Loved the book eventually but had a hard time initially getting into it. Characters were very well written and sympathetic.

I haven't read anything by Fredrik Backman, but I can't recommend this book to fans of Elena Ferrante, not sure about Paulo Coelho though (considering the blurb).

Actually the comparison with Elena Ferrante drove me to request an ARC.

It is a very slow, melancholic, partly emotional, partly dull (I'm trying to avoid the word "boring", because it doesn't do the novel justice, but it is partly very close to my feeling), with beautiful deserted landscapes (mountains) and characters that are out of touch with reality (mountains men in heart and soul).

Maybe because I read a lot of gay fiction, I was longing for those two men become more than just two friends. Up to the very tragic end. In vain. No, I'm not totally convinced here. There were for sure more between them, but we would never know.

What a strange book! Sad and strange...And in a strange way strangely captivating...

Finally, some much overdue international reading. Winner of the prestigious Italian Strega Prize and a bestseller in its native land, this is a lovely tale of friendship and mountains...or friendship in the mountains. I'd never climb a mountain, would never want to, but reading Cognetti, you can easily see how one might (literally or metaphorically), what such an accomplishment might do to enhance one's very existence. Cognetti writes (and presumably the translators did this one justice, because it reads so well) with a competence and assurance of a first rate author, though his characters consistently get upstaged by the scenery. So this in fact for me was a nature book more so than a dramatic story. Cognetti's descriptions are gorgeous, stunningly vivid, lovingly detailed...it's practically like walking along the Italian mountains without leaving your personal cozy reading space, completely transporting experience. He is much more reticent when it comes to his characters, a quintessential mountain man and his nomadic lifelong friend. Theirs is a genuine friendship, that very precise camaraderie that stands the test of time and changes, but inevitably the differences weight in too heavily...ultimately their world are just of two different sizes and their discontent souls roam those boundaries in their own ways. It's a quiet fanfare free almost understated sort of story elevated to great altitudes (mountains puns, I know, irresistible) by the sheer beauty of language and descriptions. It's possibly all a metaphor, the mountains as grand yet surmountable challenges, much as life, much as relationships, peaks and valleys of it all, search for those elusive moments of grace. Very enjoyable and quick read. Recommended. Thanks Netgalley.

A beautiful narration of a bond of friendship and understanding that forms in the mountains between two young boys Bruno and Pietro.

The story is narrated to us from Pietro’s point of view and through him, the author weaves a tale about family, loss, love and wanderlust in generations that came before him. Pietro’s Father loves hiking and climbing mountains and it is his company during these excursions that later on inspires Pietro to travel the world in search of mountain peaks, community stories and glaciers. At one point when they were making their way to Grana, his father turned to him and asked him“In your opinion, can the past happen again?
His inability to provide the right answers or later on, to fully immerse himself in climbing these mountain peaks leads to a falling out with his father. At thirty one, he finds himself going back into the mountain in search of the man he loved but also didn’t get along with and this is where Pietro comes into the awareness of life, loss, love, aspirations and the question posted to him by his father back then comes back to him and for a moment he believes “…in certain lives, there are mountains to which we may never return.

I loved how the story unfolded for the writing is very beautiful and simple making this an enjoyable read. The characters are also as dynamic and some though constant like Bruno’s Uncle, you get the feeling that they seem resigned to the life they lead and cannot fault them for that.
I also felt that the introduction of Lara, Pietro’s ex and then Bruno’s wife- was symbolic in that she tried to change the “mountain man” that was Bruno, into a business man and when that failed, she left him carrying along with her their daughter Anita. I however do not know if this was one of the many tragedies that haunted Bruno; the first one being the question that “what would he have become if his parents would have let him proceed to Milan for further studies?”
I was challenged by Pietro and Bruno’s friendship because thirty years is quite the time to be friends.

I’d recommend this book to avid readers of well woven tales that involve a bit of mysticism, wanderlust and if you have read Paulo Coelho’s books and traveled with him on those life changing journeys, then this book is right in your path.
Thank you NetGalley and the Publisher.

3 stars

This book is filled with wonderful and breathtaking descriptions of the mountains, the countryside and their meaning to the inhabitants living near the Dolomite Mountains. The relationship between the two boys in the novel was typical though well described.

The rest of the book, that is those parts away from the mountains, was rather mundane and became a little tedious.

I want to thank NetGalley and Atria Books for forwarding to me a copy of this interesting book for me to read and enjoy.