The Steady Running of the Hour

Go’s debut is ambitious in many ways: it evokes a time of privileged daring in which British climbers, defying post-WWI disillusionment, climb Mt. Everest with foie gras at the ready; it depicts a love that transcends time and disdains convention; and it fluidly moves between past and present. The contemporary story concerns Tristan Campbell, an aimless 20-something who stands to inherit a vast fortune if he can track down documents that prove he’s descended from Ashley Walshingham, a mountaineer, and Ashley’s lover, Imogen Soames-Andersson. Go amps up the pressure on Tristan by giving him only two months before the will’s provisions expire. Tristan is a dogged researcher who’s willing to trust his luck, digging through libraries and archives across Europe and uncovering letters drenched in love and sorrow, but he doesn’t initially find the evidence he needs to show that he is Ashley and Imogen’s heir. He falls in love with a Frenchwoman, but their connection lacks spark. Meanwhile, Tristan delves further into Ashley and Imogen’s love and its destruction by the forces of war and convention. Their story, as told in flashback, feels heartfelt but overwrought, and the trench warfare and climbing scenes, while competently executed, mine an oft-depicted period without adding much that’s new. Agent: Dorian Karchmar, WME Entertainment. (May)