Three Cups of Tea Book Review | Teen Ink

Three Cups of Tea Book Review

February 11, 2009
By Anonymous

The story of Three cups of Tea puts most of the dreary and boring non-fiction novels to utter shame. It's very common to hear that most if not all non-fiction stories are a very slow and boring read as opposed to the ever more popular fiction titles out today. This novel on the other hand sets the record in establishing a very adventure based novel where a one man going by the name of Greg Mortenson decides to change the world and make the best out of the poverty-stricken villages located in the rural areas of Pakistan and Afghanistan. Mortenson from the beginning of the novel was nothing but a nurse who enjoyed mountain climbing. He saw fit to climb Mt. K2 in Karakoram of northern Pakistan. He did to honor the memory of his deceased sister, Christa, only to end up failing in the attempt. Ruffled and choked up with depression Mortenson felt there wasn't much left to it, that is until he came to view upon a small village whereas the people took it upon themselves to help him recover after the mountain climbing flop. This action causes Mortenson to lighten up and he decides to make a promise to this village of people. His promise is what begins this epic non-fiction tale on how this nurse/mountain-climber turned humanitarian could possibly change the world. It's amazing what this whole situation has turned out to be, and at the same time the concept of this act and all the personal sacrifices he's made to make sure this promise came through is nothing but admiring. The co-author, David Oliver Relin, admits that meeting Mortenson in person was probably the most incredible experience he's ever had in his entire life. The book is written from Relin's fine perspective as a journalist and can be found out about how things got started in the introduction of the novel. Relin's compassion for Mortenson has made him less and less objective in his speculative. Of course there are people who don't want help or deny any sort of compassion. The promise to build a school is located in the breeding grounds of the Taliban, terrorists with extreme religious beliefs. Mortenson has been kidnapped and threatened with death if his project were to make some sort of mark. Many of the common folks would have probably stopped here in fear of their own life, but did this stop Mortenson, nope, he kept with the promise believing the idea that if we are to fight the war on terror properly? Then lets handout the books and teaching programs rather than follow suit with violence and heavy duty machinery. He interacts with many of the people from the villages; one being a mentor, others deciding it was time to occupy their time in assisting this valid cause. This story is like a fiction in a non-fiction, filled with action, albeit a little, adventure, romance, drama, suspense, and even a tad bit of horror if you think about the life threatening event as such, all this most readers find a lot in fictional advertisement while in non-fiction we get documentaries of a stale nature. An amazing read to breach through on how Mortenson, one man with great qualities and many flaws, can change the world and follow through with one simple promise he made with a poor village living in a third world country. It really brings out the human in you, the human that believes he can do anything if they put their mind to it. The only thing holding back is the sky, hence the saying 'the skies the limit'. A great find in the non-fiction genre and a must read to see how the whole thing plays out. Three Cups of Tea shall be recommended to all who enjoy reading period as it brings untold quality, especially for teenagers, for the unpopular genre known as non-fiction.


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