The High Mountains of Portugal

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Grief engenders both emotional and physical exile for the characters in Yann Martel’s fourth novel, told in three intersecting tales spanning nearly a century. A trio of men who have each suffered great losses set out on individual quests to heal their broken hearts – journeys that come together in unexpected ways. Martel likens love to a “house with many rooms,” and the three narratives are called, respectively, “Homeless,” “Homeward,” and “Home.” The story is layered with elements of allegory, fable, and magical realism, all of which work better in some places than in others. YM: Three worked well on many levels. Yes, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. But also three states of belief: dis-belief, belief, actual presence with. Three states of home: homelessness, homeward, home. But none of that I actually thought. The story just broke into three parts naturally, organically, and I respected that and went along with it.

THE HIGH MOUNTAINS OF PORTUGAL | Kirkus Reviews THE HIGH MOUNTAINS OF PORTUGAL | Kirkus Reviews

It all seems a little unorthodox but her request seems not unreasonable and he begins by making an incision along the plantar fascia. Vomit oozes out. “That’s unusual,” he thinks but carries on regardless. When he gets to the abdomen, he finds a baby monkey and a rhinoceros.That’s just what I’ve always wanted,” cries Maria. “Please sew me into my husband’s body with them.” It is a tight fit but Eusebio just about manages it. His depiction of loss is raw and deeply affecting but it s the way in which he contextualises it within formal religion that gives this book an extra dimension. Martel s writing is enriched and amplified by the abundance and intricacy of his symbology (touching on Job, St. Peter, Doubting Thomas and the parables of Jesus) and his probing of religion s consolations. Martel is not in the business of providing us with answers, but through its odd, fabulous, deliberately oblique stories, his new novel does ask some big questions. "The Telegraph "(four stars)

‘The High Mountains of Portugal,’ by Yann Martel

This is a list of the mountains in Portugal, including the mountains with more than 1400 meters of elevation and with, at least, 100 meters of topographic prominence. Martel studiously avoids giving any offence here, by making sure that every one of his ideas is hedged and muddled. The central motif running through the novel’s three sections is a chimpanzee, and each story touches on the Darwinian notion that “we are risen apes, not fallen angels”.

In Lisbon in 1904, a young man named Tomas discovers an old journal. It hints at the existence of an extraordinary artifact that if he can find it would redefine history. Traveling in one of Europe s earliest automobiles, he sets out in search of this strange treasure. Written with nuanced beauty; not for nothing has Martel established himself as our premier writer of animal-based fiction. Toronto Star The third part of the narrative is called “Home.” This section begins in Canada in 1981. Peter, a politician, is grieving the death of his recently deceased wife. To his surprise, he discovers that he has made a strange connection with a chimpanzee at a research facility. He finds their interactions oddly comforting.