The Mountain Between Us

I like adventure stories and survival stories and stories that involve cold and snowy climes and this story fits all these categories.

Dr. Ben Payne, an orthopedic surgeon, is heading home to Florida after a conference when he’s stranded at Salt Lake City airport. He has surgeries scheduled for the next day so he hires a small fishing and hunting charter plane to fly him to Denver where he thinks he’ll have a chance of catching a flight home. At the last minute, he asks a young woman he met at the airport if she wants to share the ride. Ashley Knox is a magazine columnist on her way home to Atlanta where she is getting married very soon. So she takes him up on his offer.

Their small plane, with no flight plan filed, ends up going down in the High Uintas Wilderness mountain range in Utah. Oh, and it’s winter.

I enjoyed the heck out of this story. It hit all the right spots for me and I read it pretty much straight through in one sitting.

But…you have to be willing to suspend your disbelief at all the “coincidences” that factor into this tale. Yes, it COULD happen this way but it would be very unlikely.

But I loved it. I also saw the ending coming but it didn’t matter a whit to me. Exciting story that I highly recommend.

I dont know why I picked up this book, probably the name allured me and while browsing one of the recommended books of Charles Martin, I stumbled upon this and bought it. Initially I kept telling myself, what a waste of money, as I didnt like it. I even thought of dropping it but I am glad I didnt as it did get more gripping after 100 pages.
It is quite hard to focus your story on just two characters and make it readable when you have to face the most challenging situation of an air crash but Martin doesnt disappoint. I have read an account of a real life airplane crash and the way a lone survivor found her way out of a jungle. So the story seemed quite credible to me but it is repetitive at places and the flashes of Bens personal life seem to fade insignificantly in the wake of life threatening situations.

I am glad I pulled through this book as half way through it I changed my opinion, which rarely happens. There came a stage when I couldnt put it down! I finished 25% of this book in one sitting, eager to know the outcome! It is not just a survival story, not just a romantic novel but much more than that, subtly hinting at the finer nuances of life, which seem less important when we have all the blessings on a platter but don’t acknowledge them.

Let’s give this author a break but some suggestions for future…I love Ben’s integrity in the book towards the lady. That is long lost in American culture… So- Charles Martin – Bravo for that! Keep up the good work and I hope you read this. I do agree that the way Ben just happens to have every qualifucatiin for every scenario that comes up seems unrealistic, but if you have never read a real survival story or been involved in one you may not mind how he depicts it. Even though I saw the movie before I read the book I was surprised at the end- but I will not give it away. I also got a little anxious during the every other chapter sections- not sure they added much and could have skipped over them and been none the worse…anyway, I have not read a book from cover to cover in more than 15 years and I finished this one in 3 days. I liked it but – check it out and decide. Again- LOVED Ben’s integrity!

I really enjoyed this novel. Its a bit of a slow starter but once it gets going its QUITE the story. Its an adventure novel in the survivalist, romance mold that tells the story of Ben, the love of his life Rachel and the woman he is in a plane crash with, Ashley. This is really well-written and enjoyable to read especially considering that most of the book only involves three characters, one of whom is narrating the entire story.

I found the major premise of the novel regarding Ben and Rachels relationship, a little obvious but it was still gorgeous to read. It truly is an amazing revelation of love and as enjoyable and strong a character, Ashley is, this novel is all Ben- Perfect, Manly, Wise Ben.

There is a bit of Deus Ex Machina in the resolution of this novel but I didnt mind. Ive never read anything by this author and I loved this novel and the authors writing style. This was entertaining and emotional and romantic, although its by not at all a romance novel. The major themes of love and survival and grit running through out make it more realistic than a typical romance novel. This novel was also clean enough that you could share it with your grandparents without a blush. I want to check out more books by this author now. And who knows, Im not really a movie fan but I might even see the movie of this book now.

Watched the movie first, which I enjoyed, then read the book, which I loved! Other than the fact there are two characters that are in a plane crash and stranded on a mountain with a dog and later a cabin, there are almost no more similarities. Even many of the character names are changed! The characters have different personalities in the book than are portrayed in the movie, so if you are in love with the movie and hung up on that, then don’t bother with the book because you will be upset the whole time. But I had no problem with the roles of the characters in the book, their personalities or their quirks (and they have them). I thought all of this made it much more believable that they could have been real people with real hangups and issues, not movie-glossed personalities with super-human physical and emotional qualities. Almost all of the story details are different, as well as the ending, but it was still a poignant romance as well as a tribute to how strong people can be under intense circumstances.

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