Mountain R
Mountain R by Jacques Jouet, published by Dalkey Archive Press in 2004, is a work of fiction that explores the absurdity of political ambition through a satirical lens. Set in an unnamed country, the narrative centers around the President of the Republican Council, who dreams of constructing a monumental 1,500-meter high mountain as a symbol of national greatness. This ambitious project is portrayed as a solution to unemployment and a means to attract tourism, while also hinting at its potential for export to other nations.
Readers will find a multifaceted examination of the rise and fall of this ill-fated endeavor, told through the perspectives of various characters over several decades. The story includes insights from the President, a worker reflecting on the project’s disastrous outcomes, and an author tasked with chronicling the mountain’s tale. Mountain R serves as a humorous yet unsettling commentary on the manipulation of patriotism by government officials, engaging with themes of political rhetoric and societal consequences. This edition spans 143 pages and is presented in English.
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In an unnamed country, the President of the Republican Council, wanting to “do something big,” strikes upon the idea of building a 1,500-meter high mountain as an inspirational monument to national greatness. Construction of the mountain will reduce unemployment, attract hordes of tourists, and the idea can even be exported for sale to other countries. Mountain R relates the rise and fall of this insane project through the eyes of those involved over several decades: the President whose double-talk sets the plan in motion, a worker who, years later, tells his daughter about the disastrous consequences of the never-completed mountain, and an author commissioned to write a novel about the project. An incisive satire about the dangers of half-witted government officials who use political rhetoric to manipulate the patriotism of their constituents, Mountain R is a humorous yet disturbing allegory quite appropriate to our times.
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