'The Snow Leopard' by Peter Matthiessen

The Snow Leopard, Peter Matthiessen (3.0)

Rating this book was hard. It included some sections of beautiful writing, adventure and interesting cultural references. Sadly, the overarching sense of entitlement from the author cast a constant shadow. I often felt I was reading about a British gentleman in the 1800’s, not an American in the 1970s! Matthiessen describes his trip to the Himalayas in the early 70’s joining his friend who wants to observe and document the Blue Himalayan sheep and possibly the elusive Snow Leopard. The 2 western men were joined by 4 Sherpas and 14 porters in groups of 2 to 4 at a time over the journey. Throughout the book, both men treat the native men as second -class citizens, rarely taking their advice and remarking in surprise when they did something clever or interesting. My favorite parts included the descriptions of the hiking, of the flora and fauna, and of his mental health journey. It was like ‘unplugging’ in the 70’s – he was careful not to dive directly back into society and ruin the solace he had struggled to find on the journey.