Out of the Silence

I vaguely remember first reading about the 1972 Andes plane crash and the incredible survival of sixteen passengers in one of those World's Greatest books which were popular during my childhood. The thought of that complete isolation captured my imagination back then and now, some thirty-five years later, Eduardo Strauch's memoir vividly recreates the situation he and his friends endured for over two months high in the Andean mountains. I especially loved Strauch's evocations of the majesty of this bleak environment and the total silence - an almost unimaginable experience for me as I don't think I've ever been anywhere with no sound at all. He also describes the terrifying reality of the crash itself and its immediate aftermath with traumatised survivors able to help their badly injured friends with only cobbled-together and primitive resources. These chapters are harrowing to read.

Strauch also explains the terrible conundrum that faced the dwindling group as their limited food swiftly ran out. With literally nothing else to eat, their only potential sustenance was the bodies of those who had already died. I felt a great respect for Strauch for honestly and openly recounting the discussions the people had. As a vegan, what particularly caught my attention was the question of consent. All those still alive at the time of the conversations willingly agreed that their bodies could be used to feed the others, yet those surviving them still faced immense psychological difficulties in overcoming deeply engrained social taboos.

I wondered if this book had initially been compiled from a series of essays or speeches because there are several instances of information overlapping or being repeated. I also found it difficult to connect with Strauch's explorations of the spiritual growth he had experienced in the years following the crash as he came to terms with what had happened and what he had lost. Out Of The Silence isn't a particularly long memoir and I did feel that the psychological chapters could have been extended. Strauch discusses his now making speeches about the effects of his return from the mountains and I would have been interested to learn more about those life lessons.