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Native Air
In a debut novel from Green Writers Press by Jonathan Howland, the austere beauty and high exposure of mountain adventure provide the context and the measure for what it means to be alive for climbing partners Joe Holland and Pete Hunter – until one of them isn't. When the book opens, it's the mid-80s. Joe Holland, the novel's narrator, is a climber and a seeker, but mostly he's Pete Hunter's shadow. The two meet in college and spend the next ten years living at the base of any rock that appears scalable, most of them near Yosemite and California's High Sierra. The joys and strains of their friendship comprise the novel's first half. In the second, the bare bones–obsession, grief, love, and repair—come into stark relief when Pete's grown son Will calls Joe back into climbing, into the past, and into breathless vitality. Native Air is itself a climb, tracing physical acts in a vertical domain as well as the life events stitched between adventures that yoke them. When Will summons Joe back to the mountains, it's Joe's chance to recver something true, to mourn his friend, and to fall in love with wonders nearer to heaven than any steeple. The past and present press upon each other like a folded clock. Readers of this book are doers as well as fans of those who entertain risk and nurse obsession. They get lost and found in Muir essays and Knausgaard. They admire Annie Proulx, Norman Maclean, and Russell Banks. According to climber-author Dan Duane, “Native Air belongs on the bookshelf of anyone whose heart registers the beauty and danger of exposure.”
380 pages, Hardcover
Published April 21, 2022
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
October 28, 2022
The Banff Mountain Literature Competition named Jonathan Howland’s novel Native Air its winner in the poetry and fiction category. Ordinarily I would be celebrating too, but for today, I just don’t care as much. Allow me to explain.
The chatter about Jonathan Howland’s Native Air picked up when it was nominated by the Boardman Tasker Award and made the short list for the Banff Mountain Literature Competition (in Banff’s Fiction and Poetry category) in September. I first heard about his novel when Chris Kalous interviewed Howland on the Enormocast podcast in May. Kalous, a climber, praised the book. Howland said he wasn’t aiming to earn accolades from climbers, adding, “That would be too easy.”
Would it be too easy?
Writing a climbing work of fiction doesn’t mean it will stand up among climbers or that it was significant. By significant I mean cover new ground or a new topic. Among climbing fiction, Rum Doodle was original and a spoof of classic expedition accounts and it was brilliant. I can even chuckle during a re-reading. Peak by Roland Smith is a young adult book that was a great introduction to Everest and professional climbing, and though heartwarming, wasn’t adding anything new. Peak by Eric Sparling was about a demon on K2 guided climbing had included a new twist on some climbing lore that makes it worth the read (if you can stomach the gore.) Dammed if You Don’t by Chris Kalman dealt with a theme and is a wonderful conversation starter about loving a place to death.
But what made Smith’s book good and Howland’s novel great was that they both used climbing activities to tell a very human and compelling non-climbing related story. (And arguably Kalman’s was too, but it focused more on the theme of conservation and the story about the protagonist was a means to speak about that topic.) Howland says he aimed for a general audience, or perhaps a literary audience. He didn’t try to appeal to climbers. His theme was grief and his chariot for taking the reading on his tour was rock climbing.
The novel is told from the perspective of character and narrator Joe Holland about his friendship and deep partnership with Pete Hunter, and his relationship with his life partner and wife Nor Rhodes and Pete’s and Nor’s children, particularly Will. When I try to write the summary without spoilers like this it really makes the saga appear to be a dull read. It’s not. Joe and Pete are badasses on the rock from the Adirondacks to South America, but mostly in the Valley and Sierras.
I really enjoyed the contrasting perspectives of climbing in the 1980s outdoors to the early 2000s and climbing gyms. There is a brief but important moment when Joe returns to climbing about ten years after parting ways with Pete for seminary and enters an indoor climbing gym. Howland includes all the things I have thought about transitioning from my own grungy gym in Niagara Falls, NY in the 1990s to transformation of my gym in Alexandria, VA after 2010; I went from insider to stylish and at risk of being a poser looking for the post-send lattes.
I have only two issues with the book. Pete and Nor met during the college years and Nor went on to being an emergency room physician. Nor had been living and being educated in conservative Northeastern schools and yet she kept returning to visit Pete in his dirtbag lifestyle. Perhaps that was actually part of the appeal to her. I was also surprised by how every character, except Astrid, climbs and even Nor replaces Joe on some difficult routes with Pete. It made perfect sense for the story, but that element may have been contrived.
As a more minor criticism, Pete’s speech about the forefathers of climbing around the campfire was wonderfully laced with names climbers and mountain literature book nerds (like me!) recognize. It established Pete’s awareness of his part of climbing’s legacy, but Howland could have skipped it and it would have still been understood. I thought it was a bit awkward.
But by and large, climbers don’t read. They should, but they don’t. But they should read Howland’s Native Air. You should read this novel. Most of all, I read it because I was curious about this decades-long climbing saga Kalous presented on his podcast. Now that I have read Native Air for myself I am going to remember it for the emotional response of overwhelming love and relief that it drew out me. I was overcome by the conclusion and I practically cried. It made me want to hug my wife and kids and celebrate us being together.
Most of all, I loved that it was unashamedly, without interruption to give a technical explanation about how climbing was done (but once on my count) a story around climbing activities and obsession, but a human story that could have been about an obsession over ocean diving. It was brilliantly constructed.
Sometimes you and I learn that a book that just won a best-of award, the conversation abruptly shifts in the excitement of the news. What the author did to write it, and what the author is doing next, rather than what the book did that earned such merit falls far below the fold. For now, and for this review, I don’t care that Howland won, because I want simply encourage you to go read it. It will make you want to go climbing and it will make you a more loving person.
This review originally appeared on The Suburban Mountaineer at SuburbanMountaineer.com
The chatter about Jonathan Howland’s Native Air picked up when it was nominated by the Boardman Tasker Award and made the short list for the Banff Mountain Literature Competition (in Banff’s Fiction and Poetry category) in September. I first heard about his novel when Chris Kalous interviewed Howland on the Enormocast podcast in May. Kalous, a climber, praised the book. Howland said he wasn’t aiming to earn accolades from climbers, adding, “That would be too easy.”
Would it be too easy?
Writing a climbing work of fiction doesn’t mean it will stand up among climbers or that it was significant. By significant I mean cover new ground or a new topic. Among climbing fiction, Rum Doodle was original and a spoof of classic expedition accounts and it was brilliant. I can even chuckle during a re-reading. Peak by Roland Smith is a young adult book that was a great introduction to Everest and professional climbing, and though heartwarming, wasn’t adding anything new. Peak by Eric Sparling was about a demon on K2 guided climbing had included a new twist on some climbing lore that makes it worth the read (if you can stomach the gore.) Dammed if You Don’t by Chris Kalman dealt with a theme and is a wonderful conversation starter about loving a place to death.
But what made Smith’s book good and Howland’s novel great was that they both used climbing activities to tell a very human and compelling non-climbing related story. (And arguably Kalman’s was too, but it focused more on the theme of conservation and the story about the protagonist was a means to speak about that topic.) Howland says he aimed for a general audience, or perhaps a literary audience. He didn’t try to appeal to climbers. His theme was grief and his chariot for taking the reading on his tour was rock climbing.
The novel is told from the perspective of character and narrator Joe Holland about his friendship and deep partnership with Pete Hunter, and his relationship with his life partner and wife Nor Rhodes and Pete’s and Nor’s children, particularly Will. When I try to write the summary without spoilers like this it really makes the saga appear to be a dull read. It’s not. Joe and Pete are badasses on the rock from the Adirondacks to South America, but mostly in the Valley and Sierras.
I really enjoyed the contrasting perspectives of climbing in the 1980s outdoors to the early 2000s and climbing gyms. There is a brief but important moment when Joe returns to climbing about ten years after parting ways with Pete for seminary and enters an indoor climbing gym. Howland includes all the things I have thought about transitioning from my own grungy gym in Niagara Falls, NY in the 1990s to transformation of my gym in Alexandria, VA after 2010; I went from insider to stylish and at risk of being a poser looking for the post-send lattes.
I have only two issues with the book. Pete and Nor met during the college years and Nor went on to being an emergency room physician. Nor had been living and being educated in conservative Northeastern schools and yet she kept returning to visit Pete in his dirtbag lifestyle. Perhaps that was actually part of the appeal to her. I was also surprised by how every character, except Astrid, climbs and even Nor replaces Joe on some difficult routes with Pete. It made perfect sense for the story, but that element may have been contrived.
As a more minor criticism, Pete’s speech about the forefathers of climbing around the campfire was wonderfully laced with names climbers and mountain literature book nerds (like me!) recognize. It established Pete’s awareness of his part of climbing’s legacy, but Howland could have skipped it and it would have still been understood. I thought it was a bit awkward.
But by and large, climbers don’t read. They should, but they don’t. But they should read Howland’s Native Air. You should read this novel. Most of all, I read it because I was curious about this decades-long climbing saga Kalous presented on his podcast. Now that I have read Native Air for myself I am going to remember it for the emotional response of overwhelming love and relief that it drew out me. I was overcome by the conclusion and I practically cried. It made me want to hug my wife and kids and celebrate us being together.
Most of all, I loved that it was unashamedly, without interruption to give a technical explanation about how climbing was done (but once on my count) a story around climbing activities and obsession, but a human story that could have been about an obsession over ocean diving. It was brilliantly constructed.
Sometimes you and I learn that a book that just won a best-of award, the conversation abruptly shifts in the excitement of the news. What the author did to write it, and what the author is doing next, rather than what the book did that earned such merit falls far below the fold. For now, and for this review, I don’t care that Howland won, because I want simply encourage you to go read it. It will make you want to go climbing and it will make you a more loving person.
This review originally appeared on The Suburban Mountaineer at SuburbanMountaineer.com
December 2, 2022
The perfect climbing novel not about climbing. Howland does an impeccable job of weaving the human condition into the fabric of this novel that is superficially about a free-climbing partnership between two people in the 80s. It’s also a great ode to the history of rock climbing in the US. Not Everest, not
mountaineering, not alpinism. Rock climbing. I couldn’t stop once I started. I also believe the author does a great job of making the novel approachable by the non-climbing audience while also satisfying the appetite of the climbing community. Amazing read.
mountaineering, not alpinism. Rock climbing. I couldn’t stop once I started. I also believe the author does a great job of making the novel approachable by the non-climbing audience while also satisfying the appetite of the climbing community. Amazing read.
June 21, 2022
This books feels really special. For the non-climber: this is written with beautiful prose and deeply explores complicated yet relatable relationships and grief. As a climber, this book brought the sharp feeling of granite to the backs of my hands. Highly recommend this book.
September 4, 2023
I haven’t been climbing the longest, nor am I the fittest, but I find so many commonalities in this book to the moments I treasure from the mountains and I believe so many others do feel the same. It’s a wonder that the author was able to articulate this so eloquently
March 18, 2026
In the words of Will, "It's over."
Would I Recommend It?
Absolutely NOT. Ever. To anyone.
Thoughts?
First off, this was a book club pick/read of Spokane Mountaineers group.
I only didn't DNF this book because my love of the book club is far greater than my absolute dislike of this book.
The first 80 pages are absolute torture. It's pages and pages of names of real rock climbers and places. Mind you, I read rock climbing (and mountaineering and outdoorsy) nonfiction for fun. I know several of the people and places mentioned. But they are just diarrhea when it's in a fictional story and we are just ramming all these names, places, and achievements only to then squeeze in our main characters into the mix.
It's a book that starts out quite religious, but then becomes not so much towards the end. So, the thing I thought that was going to make me throw it into the fires of hell ended up not being the reason for my extreme dislike. The MC is a pastor. But then actually realizes he sucks at it (and or becomes disillusioned by the practice) and leaves the church. I was hoping that just maybe… there would be self discovery and he'd leave religion altogether, but the author didn't take it that far.
There is so much unnecessary rambling in this book.
The timeline jumps all over and everywhere. You finally get used to it halfway through the book.
I so dislike books without chapters. This one is separated into Parts I, II, and III + Afterword. It makes the never-endingness feel of the book even more never-endingy.
The main premise of this book is grappling with death. Taking risks. Did Pete die by accident or by suicide? Pete's son, Will, seems to lean toward thinking his father committed suicide. Jon decides to tell this convoluted story of Bill, the rock climber, who fell off on a big climb, banged himself up real bad, ended up in a hospital, then a couple of weeks later shot himself in the head. Jon then tells Will that Pete didn't commit suicide because "Your Dad, he wasn't done. His soloing wasn't suicide. Not by far." To which Will replies, "You don't know." Jon counters, "He had a lot to live for." Jon is referencing Pete's two kids and wife.
AAAAAAAHHHHHHH!
F me, dude. People who commit suicide aren't thinking straight when they do it. There is a whole chemical imbalance happening in their brains. Things like children and wives and loved ones… it doesn't matter to them at that point. They kill themselves because at that moment their life isn't worth to continue (and other psychological factors).
I can't stand that the author makes this stupid point that, "oh Will, no, your Dad didn’t commit suicide cause he had you to live for." This must be some religious shit-talking happening. Religions that condemn death by suicide. Or just plain ignorant of the science behind suicide.*
With all this said. I don't think Pete committed suicide cause most of the things we are told in the book he did throughout his life just pointed to his complete selfishness. Pete wanted to climb. End of story. Nothing was going to stop him from climbing. No climbing partner? No problem. Climb solo or why not just free solo it. Pete was about extremes. Pushing his skills. Mix in a bit of laziness about putting up gear. Sprinkle in some cockiness. There were meager references that Pete's life wasn't going great because his relationship with his wife was strained. Probably cause she wanted him to stop climbing cause well, two kids, to be the father to. But not enough to conclude that Pete was depressed. Pete just didn't want to be told "no" when it came to his climbing.
The thing is. The author doesn't pick one road or the other. He just meanders and flits about with random thoughts and ideas here and there. And this. This drives me bonkers. I can't stand authors that don't commit to any one thought/belief.
I didn't cry. Not once. The book was that devoid of emotion. There is so much pointless descriptions and stories that you continually get catapulted out of your seat just as you got in it to try and have feelings for the main characters. So many thoughts and sentences that just dead end. His writing is discursive and vague.
Other reviewers are bowing down how amazing this author is about talking about climate change and pro-environment and conservation. This is by far the weakest fictional story I've read that is pro-conservation. I suggest you grab one of Charlotte McConaghy's books. Then we can compare notes on how to do climate change properly.
The Dear Author Section:
Page 148 "Third is the famously photogenic corner with a narrow crack splitting two hundred feet of blonde, lichen-splashed granite so clean and vertical it's as if God had made the dome, cleaved it of its northern half…"
This remark was made by Jon, the MC, who is a pastor. Ummmm… as per religion God did create everything. So God did make that dome. Hence this comment is completely out of character for Jon, the MC. (For the record, I am not saying God made everything. God doesn't exist in my expert opinion.)
Dear Author needs to read up on laws of removing archeological artifacts from National Forests:
It is Illegal to Remove Artifacts
Page 83: "… a mile north and a couple thousand feet above Paiute Pass where for thousands of summers Indians from the east crossed over to meet up with tribes from San Juaquin."
Page 84: "Pete and I had poked around these meadows for shards and fragments of some young hunter's bored flint-knapping. Once in a while we'd find a nearly complete arrowhead, probably discarded on account of a cleave or flaw we couldn't detect. Pete kept a dish of these in the trailer."
Dear Author needs to read up on proper camping etiquette in the backcountry:
Page 92: "The tent where I'd spent three days in the rain and fog was now adjacent to a compound of strewn gear--three bear canisters of food, their tent, three ropes beside a pyramid of tangled climbing hardware[…] they'd be back in ten or twelve hours."
Why am I nitpicking about this minute thing? Because multiple references are made throughout the story about Pete being all about science, conserving nature, and strong advocate of climate change. Pete read up on it extensively. Well, then Dear Author how about we don't have Pete leaving food out unattended next to tents? How about we set up a proper triangle? Food in one corner, tent in another, and you cook in the third corner. Otherwise bears will eat human food and risk being shot for becoming nuisance bears.
Quotable Quotes:
"I was crying less for losing Pete than for what I had forgotten about the life he wouldn't or couldn't let go of until the end." page 124
"It's done." he says. "Sorry I took so long. It's done. It's okay."
Yes, it's okay, I will survive this torturous read and have so much fun discussing and dissecting it in book club next week.
*Yes, I am speaking from experience. My aunt committed suicide. She left behind a husband and two daughters. Yes, there were signs of her depression, but I was only 16 or so and nobody listened to me a year before it happened that something is seriously wrong with my aunt. She then couldn't get buried in the Catholic church she affiliated with cause suicide is a sin. She got buried in a Presbyterian church her daughter (my cousin) is affiliated with. Then this cousin of mine has had multiple suicidal attempts. Luckily, she gets help and knows to read the signs of her depression. So, yeah, I do have some first hand experience and this author just doesn't address any of the serious aspects.
For Reviews of Other Books I've Read
The Hiking Bookworms<
Would I Recommend It?
Absolutely NOT. Ever. To anyone.
Thoughts?
First off, this was a book club pick/read of Spokane Mountaineers group.
I only didn't DNF this book because my love of the book club is far greater than my absolute dislike of this book.
The first 80 pages are absolute torture. It's pages and pages of names of real rock climbers and places. Mind you, I read rock climbing (and mountaineering and outdoorsy) nonfiction for fun. I know several of the people and places mentioned. But they are just diarrhea when it's in a fictional story and we are just ramming all these names, places, and achievements only to then squeeze in our main characters into the mix.
It's a book that starts out quite religious, but then becomes not so much towards the end. So, the thing I thought that was going to make me throw it into the fires of hell ended up not being the reason for my extreme dislike. The MC is a pastor. But then actually realizes he sucks at it (and or becomes disillusioned by the practice) and leaves the church. I was hoping that just maybe… there would be self discovery and he'd leave religion altogether, but the author didn't take it that far.
There is so much unnecessary rambling in this book.
The timeline jumps all over and everywhere. You finally get used to it halfway through the book.
I so dislike books without chapters. This one is separated into Parts I, II, and III + Afterword. It makes the never-endingness feel of the book even more never-endingy.
The main premise of this book is grappling with death. Taking risks. Did Pete die by accident or by suicide? Pete's son, Will, seems to lean toward thinking his father committed suicide. Jon decides to tell this convoluted story of Bill, the rock climber, who fell off on a big climb, banged himself up real bad, ended up in a hospital, then a couple of weeks later shot himself in the head. Jon then tells Will that Pete didn't commit suicide because "Your Dad, he wasn't done. His soloing wasn't suicide. Not by far." To which Will replies, "You don't know." Jon counters, "He had a lot to live for." Jon is referencing Pete's two kids and wife.
AAAAAAAHHHHHHH!
F me, dude. People who commit suicide aren't thinking straight when they do it. There is a whole chemical imbalance happening in their brains. Things like children and wives and loved ones… it doesn't matter to them at that point. They kill themselves because at that moment their life isn't worth to continue (and other psychological factors).
I can't stand that the author makes this stupid point that, "oh Will, no, your Dad didn’t commit suicide cause he had you to live for." This must be some religious shit-talking happening. Religions that condemn death by suicide. Or just plain ignorant of the science behind suicide.*
With all this said. I don't think Pete committed suicide cause most of the things we are told in the book he did throughout his life just pointed to his complete selfishness. Pete wanted to climb. End of story. Nothing was going to stop him from climbing. No climbing partner? No problem. Climb solo or why not just free solo it. Pete was about extremes. Pushing his skills. Mix in a bit of laziness about putting up gear. Sprinkle in some cockiness. There were meager references that Pete's life wasn't going great because his relationship with his wife was strained. Probably cause she wanted him to stop climbing cause well, two kids, to be the father to. But not enough to conclude that Pete was depressed. Pete just didn't want to be told "no" when it came to his climbing.
The thing is. The author doesn't pick one road or the other. He just meanders and flits about with random thoughts and ideas here and there. And this. This drives me bonkers. I can't stand authors that don't commit to any one thought/belief.
I didn't cry. Not once. The book was that devoid of emotion. There is so much pointless descriptions and stories that you continually get catapulted out of your seat just as you got in it to try and have feelings for the main characters. So many thoughts and sentences that just dead end. His writing is discursive and vague.
Other reviewers are bowing down how amazing this author is about talking about climate change and pro-environment and conservation. This is by far the weakest fictional story I've read that is pro-conservation. I suggest you grab one of Charlotte McConaghy's books. Then we can compare notes on how to do climate change properly.
The Dear Author Section:
Page 148 "Third is the famously photogenic corner with a narrow crack splitting two hundred feet of blonde, lichen-splashed granite so clean and vertical it's as if God had made the dome, cleaved it of its northern half…"
This remark was made by Jon, the MC, who is a pastor. Ummmm… as per religion God did create everything. So God did make that dome. Hence this comment is completely out of character for Jon, the MC. (For the record, I am not saying God made everything. God doesn't exist in my expert opinion.)
Dear Author needs to read up on laws of removing archeological artifacts from National Forests:
It is Illegal to Remove Artifacts
Page 83: "… a mile north and a couple thousand feet above Paiute Pass where for thousands of summers Indians from the east crossed over to meet up with tribes from San Juaquin."
Page 84: "Pete and I had poked around these meadows for shards and fragments of some young hunter's bored flint-knapping. Once in a while we'd find a nearly complete arrowhead, probably discarded on account of a cleave or flaw we couldn't detect. Pete kept a dish of these in the trailer."
Dear Author needs to read up on proper camping etiquette in the backcountry:
Page 92: "The tent where I'd spent three days in the rain and fog was now adjacent to a compound of strewn gear--three bear canisters of food, their tent, three ropes beside a pyramid of tangled climbing hardware[…] they'd be back in ten or twelve hours."
Why am I nitpicking about this minute thing? Because multiple references are made throughout the story about Pete being all about science, conserving nature, and strong advocate of climate change. Pete read up on it extensively. Well, then Dear Author how about we don't have Pete leaving food out unattended next to tents? How about we set up a proper triangle? Food in one corner, tent in another, and you cook in the third corner. Otherwise bears will eat human food and risk being shot for becoming nuisance bears.
Quotable Quotes:
"I was crying less for losing Pete than for what I had forgotten about the life he wouldn't or couldn't let go of until the end." page 124
"It's done." he says. "Sorry I took so long. It's done. It's okay."
Yes, it's okay, I will survive this torturous read and have so much fun discussing and dissecting it in book club next week.
*Yes, I am speaking from experience. My aunt committed suicide. She left behind a husband and two daughters. Yes, there were signs of her depression, but I was only 16 or so and nobody listened to me a year before it happened that something is seriously wrong with my aunt. She then couldn't get buried in the Catholic church she affiliated with cause suicide is a sin. She got buried in a Presbyterian church her daughter (my cousin) is affiliated with. Then this cousin of mine has had multiple suicidal attempts. Luckily, she gets help and knows to read the signs of her depression. So, yeah, I do have some first hand experience and this author just doesn't address any of the serious aspects.
For Reviews of Other Books I've Read
The Hiking Bookworms<
January 16, 2023
I am as far away from climbing as one could be - one of those "day hikers for whom an alpine lake was sufficient". (Came to this book because a friend is a friend of the author.)
That said, i enjoyed the book very much, an engaging story. l learned a lot.
A little too much "inside baseball" for me, regarding places, terrain, equipment, etc ... I still don't know what 'reracking' is.
A good read, in any case.
That said, i enjoyed the book very much, an engaging story. l learned a lot.
A little too much "inside baseball" for me, regarding places, terrain, equipment, etc ... I still don't know what 'reracking' is.
A good read, in any case.
April 22, 2024
I was recommended this book as a book about climbing, and while there is a lot of climbing going on in this book, it is hardly about the climbing itself. Rather, the climbing is a setting for the more universal story about people and their relationships with one another. With the memoir-like style, I felt very much in the mind of Joe, and I actually quite enjoyed the somewhat roundabout way of telling the story he had. It was of course also fun to read the sections where they did climb- I felt very able to imagine those scenes, especially having been to some of the places the characters visited. I appreciated the attention to detail here, and at times needed to remind myself that this was a fictional story. I recommend this book to climbers of course, but really anyone as it isn’t a story about climbing so much as people. But I do think that people familiar with climbing or with the Sierra eastside (where much of the book is set) will appreciate those aspects just that much more.
June 22, 2024
Are there ordinary days of your life you can recall like no other—not for where you were or what happened, but for the seamlessness?
September 21, 2024
The purest climbing book I have ever read
Life is about the partnerships we make, and this book illuminates this
Life is about the partnerships we make, and this book illuminates this
November 20, 2024
So nice I read it twice
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews