Thoreaux: Where in all the world is the literature that gives expression to Nature?
Here it is, in Peter Matthiessens's National Book Award Winning "The Snow Leopard". Peter Matthiessen is now a living legend, a prophet of ecological thought and a long time American Buddhist, but in 1973, when the book was conceived he still wasn't so famous. At the age of 46 he decided to trek through the Inner Dolpo region of Nepal with his friend and co-explorer G. Schaller (well known for his studies on the Mountain Gorillas) to study the bharal (Himalayan blue sheep) and to try to get a glimpse of the mysterious and rare snow leopard. From September to December the two men traveled with sherpas and porters from Pokhara, around the Annapurna, the Dhaulagiri, through the Jang-La Pass, to Phoksumdo Lake to the Crystal Mountain and the Shey Gompa Monastery and back, studying the wild life and rutting habits of bharal. While G. Schaller was basically interested in animals, Matthiessen in that period a Zen scholar, utilized the travel expedition to expose his thoughts, exercise his meditation abilities, recall his memories of past experiences (drugs, deaths, remorse and expectations) but most of all to paint with lyrical pen and great descriptive talent his surroundings and the people he met.
This book is a little dated, and while reading it I was reminded of that great chapter of American writing that ties together Pirsing, Castaneda and many others, but none the less it is fascinating and gratifying because it resonates with a transcendent religious feeling of nature. In "The Snow Leopard" the ecological thought that weaves its way in all Matthiessen's works is still not full blown, but this makes the book even more incisive because the perception of his convictions lends a magic atmosphere to the travelogue. The reader has an intuition of the importance of respect of wildlife independently from modern day recriminations on its destruction.
The philosophical/religious aspect is also very interesting, because we can see the fascination of an intellectual American with Buddhist thought. Peter Matthiessen is very generous of his knowledge an puts all his rich Buddhist experience in the text, explaining history, traditions and customs of the Tibetan culture.
Matthiessen is also a very good interpreter of characters, as is evident from his novels. All the people he empathically describes jump out of the page and come to life. The canny and mysterious Tukten (maybe a guiding figure like Dante's Virgilio or a true Bodhisattva) and the naïve and faithful Dawa become our friends as well, but also the many minor encounters like the Lama of Shey pass forever into literary history to be remembered.
Two points of highlight are how the Author manages to convey the pleasure and the fatigue of the physical trip. I could actually feel his boots and the joy of having broken them in, the discomfort of the sun glaring on the snow and the beauty of the birds, flowers and landscapes he describes. The second is the excellence of the prose. Selected paragraphs are poems of beauty and the perfect use of the English language is in itself a reason to rejoice.
This book is also a very personal and introspective diary. It talks about the man and his problems and probably this is the single most touching point of this great nature classic. At a distance of 30 years, people are taking guided trekking tours to Shey Gompa and its protected Natural Park, and much of the mystery has dissolved, however still few have seen the snow leopard, and discussion is still raging on the existence of the Yeti or Bigfoot.
Read and reread this nature classic to capture all its merits. It is landmark of the American perception of Buddhism, ecological thought and one of the best travelogues around.
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- Reviewed in the United States on August 5, 2008
- Reviewed in the United States on April 18, 2025
Top reviews from other countries
- Yuvan AvesReviewed in India on May 13, 2019
A Deeply moving Journey in the Mountains
I took this book to 17,000 feet for this picture. This is around the same altitude the author was when he wrote most of the book.Yuvan AvesA Deeply moving Journey in the Mountains
Reviewed in India on May 13, 2019
Snow Leopard is an autobiographical account of the author's journey to Shey Pass in the Himalayas over two months. He accompanies his friend George Schaller who intends to study Blue Sheep, through challenging terrain and many hardships. But for Matthiessen, who recently lost his wife to cancer, it is an embarking in search of meaning. Throughout the book, the Mountains unfold to this buddhist student, truths that religion can only feebly describe. "The secret of the mountain is that the mountains simply exist, as I do myself: the mountains exist simply, which I do not. The mountains have no 'meaning', they are meaning; the mountains are." The prose is raw and adornedly authentic. Without saying it, Matthiessen, as he goes through inner-reconciling, illustrates the immense power of a natural landscape - to heal, to illuminate. Maybe enlighten.
The 'Snow Leopard' is a metaphor. The author never sees the animal, as much as he tries. But is continually aware of its near presence. From fresh marks on snow. From scat. From the movements of Blue Sheep.
Like 'awakening'. You see it when you stop trying. So near, imminent and so elusive. Like the present moment. Like what 'is'.
.
"Have you seen the Snow Leopard?"
"No! Isn't that wonderful?"
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