I have read little of his writings, but from what I can see, the unfinished Mount Analogue was Rene Daumal’s masterpiece. I believe that is also the general opinion. It is a most curious novel: it strikes me as unique, and yet the idea of a journey for spiritual understanding is an ancient theme, found as long ago as Gilgamesh. There is something about it which I cannot put my finger on. I suspect it is something deep which he expresses in the flow of the narrative, the succession of images, not in the words. It seems to me to introduce a simplicity into his writing which had hitherto been lacking. It was a large step forward for Daumal. But then my favourite novelists are Scott and Trollope, so I am not the man to pontificate on French literature.

I can however, say something about this reading. It is a sterling achievement. There are professional voice actors. I would put the late Ralph Cosham at the top of the pile. His reading of Kipling’s Kim is, in my humble opinion, matchless. And Kim, I should say, is the greatest one-volume novel I have ever read. But I doubt Ralph Cosham could have managed what Anthony Blake does here, for the simple reason that Anthony is a practitioner of the art which inspired Daumal, not a voice actor. Thus, he is able to enter into the spirit which animates the book. A professional would bring the characters to life. Blake presents the author; and that, on the spiritual path, with a spiritual book, is the greatest reading. In this case, the eschewing of the actor’s idiom allows a more direct and natural impression of the novel.

To explain this more fully, most readers adapt their voices and accents to that of the character, so if they are reading words attributed to an old woman, they speak in a shrill piping voice. If the words belong to a vigorous man, they read in a strong bass voice. By not doing this, by reading in his own voice but allowing each word its due weight—not an ounce more or less—Blake presents the book through the persona of one person, that of the author.

In listening to the reading, I realised something of why, as I have said before, we receive something new when we hear a reading by someone else. I have long been aware that each reader brings his own perspective. That we can hear something fresh. But with this reading, I became aware that when certain words were used, my ordinary mind would have gone off on a tangent, and had I been reading to myself, most of my attention would have followed those secondary associations, while my eyes would have moved over the page on automatic pilot. What happened was, at a certain point I realised that “Sogol” was probably “logos” in reverse. I saw that my mind immediately went off on a tangent … why the logos? St John? Christ? But at the same time, I was yanked back to the material being read by the authority of Blake’s rendition. It was a dramatic moment.

This is a memorable reading. At no point was I bored or even impatient. Another success. Available in Audible.