Title
Mountains Beyond Mountains: The Quest of Dr. Paul Farmer, A Man Who Would Cure the World

Author
Tracy Kidder

Date Published
2003

Meaning of the Title
It refers to the main character's determination to bring health and happiness to the poor and comes from the Haitian proverb, Beyond Mountains There Are Mountains.

Setting
Boston and Cambridge, Massachusetts; Cange, Mirebalais, and Port-au-Prince, Haiti; Lima, Peru; Tomsk, Siberia, Russia; Paris, France from 1982 through 2003.

Protagonist
Dr. Paul Farmer

Antagonists
Poverty and the lack of caring from people who could help end it.

Mood
The mood is often troubling and dark, but there are so many lights of hope along the way that reader can't help but feel uplifted by the end.

Point of View
The point of view is first person, told from Tracy Kidder's viewpoint. This allows the reader to personally experience how Kidderlearns and grows from his experiences with Paul Farmer.

Tense
The story is told in the past tense.

Rising Action
The rising action begins when Tracy Kidder meets Paul Farmer while he embedded with American troops in Haiti in 1994 and ends with his final realization that Paul Farmer is a man who has spent his life trying to win over the long defeat.

Exposition
The author tells us the story of Dr. Paul Farmer, a man who would cure the world. We follow him through his years in Haiti and both his successes and failures there as well as in Peru, Cuba, and Russia.

Climax
The climax occurs when the author realizes that what Farmer is all about is winning over the long defeat.

Outcome
Many of Farmer's goals come true, but there is still the sense that he knows he has much more to do.

Major Themes
The poor deserve decent health care and living conditions; the long defeat; the fortunate of the world turning their backs on the poor and the needy; and the importance of trying to imitate Paul Farmer even though no one can ever be like him.