The Mountain Between Us by Charles Martin, USA, 2010
This is an easy-to-read page turner, which unlike many other easy-to-read page turners does have sufficient weight behind it to make the read worthwhile. I saw the film some years back, and although I like both Idris Elba and Kate Winslet as actors, and although the cinematography is spectacular, I feel that the book is better than the film – no surprise there.
Two strangers, Dr Benjamin Payne and Ashley Knox find themselves stranded at Salt Lake City airport when a snow storm grounds all commercial flights. Both of them have reasons for getting back east as quickly as possible – Benjamin has work commitments and Ashley is about to be married – and when Ben persuades the owner of a private charter plane to fly him to Denver, he invites Ashley along for the ride.
Of course nothing goes according to plan, and shortly after take-off they find themselves on the top of a mountain in the middle of a vast, white, freezing wilderness with a crashed plane, a dead pilot, a dog (whose name they cannot remember), and numerous injuries. Their immediate concern is to survive; their next-to-immediate concern is to reach some form of civilization. Both are athletes, and their physical stamina together with Ben’s medical knowledge play a large part in their fight for survival.
The narration in the present is interspersed with Ben’s conversations with his wife, Rachel. The conversations, spoken into a battery-powered recorder, give the reader a picture of Ben’s past life and his relationship and marriage with a woman who is obviously the most wonderful thing that has ever happened to him. This reality is sandwiched between the intimation of a growing sexual attraction between Ben and Ashley and the hopelessness of their situation.
Martin gives what feels like a realistic picture of the tribulations facing the two, studded with a number of worthwhile hints regarding wilderness survival. The ending, though not a complete surprise, is, in relation to the book as a whole, both satisfactory and believable. If you are looking for a light read, you will not be disappointed.
