The Mountain Between Us: A Novel

I could barely put this book down. What a great device using a recorder for Ben to journal his love letters to his wife. Such beautiful and awful descriptions of being stranded in the freezing mountains. Loved all the characters especially the pilot Grover. Heartbreaking and uplifting. Haven’t seen the movie yet so do not know how well it can depict the survival skills and endurance the characters possess. Definitely a book worth re-reading for the poetry and vividness of the journey.

Orthopedic surgeon Ben Payne is in Salt Like City, trying to fly to Denver before a big snowstorm hits. He meets a writer, Ashley Knox, who's trying to get home to Atlanta for her wedding. At the last minute, the flight is cancelled. But Ben is able to find a charter pilot who will fly him to Denver, and he invites Ashley to come along. Over the Uinta Mountains, the pilot has a heart attack, but manages to crash-land the plane before he dies. When Ben regains consciousness, he knows he has broken ribs. Ashley's leg is broken. The snow has closed in and largely buried them. Neither Ben nor Ashley told anyone they were taking a charter flight. The pilot didn't tell the tower he had passengers. No one will know to look for them or a plane crash. They are out of cell phone range, and far, far from anything even suggesting human activity. From the crashed plane, Ben fashions a sled to pull Ashley, and they set out into the unknown. Charles Martin has written a number of remarkable novels that connect place and relationship - novels like "Chasing Fireflies," "The Dead Don't Dance," "Maggie," "Wrapped in Rain," "When Crickets Cry," and "Where the River Ends." Martin is as much a storyteller of landscape as he is of people and brokenness. All of his previous works have been based in the southeastern United States - Georgia, northern Florida and South Carolina, a familiar landscape for Martin. With "The Mountain Between Us" (published in 2010), while part of the story is based in the Jacksonville area, Martin sets most of his story in the Utah wilderness. It's a riveting story of survival, stripping away all the facades constructed by two people who come to depend upon each other for their very lives. Ben is married to Rachel, with two children. Ashley is engaged to marry with two days time. They will spend the next four weeks together fighting snow, fending off mountain lions, trying to find food and shelter and somehow find civilization. And tend to their injuries. Along the way Ashley will learn that Ben is separated from his wife, and Ben will learn that Ashley isn't entirely convinced she should be marrying Vince. Yet each remains faithful, even as they are forced into a personal proximity to each other that most married couples don't have. And Ashley begins to sense that Ben is carrying some deep personal pain that he won't let go of. Martin's usual attention to detail - a trademark of his writing - is fully employed here, so much so that the reader is walking and crawling with them, hunting rabbits and moose, desperately trying to stay alive. It's an unforgiving landscape, it's winter, and the cold is felt on every page. "The Mountain Between Us" is a captivating story, written with the skill I've come to expect from Charles Martin.

My new author. Introduced by book club. Comparable to Kristin Hannah’s style of just great storytelling. You will enjoy the journeys.

A real love story. Sacrificial love. Beautiful story, characters...people worth knowing. I waited, too, and it has been worth the wait.

This book was a recommend to me by my husband who watched the movie on a flight several years ago. “You would love this book,” he told me. After reading Charles Martins’ Chasing Fireflies, I picked up The Mountain Between Us. Just wow — as I’ve said before, if you haven’t read a Charles Martin book, you are missing out. Due to weather in Salt Lake, commercial flights are canceled. Desperate to get home, Dr. Ben Payne hires a charter pilot, Grover, to fly him home to Florida to his wife and kids. On a whim, he asks Ashley, a fellow passenger who is on her way home for her wedding, if she’d like to join so as not to be late for her special day. The three, and Grover’s dog, beat the storm and head toward Denver when Grover’s heart gives out leaving Ben, Ashley, and Napoleon, the name Ben and Ashley give to the dog, to survive the Uintas Wilderness. Without filing a flight plan, and with neither Ben nor Ashley having told anyone of their change from commercial to charter, no one is looking or them. To make matters more dire, upon impact, Ashley’s shoulder dislocates and her femur breaks. Making it out of the vast, rugged, and isolated terrain alive will take more than shear strength. The Mountain Between Us is an incredible story that is superbly written, and worth every minute it takes to read it. I hear the movie is good as well, but I have no intention of watching it — why ruin a good book by trying to put the words on screen. I cannot stress enough how The Mountain Between Us will have you looking inward, mulling over your personal relationships, and checking yourself to uncovering your strength. And the ending — a total shocker to me. I LOVE THIS BOOK and wish it just kept going.

Great book, totally enjoyable read.

Another great book by Charles Martin! He’s such a great author and his books always touch me. This one drew me in and kept me interested throughout. Highly recommend you read it too!

Wow! Just Wow! I don’t know who recommended this book but thank you. It was absolutely amazing! It was well written, engaging and one I could not put down. Definitely 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 Ben and Alex are strangers who find themselves on a private plane trying to beat a winter storm. Alex is headed to her wedding and Ben to his wife and kids. When the pilot has a heart attack midair, they crash in a desolate wilderness. They have to rely on each other, their backgrounds and skills to try to survive. This is compounded by no one knowing they were even on the plane or that it crashed. A story of bravery, resilience, excitement and twist. I will say that I did watch the movie after reading the book. The book was sooooo good that the movie was kinda a let down. It was slow and the storyline was completely changed. It was definitely not as well written and exciting as the book. Highly recommend the book!