Seagull Books, 2019 Paper: 978-0-85742-720-5 | eISBN: 978-0-85742-506-5 | Cloth: 978-0-85742-474-7 Library of Congress Classification MLCM 2019/50022 (P)
ABOUT THIS BOOK | AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY | REVIEWS | TOC
ABOUT THIS BOOK
In a publishing world that is all too full of realist novels written in undistinguished prose, discernible only by their covers, The Flying Mountain stands out—if for no other reason than that it consists entirely of blank verse. And that form is most suitable for the epic voyage Christoph Ransmayr relates: The Flying Mountain tells the story of two brothers who leave the southwest coast of Ireland on an expedition to Transhimalaya, the land of Kham, and the mountains of eastern Tibet—looking for an untamed, unnamed mountain that represents perhaps the last blank spot on the map. As they advance toward their goal, the brothers find their past, and their rivalry, inescapable, inflecting every encounter and decision as they are drawn farther and farther from the world they once knew.
Only one of the brothers will return. Transformed by his loss, he starts life anew, attempting to understand the mystery of love, yet another quest that may prove impossible. The Flying Mountain is thrilling, surprising, and lyrical by turns; readers looking for something truly new will be rewarded for joining Ransmayr on this journey.
AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY
Christoph Ransmayr is an Austrian author whose books have been translated into over thirty languages. His prodigious travels provided the material for Atlas of an Anxious Man, also published by Seagull Books. Simon Pare is a translator from French and German who lives in Paris. His recent translations include The Panama Papers, and Frederik Obermaier, and Atlas of an Anxious Man.
REVIEWS
"Ransmayr’s heroic narrative is enhanced by his use of beauty-fully balanced blank verse, his mastery over his medium absolute. The Flying Mountain is an outstanding work of great sophistication, ultra-modern in its technology theme and as ancient as time in the tragic inevitability of the denouement."
— The Swansea Bay
— Longlisted for the Man Booker International Prize 2018
"A haunting tale, epic in scope, bringing together familial and national histories in a tender and powerfully-observed account of brotherly love."
— Irish Times
TABLE OF CONTENTS
1. Resurrection in Kham. Eastern Tibet, twenty-first century.
2. Horse Island. The inheritance in West Cork.
3. Sleepless by the Yangtze Jiang. Sleepless in the Cahas.
4. Arrival of the seamen. A feint.
5. Master Coldheart. Billiards in the snow.
6. She says her name. Place without dreams.
7. The Flying Mountain: Nyema’s story.
8. At Bird Mountain. The masked man. A parade in the snow.
9. The heavenly bride. Happy return. Warnings.
10. At the lake. The invention of writing. Lessons.
11. Constellations. A giant’s demise.
12. Going it alone. His brother’s keeper.
13. In the deep. The comfort of one’s own strength.
14. On high. Heavenly apparitions.
15. Drogsang or the Beautiful Pasture. At base camp.
16. Leader, follower. A rope team.
17. In captivity. The gift.
18. Epilogue: Steps.
In a publishing world that is all too full of realist novels written in undistinguished prose, discernible only by their covers, The Flying Mountain stands out—if for no other reason than that it consists entirely of blank verse. And that form is most suitable for the epic voyage Christoph Ransmayr relates: The Flying Mountain tells the story of two brothers who leave the southwest coast of Ireland on an expedition to Transhimalaya, the land of Kham, and the mountains of eastern Tibet—looking for an untamed, unnamed mountain that represents perhaps the last blank spot on the map. As they advance toward their goal, the brothers find their past, and their rivalry, inescapable, inflecting every encounter and decision as they are drawn farther and farther from the world they once knew.
Only one of the brothers will return. Transformed by his loss, he starts life anew, attempting to understand the mystery of love, yet another quest that may prove impossible. The Flying Mountain is thrilling, surprising, and lyrical by turns; readers looking for something truly new will be rewarded for joining Ransmayr on this journey.
AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY
Christoph Ransmayr is an Austrian author whose books have been translated into over thirty languages. His prodigious travels provided the material for Atlas of an Anxious Man, also published by Seagull Books. Simon Pare is a translator from French and German who lives in Paris. His recent translations include The Panama Papers, and Frederik Obermaier, and Atlas of an Anxious Man.
REVIEWS
"Ransmayr’s heroic narrative is enhanced by his use of beauty-fully balanced blank verse, his mastery over his medium absolute. The Flying Mountain is an outstanding work of great sophistication, ultra-modern in its technology theme and as ancient as time in the tragic inevitability of the denouement."
— The Swansea Bay
— Longlisted for the Man Booker International Prize 2018
"A haunting tale, epic in scope, bringing together familial and national histories in a tender and powerfully-observed account of brotherly love."
— Irish Times
TABLE OF CONTENTS
1. Resurrection in Kham. Eastern Tibet, twenty-first century.
2. Horse Island. The inheritance in West Cork.
3. Sleepless by the Yangtze Jiang. Sleepless in the Cahas.
4. Arrival of the seamen. A feint.
5. Master Coldheart. Billiards in the snow.
6. She says her name. Place without dreams.
7. The Flying Mountain: Nyema’s story.
8. At Bird Mountain. The masked man. A parade in the snow.
9. The heavenly bride. Happy return. Warnings.
10. At the lake. The invention of writing. Lessons.
11. Constellations. A giant’s demise.
12. Going it alone. His brother’s keeper.
13. In the deep. The comfort of one’s own strength.
14. On high. Heavenly apparitions.
15. Drogsang or the Beautiful Pasture. At base camp.
16. Leader, follower. A rope team.
17. In captivity. The gift.
18. Epilogue: Steps.
ABOUT THIS BOOK | AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY | REVIEWS | TOC