2023-05-01 14:57:33
Et is talk of telemark technique, stem turns, parallel turns and carving curves, of ski instructors and ski rescuers, of ascents and descents. As the title suggests, “The Last Chairlift” is a novel about skiing. And it was written by John Irving, with an in-depth knowledge of the subject. The American author, now eighty-one years old, has been skiing all his life and knows exactly what he is writing about. Also because he lets his story take place where he himself spent decades skiing: on the somewhat sleepy Bromley Mountain in Vermont and above all in the luxury ski area of Aspen, the old silver mining town that has developed into a playground for billionaires. And so, as a reader, you follow momentum after momentum and page after page and never have the impression of slipping out of the curve or even falling.
And with the detailed descriptions of the place, the ski area and the Hotel Jerome, “The Last Chairlift” also creates a literary monument to Aspen that, one might think, fits the inflated self-esteem of this place quite well. But reality, and that would probably make Irving smile too, has its own laws. In Colorado, at least that was the case at the end of March, no one wants to know anything about Irving and his novel.
#Chairlift #John #Irving