I had started reading Mount Analogue with the assumption that this was a book of non-fiction. I read the first couple chapters with apprehension. The whole premise of the journey seemed suspicious. I did not quite understand the science behind the theory of Mount Analogue either, but I just went with it. I suspected the book to end with the character floating for a few months to no avail. I became very confused once the characters actually found Mount Analogue. Then I realized the entire book was meant to be symbolic.

Once they arrived at Mount Analogue I kept telling myself, “This is like Atlantis or Journey To The Center of The Earth”. When I started to run out of pages, I expected the book to end with the main character waking up on the yacht after the storm. Other predictions were that the crew had died in the storm and had gone to Heaven or some type of purgatory, or perhaps had been lost in a type of Bermuda Triangle situation.

Mount Analogue is the mythical mountain that everyone seeks to personally climb in their lifetime. It is not the physical act of climbing that people seek. It is the glory and inspiration that one gets while climbing. It is the journey that draws people to summits, not the destination even if the destination is not always clear. Like Father Sogol demonstrates in his experiment with the oil, Mount Analogue is almost unobtainable (Pg.52). As one moves towards it, it shifts to a new location, always staying beyond grasp. People are always trying to conquer life, but the secrets to life are reclusive.

The first pages on the symbolism of “the mountain”, echo my thoughts as well (Pg. 31). The mountains are where people go to test their limits. The characteristics of mountains are complex, and various… just as complex as the ever-changing ocean. The mountain can be withdrawn, but at the same time it is beckoning. They can represent security, yet be the mark of danger. Mountains have the power to turn soft men into strong men, and strong men soft.

I took to heart what Daumal wrote while they were preparing their gear to climb Mount Analogue, “We were beginning to shed our old personalities…without knowing it… he was becoming a poet.”(Pg. 90). It isn’t just the mountains that turn people into poets. It is hard work and adventure that turns people into poets. When people push themselves to exhaustion and faced with danger, they tend to think deeply and search for the hidden secrets of existence. I would never label myself as a poet, yet I do have some profound poems that I had jotted down while I was in Afghanistan.

Rene Daumal was dying when this book was written. That in it’s self is profound. These were Daumals last words, his last chance to change peoples lives. This tells me that Mount Analogue needed to be written and should not be taken lightly. reading this book too fast does a disservice to both the reader and Daumal. It is best to read it slowly over time so that it can be more meaningful

I do not know what to think about the book. It may take a while for the story to sink in and the symbolism to become clear. I am hoping that one day I will be half asleep in my warm bed, thinking about the story of Mount Analogue, then in a burst of sudden realization, understand what Rene Daumal was trying to tell me. I can tell now that this book is going to be the source of many sleepless nights.