The Insecure Writer's Support Group Book Club discussion

Discussion for The High Mountains of Portugal



Hello Writers and Readers!

If you posted a review of The High Mountains of Portugal, please feel free to share it here.

Let us know your overall thoughts, ask questions, and reply to comments to create a conversation.


To get you started: Toi, one of our awesome moderators, came up with optional questions to help kick off this discussion:


1. The story is told in 3 parts that seem unrelated until the end. The structure of each story resembles a parable; however, it's unclear (what if) any lessons were learned.

Did you enjoy the 3-part structure or did it jolt you out of the narrative?

Were there any lessons you felt were being taught or that you learned?


2. Like the book or not, it's clear that description is very important to the overall delivery. I enjoyed the way the author describes most things, but there were times when it felt over the top.

Was there a particular description that you felt was excellent or completely unnecessary?

Would you recommend this book to other writers as an example of good descriptions?


3. The book reveals a truth that anyone can learn but most won't know unless they are well-traveled. There are no mountains in The High Mountains of Portugal. Did this discovery add or take away from the story or your experience of reading it?

Do you think this was part of the author's overall plan when developing this story or is it just a fact he couldn't leave out?

Are there other places you can think of where the name suggests something that isn't true (example: a town called River Lake has no rivers or lakes)?

Didn't like the book. I talk about the descriptions in my review. https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Ronel wrote: "Didn't like the book. I talk about the descriptions in my review. https://www.goodreads.com/review/show..."

Thank you for sharing your review!

This book wasn't for me. It was a just okay read. Many years ago I was "sort of" interested in Martel's The Life of Pi book and thought the movie version did a good job of bringing the book to life for those who could not finish reading it. Some people raved about Life of Pi , so I guess Martel's style of writing simply does not appeal to me.

I think this latest book, The High Mountains of Portugal, is one of those books that people will feel pressured to say they liked. Oh yes, so deep, so symbolic, so wonderful (even if they fail to say what the symbolism was.) The repetitive descriptions reminded me at times of Charles Dickens who got paid by the word. (My name is Pip. I'm Pip; Pip I am. Call me Pip).

In typical Martel fashion there is plenty of magical realism - not always my favorite. (Dead wife who comes back as a ghost in one of the three stories.) However, I've enjoyed time travel and some magical realism in other novels, so my reaction is not solely because of that element.

As a great ape fan and volunteer with orphaned animals, I liked the fact that Tovy, the politician saves a chimpanzee from a horrible animal preserve, but that is my attempt at finding something I liked about the book. Religion and its value or lack thereof seems to be the actual thread which ties together the three parts of the book. But trying to compare Agatha Christie stories to the Gospels... it just wore me out. I have to be honest: I started skimming. Skimming fast.

Rebecca wrote: "This book wasn't for me. It was a just okay read. Many years ago I was "sort of" interested in Martel's The Life of Pi book and thought the movie version did a good job of bringing the book to life..."

Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts, Rebecca. This is one book that truly isn't for everyone. I appreciate that you took the time to analyze why you didn't connect to this story and that you shared it with us here.

I'd love to hear more about your volunteering to help orphaned animals, though. :)

Rebecca wrote: "This book wasn't for me. It was a just okay read. Many years ago I was "sort of" interested in Martel's The Life of Pi book and thought the movie version did a good job of bringing the book to life..."

Congrats at getting through the book -- even just by skimming it at super speed :-)

Ha ha. It was hard work.

I didn't enjoy this book that much either. While plodding through it, I remembered a similar sensation while reading Life of Pi. The first story, with the car, was entertaining enough, although a little alarming. The second story was downright creepy. And the third story tugged at the heart strings, leaving me with the reminder of the fragility of life, all life. It wasn't an easy read during this pandemic and the lockdown.

Kalpana wrote: "I didn't enjoy this book that much either. While plodding through it, I remembered a similar sensation while reading Life of Pi. The first story, with the car, was entertaining enough, although a l..."

Well done for getting through it! I'm not evolved enough to have the capacity to read the entire thing :-)

Ronel wrote: "Kalpana wrote: "I didn't enjoy this book that much either. While plodding through it, I remembered a similar sensation while reading Life of Pi. The first story, with the car, was entertaining enou..." Thanks for giving me a good laugh. Maybe you've evolved so much that you truly value each moment of your life and are able to put something down and walk away.

Kalpana wrote: "I didn't enjoy this book that much either. While plodding through it, I remembered a similar sensation while reading Life of Pi. The first story, with the car, was entertaining enough, although a l..."

Thank you for sharing your thoughts! And I think it's safe to say that anyone who didn't like this book and finished it or even read a part of it should be applauded for reading as much as they did. This wasn't an enjoyable read for many of us, but it's nice that we can openly and safely discuss why that was.