found this review helpful

This is not primarily an adventure story about climbing. It is an account of one man, not just facing the abyss but being in the abyss and having his very being stripped to a raw struggle, not to survive but to want to survive.

Simpson and a climbing partner in an excess of youthful bravado planned a new route up a monster Andean peak in Peru. The area was remote and civilization was somewhere else. After an arduous ascent, Simpson fell and broke his leg while descending. The reader gradually realizes what a chilling horror has befallen the pair. They have no possibility of rescue; the mountain was almost unclimbable for two superb athletes with two good legs. How can they possibly get down when one of them is unable to walk?

Partner, Simon Yates, ropes Simpson to himself and tries to guide Simpson down who is forced to crawl, slide, and inch himself forward. Then Simpson goes over the edge of a cornice and is dangling with only the rope holding him over the void. Yates heroically digs in, but gradually he himself is being inexorably drawn to the chasm. He finally, with shuddering reluctance, cuts the rope, and Simpson falls many feet into a crevasse.

The rest of the book is Simpson's six-day excruciating journey down the mountain: his thoughts, hallucinations and agony. Simpson is a powerful writer without a trace of self-pity. He doesn't try to impress us with his stoicism - far from it, at times he is almost mad with fright. There is nothing lurid here; the book is exhausting, but thought provoking. You won't forget it easily, and you cannot help but wonder what it is like beyond the edge and into the maelstrom.


A gripping story   May 15, 2003
19 out of 28 found this review helpful

This is the story of Joe Simpson's extraordinary ordeal and miraculous survival while climbing in the Peruvian Andes. While the book is not quite as extraordinary as his ordeal, it's still pretty good.

Simpson takes the reader along practically step-by-step as he and partner Simon Yates make a difficult climb up the mountain Siula Grande. He falls and breaks his leg high on the mountain, takes a 100-foot fall while trying to descend, then crawls and hobbles for three days to camp after Yates leaves him for dead. He openly shares his emotions and pain as he repeatedly faces what seem to be certain-death situations.

It's an often gripping story. Even though it's clear that Simpson ultimately survives (how else could he write the book?), I still read eagerly on to see exactly how he would do it. A nice addition to the tale are some small portions written from the perspective of Yates.

That said, I do have a few issues with the book. First, even though it's only 172 pages, it's too long. This really should be more of a long magazine article, rather than a short book. Most of the first third of the story -- the climb up to the summit, before Simpson breaks his leg -- is probably of interest only to serious climbers. Also, while it is nice to that Simpson shares his experience in so much detail, he overdoes it. As he struggles agonizingly toward camp, his descriptions of his pain, his doubts and his fear of death get repetitive -- I found myself skimming ahead to the next key event.

I was disappointed in the photos in the book, which are printed on plain stock, rather than glossy, paper. As a result, many of them are dark and murky.

Finally, the book comes to a strange and abrupt end. The brief postscript is too short and rather cryptic, and doesn't include any information on what ultimately happens to the other figures in the book, Simon Yates and their campmate Richard.

Still, if you like adventure stories, you'll find a lot to like in this book.


a quick read...   March 31, 2004
Madame (Louisville, Kentucky United States)
15 out of 32 found this review helpful

Where to start....

well, the story itself is riveting. LOTS of technical details, which is to be expected, but a bit difficult unless you've had Mountaineering 101! Familiarising yourself with basic mountain-climbling terms would be a help before you plunge into this incredible story.
I found myself asking these questions at the end of the story:
Joe, how was your vision?

did you have more surgery when you got home?

how was your recovery at home, physically and mentally?

have you climbed with Simon again?

why didn't Simon write so much as word one for your book? not even the briefest of comments in the intro?

why did you abruptly cut off the "epilogue"?
It leaves the reader wondering just what happened to you after you got home?

How was the journey home?

Why didn't we hear Simon speaking for himself?

How is it that you found the desire and strength..inner and outer..to go climbing again?

I'm glad I didn't pay full price for this book, and I plan to give it away to a friend who is "into" climbing.
The story is interesting enough, but I was left at the end saying WHAT?! that's the END???? Not in a breathless way, but slightly disappointed.