Get the feedBooks: The Mountain Between Us
Thursday, Sep 09th 2010
Congratulations to Ceci Cordeiro for winning a free copy of this book. She lives in Winchester, Massachusetts with her three children!
Title: The Mountain Between Us: A Novel
Author: Charles Martin
Publisher: Broadway (June 1, 2010)
Buy it: Amazon
The Scoop: It’s a book set in Utah, without one Mormon joke.
Not one.
Of course, the plot isn’t all that funny anyway.
A man (Dr. Ben Payne), trying to get home from a medical conference, is frustrated when his commercial flight was canceled. So he does what all of us would do. He charters a private plane to beat the storm. (What? You wouldn’t do that? Well that’s why people don’t write books about you.) At the last moment, he thinks of another stranded passenger he’d had a conversation with – a woman trying to get to her wedding, which happens to be that weekend.
The two of them hurriedly get on a plane with an older pilot, but not before Ben checks his voicemail, in which his wife says she forgives him. He doesn’t call her back, before taking off from Salt Lake with a blushing, beautiful bride-to-be. In fact, none of the three people in the plane tell anyone that they’re headed off on a single engine plane instead of the commercial jet liner.
Ben finds his new friend attractive, of course, but is a loyal sort of man. As they take off from the hangar, the old pilot gives her wedding advice and regales them with stories of romance and long-term love.
That is, until his story is cut short by the fact that he inconveniently has a heart attack right in the middle of one of the harshest stretches of land in the United States. No, not Philly... the High Uintas Wilderness. Miraculously, Ben and the bride-to-be (Ashley Knox) survive… and so does a host of items that allow them to survive for 28 days in the frozen tundra of Utah. (A compass, a bow, an item that boils water, a lighter, and so forth. What they didn’t crash with, Ben can create out of good old fashioned American ingenuity and spit. That’s the kind of guy he is – a hiker, a runner, and someone who can down a moose at fifty yards.)
Ashley’s leg is broken, and Ben has to help her survive by setting her leg, carrying her a million miles on a make-shift sled, and helping her go to the bathroom. Except there is no bathroom, because this page turning survival story mostly takes place on the side of a mountain.
As Ben and Ashley bond – and she consequently misses her wedding – they are attracted to each other. I mean, what man doesn’t love leg hair stubble and the smell of starvation on his loved one’s breath? And what woman wouldn’t fall for the guy who invited her to fly in a blizzard, on a single engine prop plane with a pilot that makes John McCain look like a young whippersnapper?
Ben, it turns out, is separated from his wife though he faithfully records messages for her on a voice recorder. Ashley eavesdrops on Ben's sweet words to his wife, as he tells stories about his current battle for survival, interspersed with tales of their former love. It’s therapeutic, apparently, and he happened to buy a value-pack of batteries at the airport.
Ashley begins to wonder if she’s engaged to the right kind of guy. Her fiancé, for example, wouldn’t know how to gut a moose. Nor would he leave her such tender messages.
But what could’ve been “Bridge of Madison County, On Ice” takes an interesting and clever turn. One you don’t want to miss.
Charles Martin is a writer who lives in Florida with his wife and three boys. This is his seventh book. Interested in reading “The Mountain Between Us?” Please leave a comment below for a chance to win your very own copy.
(Make sure you also enter your e-mail address. This will both automatically sign you up for our free weekly e-zine, and allow us to contact you if you are the winner!)
On September 16th, at noon (EST), we'll pick a name in a random drawing from all eligible entries received and send you an email notification.
Limit one (1) entry per person; NO PURCHASE NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN. Open only to legal residents of the 50 United States and Washington D.C. who are 18 or older as of date of entry.
Comment away!
Title of Mountain from Author Charles Martin on Vimeo.
Congratulations to Ceci Cordeiro for winning. She lives in Winchester, Massachusetts with her three children!
This contest is now closed. Thanks for commenting, and come back to SixSeeds for more exciting giveaways!
Nancy French
Nancy French is an author, commentator, and mother. Her next book, about the year her husband spent in Iraq is due out July 4, 2011. Connect with her on Facebook at www.facebook.com/NancyAndersonFrench and follow her on Twitter at https://twitter.com/nancyafrench.
Comments
by Roy Yih #
Nancy, I always enjoyed reading your articles; excellent writing and selected nice subject. I also liked the introduction of the book titled "The Mountain Between Us" and wish I'll get a copy. Regards.
by Zanese Duncan #
I like the double entendre of "The Mountain Between Us" title. As a native Floridian (where Charles Martin lives) and current Atlantan (as one of the characters here), I appreciate Mr. Martin's stories of the South and have been interested in reading his books.
by Kim #
hmmmmm. Sounds like a page turner! I know the leg hair thing always works for me. I would love to see if I can be pulled in.
by Kirstin #
I'd love to win! I've read another book by Charles Martin called (I think) Wrapped in Rain.
by Ceci #
I like the odds of winning. And having just watched Alive, the true story of the Uruguay rugby team surviving for 70 days in the mountains of Chili, anything is possible. And, they had no batteries.
by Lynda #
Love Charles Martin's books!
by Jennifer #
The premise of the story sounds a little far fetched, but you hooked me with the twist at the end. I am a sucker for a twist I can't figure out.
by Wenduy #
I grew up in the shadows of the Uinta Mountains. I remember many great camping trips in that wilderness area. Our family lost a horse in that region one summer. He was missing for weeks. The ending for us was a good one as our horse was rescued by a sheep herder. You have given me a curiosity for how "The Mountain Between Us" ends.
by Annette #
There's NOTHING better than a good read at the end of the day! I would love to read this!!!
by Nathan #
I've actually read the book (and loved it!), and for what it's worth, the hook isn't that far-fetched. Without giving too much away, commercial flights canceled, doctor just trying to get to Denver for connecting flight, feels sympathy for the young girl who is frantically trying to get home for her wedding that weekend (when he learns there's an empty seat on the small plane). It's less far-fetched than Die Hard 7, anyway.
by Ross Abraham #
Come come stuff like this never happens to me? jk ;)
by Bev #
I'm a sucker for a good love story--believable or not. I'd read it.
by Noelle Gosnell #
If the book is as good as your description of it, I think it'll be a great read. I hope I win!
by Ryan #
Having read your political commentary for some time now I thought I would try some of your other works. I enjoy reading your opinion and look forward to reading this book.
by Paul #
Can't think of a time the leg hair thing worked.
by Marty Adams #
Sounds like a good book to curl up with fall! Thanks for doing this Nancy!
by Linda #
I'm game to read it too! Being a Midwestern flatlander I always love the escapist value of a good mountain story!
by David French #
Nancy almost has me intrigued. Any gun battles, explosions, wizards, or warp drive? The presence of any one of those things will make me read with interest.
by Nancy French #
No warp drive -- hey, that might've helped them get over those Utah mountains. Send a note to Charles Martin!
by John #
Thank you for the review, Nancy -- I picked up the book as soon as I read this intriguing take!
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by Ann #