Names of the Mountains

by Reeve Lindbergh

The children of world-famous aviator Cal Linley come together to deal with the deteriorating mental capacity of their mother

Hardcover

First published December 1, 1992

About the author

Children's author, novelist, and poet Reeve Lindbergh is the daughter of world-renowned aviator Charles Lindbergh and his wife, the talented writer Anne Morrow Lindbergh.

Reviews

[GardenSinger · Rating 2 out of 5]

Reeve Lindbergh's writing style is fluent and easy-going. There were parts that I casually enjoyed. However, there were many bits of personality and perspective revealed which I thought in bad taste or even somewhat juvenile. The fact that the whole idea of the book resembled so closely to her real life made me wonder why in the world she didn't just write an autobiography. I expected more insightful moments, but it was all a little too superficial for my taste. When I finished the book I felt like I had wasted my precious time and mental energy.

[(Lonestarlibrarian) Keddy Ann Outlaw · Rating 3 out of 5]

Having just visited the Sanibel/Captiva Island area of Florida, where Anne Morrow Lindberg wrote A Gift From the Sea, a book I have always loved, I realized I had never read anything by Anne's daughter, Reeve. So I picked up this novel, which reads more like a memoir than fiction. In many ways in parallels the lives of Anne and Charles Lindbergh, told from the point of view of one of their daughters, Cressy. Her 80 year-old mother, Alicia is showing signs of memory loss, and so the family gathers for a powwow.

With little else in the way of a plot, the richness here lies in the family portraits and Cressy's worries and perceptions. Lindbergh successfully portrays the psychological impact of growing up with famous/infamous parents whose lives are always under public scrutiny. And having just gone through the last years of my mother's life as she battled memory problems, the problems of eldercare were familiar to me. So this was a quick read and gave me a bit more insight into the Lindbergh family.

[Julie Barrett · Rating 4 out of 5]

Names of the Mountains
Interesting stories about how the Lindbergh's parents had taught all the kids about the mountains of the world, and star constellations as that is how they flew.
Now that the husband is gone his wife is failing also, Alesha has memory problems now. The family will do an intervention. Love hearing of the siblings lives and
the kids they are raising as they are now teens. Love how the book got its name. When the ground shifts below your feet ...
I received this book from National Library Service for my BARD (Braille Audio Reading Device).

[Marietta Schmidt · Rating 1 out of 5]

I am sorry for this rating but sadly I couldn't give the book zero stars. This was the most boring book I’ve ever read in my entire life and I read a lot because I am 63 years old. It doesn’t really have a backstory besides that the family is famous, but other than that, nothing really happens. Then suddenly in the last twelve pages something happens that has nothing to do with everything before. I think even I could write a better and more interesting book about my life. My phonebook has a better plot structure than this book.

[Melissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting insight on the Lindbergh family. I am one of the "others" - reader of books and work in a museum, so although all the names are different, I could tell exactly who they all were. I love Reeve's writing style and here you see her begin to develop this style playing with fiction and autobiography. A simple story about a daughter worried about her mother woven into larger snapshot of a complicated family.

[Peg · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just recently discovered Reeve Lindbergh as an author. Like her mother (Ann Morrow Lindbergh) she is an accomplished writer with the ability to share her emotions as well as the story with the reader. This particular book is about watching the decline of her mother's memory as she ages - and before the family moves Ann M. L. to a home on Reeve's Vermont farm.

[Olga Hebert · Rating 2 out of 5]

I picked this book along with Under a Wing, Reeve Lindbergh's memoir. The Names of the Mountains: A Novel. Guess what...it was almost the exact same book except the names were changes (and rather thinly changed at that.) If you want to read one, pick the memoir. It has the events and the reflections filtered through time.

[Dufus · Rating 4 out of 5]

A largely autobiographical novel in which the family of the protagonist comes together out of concern for their mother's increasing lapses in memory. Through her main character, Reeve Lindbergh reminisces about what it was like growing up in the shadow of her famous parents.

[Tina Woodward · Rating 2 out of 5]

Fiction, but seemed to be based on the life of Charles and Anne Lindbergh (author is their daughter). The wife of the famous pilot is widowed, and is still the matriarch of the family, but aging and getting forgetful and confused.

[Jean Mehochko · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fiction based on her growing up in the Charles and Anne Lindbergh household. Well-written, truth telling with love.

[Katherine · Rating 2 out of 5]

Supposed to be fiction, but it is the Reeve Lindbergh version of her family....too thinly veiled to be anything else. Characters are flat, one dimentional and dull stereotypes.

[Diana Petty-stone · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a thinly veiled look into the family of Charles Lindbergh and Anne Morrow Lindbergh. Very interesting.

[The Hobbit · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reeve Lindbergh, the youngest of Charles and Anne Morrow Lindbergh's youngest children writes is the author of this autobiographical novel. Cal Linley's children gather at their mother's Connecticut home to remember their larger-than-life aviator father and their quieter mother. Now 82, their mother is beginning to forget appointments, events, and even them. They gather to determine what can be done for her. While there, they resolve old family differences and come to realize the negative effects their parents' fame had on them and their family life.

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this years ago, and I can remember how much I loved it, I might have to reread!

[Helen Downton · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book. I have read several others by Reeve Lindbergh and I like the way she writes.

[Susan]

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