Miracle in the Andes takes you into an unknown world of pain, fear and tragedy. You are pulled into a place where you’re trapped in below zero temperature, with horrors unimaginable; you have little food, thin clothing and have had everything important stripped from you in a matter of minutes. Nando, the author, sequentially takes you through his terrifying experience where he has lost his closest friends and family, and has to find a way to escape this God ridden, doomed world that was his reality for 72 days. A Uruguay Rugby team was flying to Chile for a match but with bad weather, their plane came tumbling down into the unforgiving Andes. Many of the players and family members died instantly, including Nando’s best friends, his mother and his sister. This disastrous place became their home, living off faith that God would save them and the hope of search but eventually it was called off and their survival revolved around the treacherous journey to civilization. The easiest thing was to let the mountains take them, but Nando wasn’t about to give up. His father became his strength and the only weapon he had to fight off death; it was in the mountains that he discovered his belief that love is our greatest strength and it is what keeps us from falling into the hands of death. Nando chooses to bring the reader though the story as if they were there themselves, experiencing every struggle and loss and with this, the readers are able to connect to what Nando learned while in the Andes; that we should live life to its fullest. Miracle in the Andes will tap into your deepest emotions and truly change your perspective on life. This book does have a slow start but when you reach the days of the crash, you will be eternally changed; the book impacts you like no other, causing the reader to feel the pain that all the people who crashed felt. This book is about struggle, tough decisions and perseverance; it is unlike any other book with these ideas because it gives you a first-hand experience and places the reader in the Andes themselves, witnessing every hardship. Because Nando brings the readers through the story; they witness every horrifying, deadly experience as if they were there with him and with this the readers feel as though Nando’s beliefs are their own. The readers are able to fully understand Nando’s discovery that we can’t control the things that happen to us, but we can determine how we deal with it. Life is full of many unpredictable events and because of that, we must enjoy every moment; we only have one life and it is too precious to lose a second of it. This book will change your beliefs in life and its difficulties, inspiring you to never waste a breath.
Imagine this, living on top of a mountain; at high magnitude, where the temperature is below freezing. Every breath is crucial for anyone could be the last. Isolated, trapped, cold, hungry and homeless are only some of the struggles for survival. How far will one go to survive these harsh and dangerous conditions? Eating the flesh of your best friend for a source of food may be the only resource. Rugby players, friends and family were on route travelling to their warm and relaxing vacation in Chile where they would play intense and competitive games of rugby. Little did they know, this would be the ride straight to the grave for half of them, and for the other half it would be a test for survival. During the flight, the clouds above the plane grew darker and wilder, leaving the pilot blind. The plane headed right for the mountains, the lifting mood of desperation grew, and as the plane tip hit the mountains, the impact killed many, leaving some unconscious, and wounding most. They had to question how far would they go to survive the harsh and most dangerous part of the Andes; they would have to stick together in order to bypass death. Nando Parrado, believes as the author and survivor that they were living as the dead, and the only way to pull through was to climb the mountains and seek help. The only thing that kept Nando from laying there and waiting for his death was his lonely father that believed his family was dead. Nando needed to prove himself and the others wrong and show that the odds can be beaten with determination.
The message that Nando wants to share with the reader is to live your life to the fullest, do not waste a breath because life can throw unexpected events in your way that will test how much one appreciates being alive. The novel carried many strengths in the details that Nando used to describe each character which allowed the reader to understand and relate to them personally. We lived through and with each character, and what they did differently in order to survive. We also got to experience the emotion towards each player. Nando detailed the 10 weeks in the Andes, illustrating the most important and disastrous aspects, which helped the reader understand their true experiences in the book. The pictures in the book helped see that this book is of real experiences that happened to this courageous family of friends. A couple things that were weak in the book, was how the book started off, it was slow, and at some points throughout the chapters, the plot grew slower. In the end, I really enjoyed this book, it brought a huge emotional impact to the reader. I enjoyed sharing the overwhelming amount of emotions that they all faced, the sadness when family or friend passed away, the loss of hope when the chance of survival became slimmer, and the joy and relief when they they beat the odds and became survivors.
Miracle in the Andes takes you into an unknown world of pain, fear and tragedy. You are pulled into a place where you’re trapped in below zero temperature, with horrors unimaginable; you have little food, thin clothing and have had everything important stripped from you in a matter of minutes. Nando, the author, sequentially takes you through his terrifying experience where he has lost his closest friends and family, and has to find a way to escape this God ridden, doomed world that was his reality for 72 days. A Uruguay Rugby team was flying to Chile for a match but with bad weather, their plane came tumbling down into the unforgiving Andes. Many of the players and family members died instantly, including Nando’s best friends, his mother and his sister. This disastrous place became their home, living off faith that God would save them and the hope of search but eventually it was called off and their survival revolved around the treacherous journey to civilization. The easiest thing was to let the mountains take them, but Nando wasn’t about to give up. His father became his strength and the only weapon he had to fight off death; it was in the mountains that he discovered his belief that love is our greatest strength and it is what keeps us from falling into the hands of death. Nando chooses to bring the reader though the story as if they were there themselves, experiencing every struggle and loss and with this, the readers are able to connect to what Nando learned while in the Andes; that we should live life to its fullest. Miracle in the Andes will tap into your deepest emotions and truly change your perspective on life. This book does have a slow start but when you reach the days of the crash, you will be eternally changed; the book impacts you like no other, causing the reader to feel the pain that all the people who crashed felt. This book is about struggle, tough decisions and perseverance; it is unlike any other book with these ideas because it gives you a first-hand experience and places the reader in the Andes themselves, witnessing every hardship. Because Nando brings the readers through the story; they witness every horrifying, deadly experience as if they were there with him and with this the readers feel as though Nando’s beliefs are their own. The readers are able to fully understand Nando’s discovery that we can’t control the things that happen to us, but we can determine how we deal with it. Life is full of many unpredictable events and because of that, we must enjoy every moment; we only have one life and it is too precious to lose a second of it. This book will change your beliefs in life and its difficulties, inspiring you to never waste a breath.
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ReplyDeleteImagine this, living on top of a mountain; at high magnitude, where the temperature is below freezing. Every breath is crucial for anyone could be the last. Isolated, trapped, cold, hungry and homeless are only some of the struggles for survival. How far will one go to survive these harsh and dangerous conditions? Eating the flesh of your best friend for a source of food may be the only resource. Rugby players, friends and family were on route travelling to their warm and relaxing vacation in Chile where they would play intense and competitive games of rugby. Little did they know, this would be the ride straight to the grave for half of them, and for the other half it would be a test for survival. During the flight, the clouds above the plane grew darker and wilder, leaving the pilot blind. The plane headed right for the mountains, the lifting mood of desperation grew, and as the plane tip hit the mountains, the impact killed many, leaving some unconscious, and wounding most. They had to question how far would they go to survive the harsh and most dangerous part of the Andes; they would have to stick together in order to bypass death. Nando Parrado, believes as the author and survivor that they were living as the dead, and the only way to pull through was to climb the mountains and seek help. The only thing that kept Nando from laying there and waiting for his death was his lonely father that believed his family was dead. Nando needed to prove himself and the others wrong and show that the odds can be beaten with determination.
ReplyDeleteThe message that Nando wants to share with the reader is to live your life to the fullest, do not waste a breath because life can throw unexpected events in your way that will test how much one appreciates being alive. The novel carried many strengths in the details that Nando used to describe each character which allowed the reader to understand and relate to them personally. We lived through and with each character, and what they did differently in order to survive. We also got to experience the emotion towards each player. Nando detailed the 10 weeks in the Andes, illustrating the most important and disastrous aspects, which helped the reader understand their true experiences in the book. The pictures in the book helped see that this book is of real experiences that happened to this courageous family of friends. A couple things that were weak in the book, was how the book started off, it was slow, and at some points throughout the chapters, the plot grew slower. In the end, I really enjoyed this book, it brought a huge emotional impact to the reader. I enjoyed sharing the overwhelming amount of emotions that they all faced, the sadness when family or friend passed away, the loss of hope when the chance of survival became slimmer, and the joy and relief when they they beat the odds and became survivors.