I get bored enough listening to my own climbing stories, why would I want to read about the experience of others? For good reason, it turns out: Joe Simpson’s The Beckoning Silence is a page turner.
Yes, Simpson is the one who was on the wrong end of a cut rope in Touching the Void, but Beckoning is a much more interesting story. He recounts highlights of his climbing career with a focus first on psychology and relationships and only second on actual climbing. It would be easy for a climber writing about where his head happened to be at any given day to sound self-absorbed and shallow, but Simpson really pulls it off: everyone I’ve talked to who has read Beckoning says it resonates.
Climbing is a head game where you are constantly on your guard against self-doubt and other demons that travel with you. Pretending they don’t exist is not the best tactic, and can lead you into situations that you really would rather avoid. Simpson is refreshingly frank in acknowledging and developing this theme, and Beckoning will connect with any climber who has ever wondered, why am I doing this?