CRUX

Two young climbers seek the footholds that will allow them to escape their families.

Tallent’s thrilling, well-turned second novel—following My Absolute Darling (2017)—concerns Dan Redburn and Tamma Callahan, high-school seniors united by their love for rock climbing in the Mojave Desert. The children of low-income families, they lack the funds for fancy gear, but the excitement of “sending” (completing) a climb is too hard to resist. They both fantasize about heading to Utah and living together off the grid. (Platonically; Dan is straight, Tamma a lesbian.) But multiple forces weigh on that ambition. Dan is in line for a college scholarship, and Tamma also aspires to join the competitive climbing circuit. Family proves the steepest challenge, though: Dan’s mother, a one-time successful novelist, has a serious heart ailment, while Tamma is often recruited to support her sister’s children. Moreover, their mothers, once best friends, are estranged, placing their friendship under further scrutiny. Though in some ways a conventional bildungsroman, the novel is lifted by Tallent’s gift for surprising and lively language, from the peculiar names climbers give to sites (one challenging climb is called Fingerbang Princess), to Tamma’s robust and profane rants, to the lingo used to describe climbs themselves. (A “crux” is a difficult portion of a climb.) Even if you don’t climb, the language is rich and resonant: “The hand crack was juicy. It was outrageously casual for crack climbing. Not even a boulder problem.” Tallent delivers excellent set pieces, particularly Tamma’s introduction to the competitive climbing world, but he consistently has his eye on the existential questions that climbing metaphorizes, such as how to balance independence with responsibility and what constitutes a meaningful life goal. “How should I conduct my life? Do you trust yourself, or do you not?” Dan asks himself, and this adventure tale invites the reader to consider the same questions.

A sharp novel about youth in conflict with dreams, nature, and reality.