The Steady Running of the Hour

February 24, 2014
Go’s debut is ambitious in many ways: it evokes a time of privileged daring in which British climbers, defying post-WWI disillusionment, climb Mt. Everest with foie gras at the ready; it depicts a love that transcends time and disdains convention; and it fluidly moves between past and present. The contemporary story concerns Tristan Campbell, an aimless 20-something who stands to inherit a vast fortune if he can track down documents that prove he’s descended from Ashley Walshingham, a mountaineer, and Ashley’s lover, Imogen Soames-Andersson. Go amps up the pressure on Tristan by giving him only two months before the will’s provisions expire. Tristan is a dogged researcher who’s willing to trust his luck, digging through libraries and archives across Europe and uncovering letters drenched in love and sorrow, but he doesn’t initially find the evidence he needs to show that he is Ashley and Imogen’s heir. He falls in love with a Frenchwoman, but their connection lacks spark. Meanwhile, Tristan delves further into Ashley and Imogen’s love and its destruction by the forces of war and convention. Their story, as told in flashback, feels heartfelt but overwrought, and the trench warfare and climbing scenes, while competently executed, mine an oft-depicted period without adding much that’s new. Agent: Dorian Karchmar, WME Entertainment.

Justin Go's extraordinary novel is a tale of a wandering American's discovery of a tragic WWI love story and a 1920s expedition to Mount Everest. It would be wonderful in any format, but narrator Steve West's excellent performance adds texture to the story. West has a strong, clear voice and a cultured British accent that evokes Cambridge, the tragic war, and the imperial mountaineering story. There's a fertile tension between West's performance and the sometimes callow first-person account of the young American protagonist. West's pace is perfect, and his character dialogue is easy to follow. His accents--English, French, German, Swedish, and Icelandic--provide ambiance without being distracting. This is truly worth a listen. F.C. © AudioFile 2014, Portland, Maine