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Radio 2 Book Club: Thin Air

The chilling ghost story Thin Air by Michelle Paver will be featured on the Radio 2 Book Club on Monday 17 October.

The book was selected with the help of a panel of library staff from across the UK.

We have an exclusive extract available for you to read as well as a discussion guide for your reading group.

WIN 10 copies of Thin Air for your reading group when you visit our Noticeboard!

Thin Air

It is 1935, and young medic Stephen Pearce travels to India to join an expedition with his brother, Kits. The elite team of five will climb Kangchenjunga, the world’s third highest mountain and one of mountaineering’s biggest killers. No one has scaled it before, and they are, quite literally, following in the footsteps of one of the most famous mountain disasters of all time – the 1906 Lyell Expedition. Five men lost their lives back then, overcome by the atrocious weather, misfortune and ‘mountain sickness’ at such high altitudes

As the team prepares for the epic climb, Pearce’s unease about the expedition deepens. A survivor of the 1906 expedition, Charles Tennant, warns him off, hinting of dark things ahead. But Pearce is determined to press on and complete something that he has dreamed off his entire life. As they climb higher and higher, and the air becomes thinner, his unease turns to dread. Macabre mementoes of the earlier climbers turn up on the trail. Stephen starts to suspect that Tennant’s account of the tragedy may not have been the full story. What he doesn’t know is that while five men lost their lives on the mountain, only four were laid to rest…

Selection panel review

Our library reading panel loved Thin Air – here are some of their comments:

“Thisis the story of a British expedition’s 1935 attempt to scale Kangchenjunga, the third highest mountain in the Himalayas. Stephen, a doctor and brother of expedition leader Kits, is co-opted to join the expedition at the last minute as replacement for their medic. Before embarking Stephen meets one of the survivors of the failed 1907 expedition, a man who still bears the scars and has never spoken of the tragic events on the mountain. The mystery of what happened on the previous expedition is the pivot by which the whole novel revolves. Part ghost story, part thriller, Stephen must grapple with the effects of altitude sickness and ghostly visions of a haunted figure. Wonderfully written and researched the novel is atmospheric and chilling in its descriptions. It builds slowly to a revealing climatic ending. A very satisfying read.”

“A ghost story set in Nepal, amongst a group of climbers following an earlier unsuccessful expedition. Stephen the youngest and a last minute member of the group, feels isolated and when he begins to feel haunted by a member of the earlier expedition you wonder just how much he is empathising , or whether there really is a presence. As the story progresses and we find out more about the original group, we can understand why a restless soul might still be wandering the mountain. Really atmospheric from the sweltering claustrophobic jungle, to the freezing agoraphobia of the mountainside you really live it. The style also feels very authentic 1940s you would like to feel that the Sherpas wouldn’t be treated with such condescension today!”

“This book was a joy to read. The story flowed well and the characters were believably real. I was taken along as the story unfolded and developed a real sympathy for Stephen. The haunting happening so far from civilisation and to only one character made me feel his isolation all the more. At points it felt like nothing was happening, but you soon realise that everything in this story hangs on the subtle rather than the brash and bold. Finished off with a very neat ending tying up all loose ends regarding the rest of the characters we meet.”

About the author

Michelle Paver was born in Malawi to a Belgian mother and a father who ran the tiny Nyasaland Times, and moved to the UK when she was three. She was brought up in Wimbledon and, following a Biochemistry Degree from Oxford, she became a partner in a big City law firm. She gave up the City to follow her long-held dream of becoming a writer. She is the author of the brilliantly successful children’s series, The Chronicles of Ancient Darkness. Dark Matter was her first adult ghost story and arose from her lifelong love of the Arctic, which has taken her to northern Canada, Greenland, Scandinavia and Spitsbergen. She lives in Wimbledon.

A word from Michelle

“I’m over the moon that my ghost story Thin Air has been chosen for the Simon Mayo Book Club. The Book Club has become the force that it is because it sifts through thousands of new books to find those story which readers will really enjoy – and it does this superbly. That’s why it’s so respected, trusted and loved. This is also exactly what I was aiming to create when I wrote Thin Air: a gripping, immersive story that makes you feel you’re right there with the hero. So thank you for this seal of approval, it’s hugely appreciated!”

Get involved

Tune in to Simon Mayo’s Drivetime show on Monday 17 Ocotber to hear a live interview with Michelle Paver talking about her book.

Have you read Thin Air or Dark Matter? You can share your thoughts with us on Twitter or follow author Michelle Paver. You can take a look at what other readers thought, or leave your own review.

Want to find out more? Take a look at the Radio 2 Book Club Twitter feed or find out more on the Radio 2 Book Club website.

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A riveting read - beware only read with all the lights on!

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