Battling the elements/wilderness stories

[weeble123]

Just read This Thing of Darkness and been reminded how much I love a good adventure story about battling against the elements in some harsh, bleak strange land.

Think it all goes back to being 8 years old and totally gripped by Laura Ingalls Wilder esp The Long Winter.

Have enjoyed a few climbing stories like Touching the Void but think I prefer the more historical ones. Read The long walk home or whatever it was called a while back and eveb though it was a bit rubbish still quite liked the whole struggle for survival thing. At the other extreme, also enjoyed the first three Clan of the Cave Bear but got bored with the story going nowhere and didnt bother with the rest.

Any suggestions?

Any suggestions?

Hmm, interesting.

A. Rutgers van de Loeff's Children of the Oregon Trail is a children's book but pretty amazing and definitely reminiscent of The Long Winter.

Matthew Kneale's English Passengers is about English settlers in Tasmania, great book with a colonial theme.

Apsley Cherry-Garrard's The Worst Journey in the World is a memoir of his role in the Scott expedition... have to admit I was too cowardly to read the whole thing, though!

Will keep thinking.

Call of the wild & White Fang
Grapes of wrath

I've just read one about settlers in USA / Hudson Bay Trading Co. and a man being found dead and a mother going off to find her son who may or may not have done it - name escapes me but maybe someone will recognise?

Oh yes, had forgotten about Jack London, like the Sea Wolf too.

Don't think I know the one your describing but think I read one set in the same area involving early settlers, chopping down trees and a clash between foolish 'civilised' British customs and the struggle to stay alive. Cant remember much else about it

Is the English Passengers worth sticking with then? I've tried and given up on it a couple of times, for reasons I can't remember either

Ah, I think you're talking about The Tenderness of Wolves, iseenodust. It didn't quite live up to the hype for me but is still very much worth reading.

I loved English Passengers but these things are always v. personal.

Wow MoonC that's impressive - you're right !
Missed the hype having just picked it up in the library. I quite enjoyed it. Weeb part of the narrative is the struggle against Canadian winter.

I thought The Tenderness of Wolves was good and was about to recommend it .. great minds think alike :)

Doctor Zhivago has some fairly epic scenes in it with Yuri battling against the elements. The film has superseded the book in many people's minds but I think the novel is worth a read.

There's a weird but strangely memorable novel called The People's Act of Love by James Meek which involves a escape from a labour camp in Siberia and an arduous journey. I found it a challenging read but one that has stayed with me IYKWIM

Most of all I would recommend The Still Point by Amy Sackville, a very evocative novel about an Arctic explorer in Victorian times who goes off on an expedition leaving his new wife at home .. and what happens to them both. Trivial, but it has the most beautiful cover too :)

Just looked up the Tenderness of Wolves and I do believe I've read it. I think I liked it.

Will have a look at the others, thank you - should keep me going till we get some sunshine

Yes, yes to Apsley Cherry-Garrard's The Worst Journey in the World - it is brilliant! Scott and Shackleton's diaries are both great reads too. Ranulph Fiennes Captain Scott book is a pretty decent read although he does rather overdrive his point home, to misquote Morrissey! There's a couple of decent books on the Franklin expedition too - the only one I can remember offhand is called 'The Man Who Ate His Boots' but I'm sure I've read a better one than that.

The Caliban Shore

In The Heart Of The Sea This is great - it's about the real life event which was the inspiration for Moby Dick and it is FAR more readable than Moby Dick! You can also get 'The Sinking Of The Whaleship Essex' which is an account by one of the sailors.

This about the Bounty = battling humans as well as the elements but is a great read. Joh Boyne (Striped Pyjamas man) has done a novel on this too, which isn't bad but if you've read the facts, the novel doesn't do much else than regurgitate them.

Hope this has given you a couple to enjoy!

JohN Boyne