Impossible Climb (Synnott) - Book Reviews

Book Reviews
The Impossible Climb is an accomplished portrait of two remarkable lives—but its major weakness, of both style and imagination, lies in Synnott’s depictions of women. Professional climbing is largely a man’s world, but rather than examine this dynamic as he does countless others, Synnott uses descriptions that further diminish and objectify the women he encounters.… Like a jazz record or a dog-eared book by Dostoyevsky, the women here are simply another tool for characterizing the men around them—as well as vehicles for Synnott’s fascination with the younger Honnold’s sex life. This fascination is shameless and enduring, fitting into themes of aging that build throughout the book.
Blair Braverman - New York Times Book Review


Readers will pick this up for Honnold but will be equally engrossed by Synnott's own adventures and writing. A worthy companion to Honnold's memoir Alone on the Wall and Tommy Caldwell's The Push.
Library Journal


[A] lot of plodding backstory between the climbs themselves; the book works best when exploring the psychological challenges of such harrowing endeavors. The 2018 documentary Free Solo captures Honnold’s story… in a more concise and visceral way.
Booklist


A thrills-and-chills—and occasional spills—view of the mad heroes of free climbing, scaling mountain faces without ropes. You'd have to be out of your mind to head up the 3,000-foot-high cliff face of Yosemite's El Capitan….  Fans of mountaineering will find this a winner.
Kirkus Reviews