Structure

The book opens with a brief few pages of background called “A Note on the Crisis in Nepal.” It gives a quick overview of what is causing the issues. The book then leads into a prologue set in Dec. 20, 2006, in which the narrator is holding out with two porters in the mountains in winter, wishing that things had gone differently. It is the equivalent of a Hollywood movie “opening on action.” In this technique, a movie's first scene has some kind of action that serves to hook the viewer. Background information can wait. First, show that there is a real risk involved. The author shows that there is real risk involved right from the beginning, which is key, because the regular narrative starts off as humorous. The reader knows that the lighthearted parts are going to be limited because that danger is right around the corner.

The...