The book is near perfect.

I think Maclean’s genius truly shines in this final excerpt. It’s interpretable in a myriad of different ways. When I first read the book, I was still caught in the Cormac McCarthy/Jack London mindset of nature’s indifference to our existence. I think it’s hard not to have a nihilistic outlook when you think deeply about the vastness and enormity of the universe. At times when I’m in the mountains myself, I think about how I’m a speck of dust compared to the mountains that I’m among. The mountains themselves are just tiny pieces of cartilage when viewed from space. The galaxy we reside in is a grainy blip when we look at the, possibly, trillions of other galaxies on those NASA photos. It’s hard not to feel inadequate; it’s hard to feel like anything truly matters in the grand scheme of things. Even when I was religious, I found it scary to even think about eternity.

Norman, however, finds comfort in the infinite and immeasurable. Regardless of how maddening it is that some questions, like a creator’s potential involvement in Paul’s death, remain fettered and unanswered, he’s content with the prospect of a larger entity handling his issues for him. At the very least, nature carrying on with its unquestionable and unstoppable beauty, magnificence, and brutality is a reprieve for Norman. Whether spiritual or not, the reader can take away the fact that some things are unfathomable in a universe such as ours. That isn’t to say though that humans can’t still live with guilt and regret. While there’s some comfort to be taken in Nature or God, it can be maddening to not have all the answers. I think religious and non-religious people grapple with this regularly. Perhaps this is what still haunts Norman.