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Snow Rising (2010)

by Matt Baldwin(Favorite Author)

3.56 of 5 Votes: 1

ISBN

1606416588 (ISBN13: 9781606416587)

languge

English

genre

Fiction

publisher

Shadow Mountain

review 1: Matt Baldwin’s SNOW RISING follows the very human protagonist Jason Snow as he, his Yoda-like guide Clara, and three other amateur climbers hike up Mount Hood (in Oregon) during a personal crisis in Jason’s life: his marriage is hanging by a thread as he has continually relied upon making himself emotionally distant and put his career before most else to avoid pain. As he talks about an alternative philosophy to living with Clara, the true pain behind his current situation is unearthed like a submerged iceberg base. Although by no means completely innovative—he himself admits this, Baldwin crafts a fairly enjoyable tale to present a way of living the good life and pursuing joy therein. With the axioms of Compassion, Humility, Gratitude, and Conscience, the way to the... more good life recognizes that there are core truths toward happiness with only beliefs and actions left for each individual to choose. Of course, the consequences of choices have an element of unpredictability, but overall, Baldwin argues for a more positive, less self-centered, less judgmental outlook on life by changing from a worldly to a more human-centered view on living. The promise of adopting the core CHGC axioms in one’s own life promises a relative state of peace and happiness. In general, I wholeheartedly agree with the premise of the book. Life is not quite this formulaic to be sure, but this outlook offers a good starting point and does not come off as overly preachy in my opinion (in fact the God question is acknowledged but left unanswered by either Jason or his mentor Clara). This is a quick read that is well-written and easy to move through, but the overall story is secondary to the philosophical message and the plot suffers slightly from this prioritizing.
review 2: Snow Rising is a book that uses the fictional story of Jason Snow, a corporate executive who lives in guilt, disconnected from his family and unhappy with life to explore how we can find lasting peace. In the story his mountain climbing guide teaches Jason about four truths that can bring peace. I really struggled with this book. Early in the story they establish the main character, Jason Snow, who has done some awful things. He ran someone over with his truck in college and took off, refusing to take responsibility. He got someone fired from a job to save his own job. It kept piling up and not only could I not identify, I really did not like the character. Making someone dislike your main character is a bad idea because it makes the book difficult enjoy. It was a poor choice on the author’s part, and honestly, I did not like the rest of the book. While it was supposed to be ‘inspirational fiction’, I did not find it to be so for me.Snow Rising focuses on four truths that lead to peace:compassion humility gratitude conscienceWhile those truths are important, the book lacked a foundation in God, a framework so essential to bring perspective to the truths. It was like offering building materials without a blueprint or foundation to build upon. I can try to practice any of those four principles independent of God, but I will fail. There cannot be true compassion, or gratitude, or conscience, or humility independent of the author of all truth. I felt the book left out nearly all mention of God in an effort to appeal to a wider audience. It was a disappointment. I do not recommend this book.{Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book free to review. I provide my honest opinion, which means that if I don’t like it, I’ll tell you. It also means when I say I love something I really do.} less

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