Lydia Gill
How does Simpson engage the reader in the opening chapters of Touching the Void.
Simpson’s Touching the Void is a recount of his and Simon Yates’s treacherous climb of the Siula
Grande in the Peruvian Andes. Simpson is an English mountaineer with a strong passion for climbing
with little experience of writing books. Touching the Void needed to engage readers universally, not
just those who share similar interests or are experience climbers. A variety of techniques, some
more apparent than others, are used in the initial chapters to grab and retain the reader’s attention.
As an inexperienced author Simpson worked hard to make his story entertaining and appealing to
inform people of the dangers and the velocity of what he took on. This could be stimulated by
Heinrich Harrer’s ‘The White Spider’, which sparked Simpson’s passion for climbing.
Chris Bonington’s foreword at the very start of the novel foreshadows the events of the
novel, and also praises Simpson’s work. “It wasn’t just the remarkable nature of the story… It was
the quality of the writing.” As an uncredited writer Simpson may not have been taken seriously. This
acknowledgment from a recognised Climber cunningly convinces the reader that this book is well
worth the read. Including this foreword adds an element of suspense and encourages the reader to
discover what Bonington is so enthusiastic about. Similarly the quotation hook Simpson uses, from
T.F. Lawrence, ‘The Seven Pillars of Wisdom’, connects the reader with something they may already
know and make him seem more sincere.
First impressions of the entire book will be founded from the first page. Simpson effectively
engages the reader with his first paragraph through a visual and atmospheric hook. “Staring at the
light filtering through the red and green fabric of the dome tent.” A mysterious mood is evoked
through this in-depth description, first appealing to our sense of sight. All senses are covered which
allows the reader to fully comprehend the situation, and imagine themselves there. “Sounds of
rustling… Feel of hard lumps… Smell of rancid socks.” This common experience is likely to be familiar
to everyone, allowing an awareness of what is being felt at this moment. In the second paragraph
Simpson makes use of orientational description and prepositions to help the reader visualise the
situation. “Separated from the nearest village by 28 miles of rough walking … Surrounded by the
most spectacular ring of Ice Mountains I had ever seen”. The locational panoramic descriptions give
a full account of what’s happening, allowing full comprehension and therefore engagement from the
reader. The use of superlatives and hyperbolic language “most spectacular… I had ever seen” and
also the specific factual description of ‘28 miles’ hooks the reader and emphasises the isolation.
Mountaineering is an obvious semantic field of the book, with terminology such as “axes,
crampons, crevasse”. The effect of this is enhanced reality and precise detail, which is a familiarity to
other climbers and entices other reader’s into the subject of climbing. Simpson also uses the novel
to inform people, with his methodical and rhythmic listing, “head down, hitting, hopping, on past me
and up, without a word, just hitting hard.” This suggests the monotony of climbing, which paired
with the terminology, gives authenticity and understanding of the story and thus involves the
reader. Contrastingly Simpson uses architectural descriptions of the mountains. “buttress, pillars”
creates grandeur and helps with the vivid imagery of the mountains. Although this may be figurative
language it works effectively in helping picture the setting. The continuous factual descriptions,
although useful, lose their influence as it is easier to picture a “great yellow rock buttress” than a
“1,000-foot-high wall.” This is also evidence of how Simpson has not just produced a factual account
of his expedition, but has created a literary gem appealing to all audiences.
Frequent use of free indirect discourse puts the reader at the forefront of what Simpson is
thinking. “This way is wrong. Damn, damn! Get back down, reverse it. No! Put a screw in.” In this
Lydia Gill
case the short and quick utterances demonstrate the immediacy and panic, showing the danger and
suspense of climbing and how quickly things can change. The use of exclamatives here, and
throughout the novel, is useful in representing the peak of situations. Climbing brings a lot of
adrenaline and heightened emotions engage the reader on its own. Another technique used to bring
the reader closer to the action is the frequent use of direct speech. “We ought to bivi here,’ I said.”
This informal, chatty comment shows the closeness between Simpson and Yates. Also shown is their
decision making which references the unpredictability and how you must think on your feet. A
contrast to that is the expression of joy, “Yeeee haaaaaaaa!” Simpson chose to present this in this
way to show his relief and jubilance. The phonetic spelling also displays the echoing of the
mountains, and how no one is around to hear him.
In order to keep the pace of the novel a variety of sentence lengths is used. “At last, we fell
silent. A terrible fear and insecurity had over taken our boisterous reaction to the unimaginable
event.” A mixture of monosyllabic and polysyllabic lexis keeps interest and pace. This particular
quote suggests Simpson uses a short sentence to make his point, and then a complex sentence to
describe exactly what he is feeling. The complex sentences, and even conditionals “if just one anchor
point failed…”, show desperation and suspense. Where the story has reached points of danger
Simpson has used short sentences to speed up the reading, possibly in the same way heart beats
increase. The sentence “The next few seconds were unforgettable.” is isolated in a line by itself,
which exaggerates the point being made and makes you want to read on.
A simple but powerful technique Simpson uses to engage the reader is his strong imagery.
“The gas stove hissed… Ice clattered down.” This onomatopoeic language and sound imagery
increases the vividry for the reader and picks out all senses. The hissing stove also demonstrates the
personification or animal characteristics given to the surroundings. “ice weeps… heavy roaring”.
These connotations give feelings of threat and pragmatic meanings of danger, especially in the sense
of a roaring lion. The phrase “Extravagant castles of sugar icing” shows the architectural language
but also his impressive metaphors which engage the reader’s imagination and potential emphasises
the delicacy of the vast mountains. This quote also shows how Simpson wanted the book to be
entertaining as well as resourceful. Simpson often clusters word types together to exaggerate his
descriptions, “fixed… strung… clipped… settled.” An effect of these 4 verbs in the syndetic list shows
the monotony and repetitiveness of the fundamental actions they have to take. This hooks the
reader by giving them full insight into what must be done.
Engaging the reader is a major essential when writing a book, especially in Simpson’s case
where he is not known for writing and may be initially doubted at his capability. Because of this it is
of upmost importance that effective techniques are used to hook the reader and help them remain
interested for the entirety of the tale. Simpson effectively catches the reader within the first pages
mainly through riveting and thorough descriptions that are easily relatable. The foreword stating
that a first-hand account beats a biographical account is encouraging for the reader to begin reading.
Simpson then successfully uses language techniques and varying syntax to stimulate the reader and
keep them engaged. His short flash back in the midst of the opening chapter give insight into the
kind of thing the reader should expect, which helps in demonstrating his capabilities as a writer.
Simpson consistently uses a wide range of techniques without making his writing appear amateur, as
they are all in balance and don’t take the focus off the actual story.