Happy Saturday! I hope all is well.

This past week, I’ve been reading this incredible book titled, The Mountain Between Us, written by Charles Martin. I was first attracted to the cover art not only because of Idris :), but also because I recognized the media coverage. One thing about me, I LOVE movies; so, I knew the storyline had to be good enough for it to be turned into a film. Plus, I’ve been in survival mode these past few months, so, a survival story was fitting. After one quick read of the summary, I was sold and downloading the book in minutes.

It read:

On a stormy winter night, two strangers wait for a flight at the Salt Lake City airport.  Ashley Knox is an attractive, successful writer, who is flying East for her much anticipated wedding.  Dr. Ben Payne has just wrapped up a medical conference and is also eager to return home to Jacksonville, FL for a slate of surgeries he has scheduled for the following day.

When the last outgoing flight is canceled due to a broken de-icer and a forthcoming storm, Ben finds a charter plane that can take him around the storm and drop him in Denver to catch a connection. And when the pilot says the single engine prop plane can fit one more, if barely, Ben offers the seat to Ashley knowing that she needs to get back just as urgently. And then the unthinkable happens. The pilot has a heart attack mid-flight and the plane crashes into the High Uintas Wilderness--one of the largest stretches of harsh and remote land in the United States.

Ben, who has broken ribs and Ashley, who suffers a terrible leg fracture, along with the pilot's dog, are faced with an incredibly harrowing battle to survive. Fortunately, Ben is a medical professional and avid climber (and in a lucky break, has his gear from a climb earlier in the week). With little hope for rescue, he must nurse Ashley back to health and figure out how they are going to get off the mountain, where the temperature hovers in the teens. Meanwhile, Ashley soon realizes that the very private Ben has some serious emotional wounds to heal as well. He explains to Ashley that he is separated from his beloved wife, but in a long standing tradition, he faithfully records messages for her on his voice recorder reflecting on their love affair. As Ashley eavesdrops on Ben's tender words to his estranged wife she comes to fear that when it comes to her own love story, she's just settling. And what's more: she begins to realize that the man she is really attracted to, the man she may love, is Ben.

Granted, I think this summary was a bit too revealing, but it didn’t take away from the richness of the ending. However, it did give away major key points in the story, and that was slightly disappointing. Nonetheless, this novel was a graceful brilliance, and Charles knew it. That’s why he didn’t care about over sharing in what was supposed to be breadcrumbing. I like a little mystery when I’m dating my summaries. Don’t be overzealous in showing me all your goods.

Now to the nitty gritty:

Overall, the novel did what it was supposed to do—restored my hope in perseverance. I love how the story reflected reality in the way that isn’t one ever-growing snowball of progress. There were dips. One moment we thought we would make it out of Utah alive, the next we were face down in a pool of blood. I mean, a real gut-turning story. Of course, however, this created a close intimacy between the characters and the readers, and I absolutely loved that. Any chance I got to read more of this book, I took.

Ben was my favorite character. He made sense to me—a smart and practical man who took on life with logic and reason. Yes, I know Martin intended Ben’s robotic personality to be a flaw, but I loved it about him. In fact, I still find Ben and all his words and actions to be flawless. He led with a brain wired in a combination of wisdom and cause & effect. Yet, his heart was filled with love. If I could build a dream man…

Throughout the story, I was attracted to the idea of strong women, but somehow as time went on, I became annoyed with both Rachel and Ashley. Not for their strength, of course, but for their lack of reason that was usually gifted in their strength. Even more so, I was annoyed with their over-eager tendencies to push for love and romance. I wasn’t lying when I said Ben was flawless to me. Emotions were not his strong suit, yet he worked relentlessly on his emotional intelligence for the women he loved. To me, that wards grace and patience. I understand that Martin wanted to create the notion that women bring out the best in men, but at times it seemed pushy and bratty. In reality, people need time to process and pace their own emotions. No one grows because next person wanted them to.

Structurally, I think the storyline was paced very well. We got through the timeline of the story, and each emotion, at the necessary speed. At one point, I remember noticing that we were in survival mode for the last twenty-six chapters. I also remember pondering, how on earth would this novel end. There were no shortcuts; The Mountain Between Us forced you to live in the moment, one word at a time. The events weren’t rushed, and most importantly, the novel took its time to wrap up—perfectly tying each loose end and promise into a ribboned bow, all while dodging the traffic of cliche endings. The language was cogent at times and I deeply appreciated those moments. There were also times when Martin wrote more poetically—those were usually moments of Ben’s personal reflections. Overall, I give Martin’s style of writing an A+!

I greatly appreciated this novel. I hope you take the time to enjoy it as well.

Until next time, ciao. xx

***As usual here are my favorite quotes from the book. I will admit, the language was mundane so many of these quotes require context to receive the full effect. Regardless, I loved these moments: