The Mountain Between Us by Charles Martin – Book Club Pick

 

This is my first experience reading a Charles Martin novel.  I did not realize when I chose this book that he was a Christian writer.  He writes with humor and emotion and I have become a quick fan of his work.

The Mountain Between Us is the story of two strangers, Ben Payne and Ashley Knox, who both have busy lives and places they need to be.  Ben is an orthopedic surgeon based in Jacksonville while Ashley is magazine columnist living in Atlanta.  Ben, having spent the last week at a medical conference, has surgeries on his schedule the following day and needs to get home.  Ashley is planning to walk down the aisle in two days and has much to accomplish on her return.  However, an impending storm is settling in on Salt Lake City, causing plane delays and finally the cancellation of their flight.   

Ben is able to charter a small plane to fly around the storm and drop him in Denver.  Knowing that Ashley is in more of a rush to get home that he is, he brings her along for the ride.  When the sixty-something year old pilot, Grover, has a heart attack over the High Uintas Wilderness – a large and harsh stretch of land in northeastern Utah – the plane goes down.  Along with cuts and bruises that need to be cleaned and stitched, Ben sustains three broken ribs and Ashley’s broken leg has to be reset and treated.  The only other survivor is Grover’s Jack Russell Terrier who seems to have survived the crash intact.

There are problems beyond the physical scope.  Ben and his wife are having difficulties.  The story goes back and forth from the frightening mountain scenario to Ben reliving his relationship with his wife Rachel as revealed to us via his taped recordings to her.  As Ashley listens to his words, she wonders if she has made the right decision in her choice to marry Vince.  He is a good man, she just doesn’t know if he is the right man.  As the lives of these two people, stuck in the wilderness alone together, intersect, we are taken on a sensitive and emotional ride filled with the daily dangers that arise from their perilous situation.

The characters are rounded and completely believable.  By the end of the book, you know each of them well.  The plot is solid and heart pounding at times.  It is a story of adversity, strength, endurance, fear, and love.  This book made me laugh out loud and cry as well.  It was one that I couldn’t put down for long stretches of time and is a true survival story, one of nature, of learning to know oneself and the depths to which one might go to truly survive.  I can't wait to dive into the next Charles Martin story. 

So, this is my review.  I'd love you to share your thoughts and comments, good or bad.  This is our book club and the floor is open for discussion.  Also, if you have any suggestions for September's book, please post it.  Thank!  Now, book lover's, let's have some fun!