FINISHED ONE, MOVING ON TO THE NEXT! -- Or How to Plan Ahead for Monday

A Review of "A Change in Altitude."




Newlyweds Patrick and Margaret travel to Kenya, planning on staying a year. Patrick is a young doctor, working on special projects, while Margaret flounders, trying to find her own way in this new life and this new country.

They mingle with other expatriates, and one night, someone decides that they all should climb Mt. Kenya. Margaret is reluctant, even fearful, but agrees anyway.

What begins as a challenging adventure turns into a nightmare, with disastrous consequences, not only for the newlyweds, but for others as well.

Then the challenge becomes hanging on to the fragile connections they shared. Margaret spreads her wings, turning to her budding photography, and takes a job on a newspaper.

As the two move further apart, the cultural milieu they have each chosen forms a web around them, encasing them in their separate destinies.

At the end of the year, someone proposes that they try again to climb Mt. Kenya. Margaret feels more confident now, so they agree, but with different partners on the quest. At this point, reaching the summit becomes like a metaphor for their lives, their marriage, and their futures.

The author gifts us with a beautifully wrought adventure of life, its challenges, and the relationships we forge and keep along the way.

I wasn’t sure that I would like “A Change in Altitude,” once I realized that it took place in Kenya and included physical challenges, not thinking that I could really relate to these experiences. But the author surprised me with her ability to pull me right in…but then again, Anita Shreve has always managed to captivate her readers.

Definitely five stars!

And, to ward off those Monday blues, I have already plunged into the delightful book you see on your right..."Everyone is Beautiful," from the author who gave us "The Bright Side of Disaster."




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