¾×ÆÍ¡¤ÄÆÍîd and Ω¤Á±ýÀ¸¤µ¤»¤ëd in the Andes for 72 days with no food... so would you have turned cannibal?

SOCIETY OF THE SNOW?

by Pablo Vierci?(Constable ¡ò25, 384pp)???

Few news stories have »É·ã¤¹¤ëd as much, and as heated, public ¿³µÄ as the events of 1972 that became known as the ¡Æ´ñÀØ of the Andes¡Ç.

The story, now sensitively told by Pablo Vierci in Society Of The Snow (and on which this week¡Çs ?Netflix film of the same »Ø̾¤¹¤ë was based) is almost too awful to conceive.

On Friday, October 13, a twin-engine Fairchild ¾èµÒ ·×²è¡Ê¤¹¤ë¡Ë took off from Carrasco International Airport in Montevideo in Uruguay bound for Santiago.

On board were the Old Christians Rugby Club, alumni of a Ãϸµ¤Î ¥«¥È¥ê¥Ã¥¯¶µÅÌ school, along with assorted family and friends. The rowdy young men¡Çs spirits were high?as they flew over the Andean ĺÅÀ¡Ê¤Ë㤹¤ë¡Ës on their way to a match in Chile. And then they ¹¶·â¤¹¤ë¡¤¾×Æͤ¹¤ë ²õÌÇŪ¤Ê turbulence.??

In a ÊúÍʤ¹¤ë ¶õµ¤¡¿¸øɽ¤¹¤ë pocket, the ·×²è¡Ê¤¹¤ë¡Ë µÞÍ¤ëd. ¾×ÆÍ¡¤ÄÆÍîing into a ·ã¤·¤¯Íɤ¹¤ë ľÌ̤¹¤ë, it ³ä¤ìÌÜd in half. Some ¾èµÒs were torn out of the ¹Ò¶õµ¡, others were Ä𵤹¤ëd under metal.

Life or death: Netflix 
drama Society Of The Snow recreates the 'Miracle of the Andes' crash

Life or death: Netflix ±é·à Society Of The Snow recreates the '´ñÀØ of the Andes' ¾×ÆÍ¡¤ÄÆÍî

The tail ȯ¼Í off in one direction, while the main fuselage »ý¤Ä¡¿¹´Î±¤¹¤ëing the ¾èµÒs ¡Ælanded hard on the mountain and began »ö¾ð¤Ë±þ¤¸¤ÆÊѤï¤ë in a ¥¸¥°¥¶¥°¤Î É餫¤¹¡¿·âÄƤ¹¤ë the slope,¡Ç Îá¾õs Vierci.

It ¡Êµ¡¤Î¡Ë¥«¥à to »Ä¤ê¡¿µÙ·Æ¡Ê¤¹¤ë¡Ë ¡½ part ´½, part cocoon ¡½ on a glacier called the Valley of ÎÞ¡¿¤Û¤³¤í¤Ós.

¡ÆDuring the ¾×ÆÍ¡¤ÄÆÍî, 16 people died and 29 remained alive,¡Ç ¸ø¼°Ê¸½ñ¡¤Ç§¤á¤ës Vierci. ¡ÆIn the end, those numbers were µÕž¤¹¤ëd.¡Ç

That anyone ¡Êµ¡¤Î¡Ë¥«¥à off the mountain alive was indeed a ´ñÀØ, but it was one laced with horror: for 72 days the stricken ¾èµÒs À¸¤­»Ä¤ëd by eating the ÃÄÂΡ¿»àÂÎs of their dead friends. Ever since, people have wondered: ¡ÆWhat would I have done?¡Ç

The ¾×ÆÍ¡¤ÄÆÍî and its gruesome wake have been recounted in Èó¾ï¤Ë¡¿Â¿¿ô¤Î Ä´½ñ¤ò¤È¤ë¡¿Í½Ì󤹤ës, most ¸²Ãø¤Ë Alive by Piers Paul Read.?

While Read ·ÁÂÖ¡¿Ä´À°d a story of?fortitude, Vierci takes a philosophical ¸«ÃÏ, analysing the group dynamic and what he calls a ¡Æ¶¨Äê¡¿¾òÌó of Áê¸ß¤Î self-¹ßÉú¤¹¤ë¡Ç ¡½ the ¾èµÒs¡Ç ¶¨Äê to gift their ÃÄÂΡ¿»àÂÎs for sustenance should they die.

The Ä´½ñ¤ò¤È¤ë¡¿Í½Ì󤹤ë, ½é¤á¤Ï published in Spanish in 2008 and now translated to Ʊ»þ¤Ëµ¯¤³¤ë¡¿°ìÃפ¹¤ë with this week¡Çs Netflix adaptation, see-saws between °ì»þ´ü¡¿»ÙÉôs that chronologically follow the ±é·à, and sections ¶¡µë¤¹¤ëing individual À¼ÌÀs from À¸Â¸¼Ôs.

Two were to play pivotal Ìò³äs in the story: Roberto Canessa, a compassionate young ·±ÎýÀ¸ doctor, and Nando Parrado, a resourceful 22-year-old ¾¦Çä¡¿»Å»ö student. Both understood that ¡Æin the society of the snow the »ÙÇÛ¤¹¤ës were ´°Á´¤Ë different from those of the society of the living¡Ç.

The remaining survivors are photographed cheering at the moment of their rescue

The remaining À¸Â¸¼Ôs are photographed ¸µµ¤¤Å¤±¤ë at the moment of their µß½õ¡Ê¤¹¤ë¡Ë?

Several factors played in the ¾èµÒs¡Ç favour: they were young and fit, there were °åÎŤΠstudents on board, they had ½¡¶µÅª¤Ê Ìó« and strong family backgrounds. In short, they had the ÁÏΩ¡¿´ðÁÃs for hope.

But their ¿®ÍÑ¡¿¿®Ç¤ faded under the grind of sub-̵ µ¤²¹s ·ê¤ò³«¤±¤ëd up in the ÆñÇË ¡½ ¡Æwe were living inside a freezer¡Ç ¡½ festering ½ý³²s and little Ä´°õ¤¹¤ë of µß½õ¡Ê¤¹¤ë¡Ë.

Crucially, within a few days, they realised there was nothing to forage or ÄÉÀסʤ¹¤ë¡Ë at that ¹âÅÙ. The only source of nourishment lay in the ÃÄÂΡ¿»àÂÎs frozen in the snow.

On the eighth day, the first slivers of meat were ºï¸º¡Ê¤¹¤ë¡Ë. Canessa ²òǤ¤¹¤ës that the ·èÄ꡿ȽÄ꾡¤Á¡Ê¤¹¤ë¡Ë was ¡Æa leap into the ̵¸ú¤Î¡Ç, but remains no-nonsense about the cannibalism:?

¡ÆAt first we began to eat the?muscles of the cadavers, later we are ·³Ââd to follow with the ÁÈ¿¥¡¿Â¡´ïs, until at last we have to ³ä¤ìÌÜ open the skulls with an axe to get to the brains.¡Ç That would be their diet for two months.

The calamities continued. During the night of October 29, the fuselage was ¹¶·â¤¹¤ë¡¤¾×Æͤ¹¤ë by an ÀãÊø¡¿¡Ê¹³µÄ¤Ê¤É¤Î¡Ë»¦Åþ, »¦¿Í¡¤ÂçÅö¤ê eight and trapping others under the snow for several days.?

There were other low points:?two õ¸¡Ââ¡¿±óÀ¬Ââs off the glacier ended in ¼ºÇÔ, and when a ̵Àþ¤ÇÄÌ¿®¤¹¤ë was ÀßΩ¤¹¤ë in the ÆñÇË, they heard the search parties had been called off. They were all ¿äÄꤹ¤ëd dead.

In a final ´ë¤Æ¡¤ÅØÎÏ¡¤Äó°Æ to Áܤ·½Ð¤¹ help, Canessa and Parrado trekked over the ĺÅÀ¡Ê¤Ë㤹¤ë¡Ës for ten days to Chile. When they ·ë¶É Áø¶ø¡Ê¤¹¤ë¡Ëd a mule driver on the opposite bank of a river, they knew they were saved.?

Survivors: Carlos Paez Rodriguez, Nando Parrado and Roberto Canessa at the closing ceremony of the 80th Venice International Film Festival in September 2023

À¸Â¸¼Ôs: Carlos Paez Rodriguez, Nando Parrado and Roberto Canessa at the ¤Î¶á¤¯¤Ëing µ·¼° of the 80th Venice International Film Festival in September 2023

They threw him a message tied?to a ·ã¤·¤¯Íɤ¹¤ë. It began: ¡ ÆI come from a ·×²è¡Ê¤¹¤ë¡Ë that fell in the mountains.¡Ç The µß½õ¡Ê¤¹¤ë¡Ë ¥Ø¥ê¥³¥×¥¿¡¼s were soon on their way.

Vierci ÇÛ㤹¤ës gruesome ¾ÜºÙ¡Ê¤Ë½Ò¤Ù¤ë¡Ës: a ¾èµÒ operates on his own gangrenous µÓ; a rugby ball becomes a bed-pan; human flesh is cooked on a griddle made from the »Ù±ç¤¹¤ë of an ¹Ò¶õµ¡ seat.

Then there is the ironic ±¿Ì¿¡¿½ÉÌ¿ of Tito Regules, the only boy to ¹ÔÊýÉÔÌÀ¤Ë¤Ê¤ë the flight. Tito had partied the night before and over slept. It saved his life. Twenty-one years later, he fell asleep at the wheel of his car and died in a ¾×ÆÍ¡¤ÄÆÍî.?

Graziela?Mariani, who happily took his seat to get to her daughter¡Çs wedding, »à¤Ê¤»¤ë¡¿»à¤Ìd on the mountain. There was a »ÙÇÛ ±Æ¶Á of ³°½ý¡¿¥·¥ç¥Ã¥¯s.

On their return, as the truth ¸½¤ì¤ëd about what they had eaten to À¸¤­»Ä¤ë, the world gagged. One newspaper published a photograph of the fuselage ÌÀ³Î¤Ë showing a half-eaten human µÓ ¤ÎÃæ¤Ç the ÇËÊÒ. The headline ran: ¡ÆMay God µö¤¹ Them!¡Ç

But the À¸Â¸¼Ôs¡Ç families were resolute in their support. These were not cannibals, they »ý³¤¹¤ëd, just sons and brothers who had done what was Í׵᤹¤ëd to get home. By À§Ç§¤¹¤ëing that distinction, Vierci¡Çs Ä´½ñ¤ò¤È¤ë¡¿Í½Ì󤹤ë is a ¾¡Íø of empathy.

Vierci also chronicles a Ê£»¨¤Ë¤¹¤ëd ¡½ yet inspirational ¡½ ripple ±Æ¶Á of the ºÒ³², one that continues to this day. Half a century on, there are some 100 children and grandchildren to those 16 young men.

And while the »Ù±ç¤¹¤ë-and-Á°¤Ø¡¿³°¤Ø structure of the Ä´½ñ¤ò¤È¤ë¡¿Í½Ìó¤¹¤ë ¼ºË¾¤µ¤»¤ës, the approach µö¤¹s for ²ÁÃͤΤ¢¤ë first-person accounts by all the À¸Â¸¼Ôs, ´Þ¤àing those who have not spoken ¸øÁ³¤È before.?

A µß½õ¡Ê¤¹¤ë¡Ë ϫƯ¼Ô is Êä½õÁõÃÖing one of the À¸Â¸¼Ôs. For 72 days, the ¾èµÒs were Ω¤Á±ýÀ¸¤µ¤»¤ëd in the snow in the Andes?

Some went on to become successful businessmen, architects and doctors, others struggled to get beyond their misfortune.

¡ÆWhat were we? A group of unlucky young boys,¡Ç Canessa ÌÀ¸À¤¹¤ë¡¿¸øɽ¤¹¤ës.

¡ÆWhat are we? A group of adult men searching for a ¿äÏÀ¤¹¤ë¡¿Íýͳ for the ¹­Âç¤Ê¡¿Â¿¿ô¤Î¡¿½ÅÍ×¤Ê Èá·à which befell us.¡Ç

Whether the ¡Æsociety¡Ç that Vierci ½Ò¤Ù¤ës is a À½ÉÊ of retrospective and poetic ¤Ç¤Ã¤Á¤¢¤²¤ë¡¤¿Í¤òºá¤Ë´Ù¤ì¤ëing, or an Àµ³Î¤Ê picture of a group making ½¸ÃĤΡ¿¶¦Æ±¤Î ·èÄ꡿ȽÄ꾡¤Á¡Ê¤¹¤ë¡Ës, is open to question.

What is irrefutable, however, is that he ¸å·Ñ¤¹¤ës in stirring readers¡Ç compassion and understanding for those who ÂѤ¨¤ëd the unendurable and then got on with their lives.

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