Audiobook Review – Climbing with Mollie by William Finnegan (3/5 stars)
Reading Level: All Ages
Genre: Non-fiction
Length: 2 hrs and 16 mins
Publisher: Audible Audio
Release Date: November 1st 2019
ASIN: B07YXCPNX4
Stand Alone or Series: Stand Alone
Source: Free Audiobook from Audible Originals
Rating: 3/5 stars
“2016 Pulitzer Prize-winning memoirist of Barbarian Days William Finnegan had devoted his days to chasing waves as a lifelong surfer. When his adolescent daughter, Mollie, proves to be a natural-born climber, Finnegan follows his newfound passion toward rock climbing. It’s an arduous apprenticeship, and it turns the parent-child dynamic on its head, as Mollie slips into the role of coach and mentor, while her father has to push his limits to keep pace.
Finnegan takes listeners deep into the world of climbing–indoors and out, from climbing gyms to rock faces in Central Park, Mexico and Canada. Mollie, a wry and gentle soul who had shown no previous interest in sports, grows into a ferociously gifted climber, and she leads the way. What begins as a hobby for the father-daughter duo becomes an obsession, as they start taking every opportunity to slip on their climbing shoes, chalk up their hands, and attack problems, climber-speak for routes. They learn a new language of specialized moves and rock types, they seek tougher climbs and forge new memories–not just muscle memories. Through it all, they add a new dimension to their relationship.
As he and Mollie start climbing outdoors, tackling harder and higher climbs, the endeavor increasingly takes on another aspect: danger, which climbers call exposure. Finnegan offers a candid and gripping look at risk, fear, and humility in the pursuit of a perilous hobby. While he navigates the boundaries of trust and adventure, as well as the far edge of his physical limits, he reminds listeners that to fall is to be human.”
Series Info: Stand Alone, free Audible Original with my Audible membership
Audiobook Quality (4/5): Finnegan reads this himself and does a good job at it.
Characters (3/5): Finnegan’s daughter sounds like an intriguing person but, while we hear a lot about her, we don’t really get to hear from her. Finnegan himself comes across as an overzealous dad for most of the book.
Story (3/5): There’s not much of a story here. Finnegan just talks about how his daughter got into climbing which lead him to start climbing. Learning about the terminology and lifestyle around climbing was interesting. The dynamic of having the daughter menor the father was unique. Mostly though this is a fairly forgettable book.
Writing Style (3/5): The writing was fine. It would have been better to present this as more of a story. The way it is now, it comes across as an overzealous dad bragging about how amazing his daughter is.
Summary (3/5): This was okay. I enjoyed learning some of the climbing terminology and about how things work in the competitive climbing world. I didn’t find this to be an especially compelling read but I listened to it on a long drive so I didn’t have anything better to do.
