Peter Matthiessen

The snow leopard

I think I learned of this book because either David Chase or Michael Imperioli said it inspired the stretch of Sopranos episodes about Tony’s coma. Gives a thorough reading list if you want to backtrack through the history of Buddhist and mystical thought. Have had similarly turbulent post-meditation emotions as what he describes here myself, so such passages were at least validating to read. Was admittedly far more engaged by the first half, though, in which Matthiessen is just drawing all these surprising, beautiful parallels between the wisdom from travels and his feelings for his family back home, both  living and dead.

Alex Noble

Ben Burns

Tediously rapturous.

I read The Snow Leopard before my - well, no, it was slow going, so I read it during my - no, still couldn't go more than a few pages at a time - I ended up reading it *after* my trip through the Himalayas in Nepal.

Probably about 40% of the paragraphs are beautiful, flowery passages accurately describing the unique nature and sensory environment of this part of the world - but even such wonderful descriptions become dull after so much repetition. Another 20% are assorted drudgery about the day-to-day goings-on of the trek. Another 20% are near-meaningless meditations on the nature of consciousness and the self... tangents about how the yeti probably exists... etc. Perhaps 1% of the time there are sudden moments of clarity and wisdom that speak to your soul. And the remaining 19% are completely impenetrable family trees of ancient bodhisattvas. 

So overall, it evokes the experience of Nepal Himalaya trekking quite well, if you're willing to wade through the rest. But if you read it fast you'll miss everything, and if you read it slow you'll have to confront the lack of real content - and you'll have to stare at a lot of dense passages trying to make sense of them. Beautiful, and I'm glad I read it, but once is enough... 2.5 stars.

abby donaldson

** spoiler alert **
           i was so ready to love this book and to discover a new genre that i adored! but unfortunately this particular novel wasn’t for me. it was great learning about the indigenous cultures and people in the Himalayas and Matthiessen’s journey (and survival guide) to finding a snow leopard. and while the interweaving of the present with many religious Buddhist anecdotes was a clever idea, it quickly became very confusing to read and follow. don’t get me wrong, i find the spiritual pilgrimage aspect of this book rather fascinating (and learning all about his inner turmoils/the way he relates them to Buddhist Gods) - but i was struggling to follow and this book was a massive anticlimax. he doesn’t even see a snow leopard!!! why title it thus when it is false advertising! such a disappointment to get to the end and it is barely even mentioned. may as well have called it ‘the goat’ or ‘the journey’ - clearly just not my cup of tea.

First published by Viking Press 1978, published in Penguin Books 1987.

The Snow Leopard

One September, the writer and explorer Peter Matthiessen set out with field biologist George Schaller to journey 250 miles through the Himalayas to the Crystal Mountain on the Tibetan plateau. They wanted to study the wild blue sheep, the bharal, but also hoped to see the snow leopard, a creature so rarely spotted as to be nearly mythical. The Snow Leopard is not only an exquisite book of natural history but an extraordinary account of an inner journey ; a 'true pilgrimage, a journey of the heart.'

Drick

The author discusses his experiences on a 250-mile journey through the Himalaya Mountains and his attempts to locate the Lama of Shey in an isolated monastery.

The snow leopard

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