Yann Martel takes readers on a strange journey intertwined by the love we share, the loss we experience, and the ways we deal with both. The story begins in the early years of the 20th century with a young man named Tomás, who is slowly recovering from the death of his son and the love of his life. A religious man, Tomás has turned his back on God in a very literal way --- he walks everywhere backwards --- but somehow manages to move forward in his search for a religious artifact. A reference found in an ancient journal leads him on an expedition of sorts. Grieving and terrified of the strange new automobile gifted to him by his uncle to make his trek into the high mountains of Portugal possible, he slowly begins to understand his obsession with the journal and the artifact.

"THE HIGH MOUNTAINS OF PORTUGAL is a book that you buy, read, fall in love with, and return to time and again. It’s such a rich story, and it tugs you slowly forward on an emotional wave that rocks you along toward an end that is very much the mystery that sometimes can be life itself."

Eusebio Lozora, a pathologist with a deep love of Agatha Christie novels, is working late on the evening of December 31, 1938 when a strange series of events sets off a mystery he can’t wrap his head around. After a visit from his wife that involves a rather circuitous lecture on why he enjoys mystery novels so much, a woman arrives and asks him to conduct an autopsy on her husband, Rafael. Seeing that the doctor is confused by her request, she notes that she brought Rafael along for him to examine --- in her suitcase. What she wants most is for Eusebio to tell her how her husband lived. Unknowingly, the doctor is drawn back into Tomás’ quest.

Over 50 years later, Peter Tovy, a Canadian senator who is deeply grieving the loss of his beloved wife, takes a break from work to visit a research facility in the U.S. He finds himself rescuing a chimpanzee, and moving to his family’s ancestral home in the high mountains of Portugal, all the while questioning every single choice he makes --- and his own sanity.

Each of these stories feels so fantastical but so wonderful at the same time, as well as heart-wrenching and joyful. Contradiction? Well, yes, in the most astonishing way possible. It’s a reflection of life and the strange journey it can be when tinged with unbearable and inescapable loss that will touch everyone. Martel tells the story of love, faith and loss so beautifully.

THE HIGH MOUNTAINS OF PORTUGAL is a book that you buy, read, fall in love with, and return to time and again. It’s such a rich story, and it tugs you slowly forward on an emotional wave that rocks you along toward an end that is very much the mystery that sometimes can be life itself. It’s more than a book --- it’s an emotional experience and so very worthy of a permanent place in a booklover’s home.