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By Charles Martin The Mountain Between Us: A Novel [Mass Market Paperback] Mass Market Paperback

by Charles Martin (Author)
4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 15,706 ratings
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When a blizzard strands them in Salt Lake City, two strangers agree to charter a plane together, hoping to return home; Ben Payne is a gifted surgeon returning from a conference, and Ashley Knox, a magazine writer, is en route to her wedding. But when unthinkable tragedy strikes, the pair find themselves stranded in Utah's most remote wilderness in the dead of winter, badly injured and miles from civilization. Without food or shelter, and only Ben's mountain climbing gear to protect themselves, Ashley and Ben's chances for survival look bleak, but their reliance on each other sparks an immediate connection, which soon evolves into something more.Days in the mountains become weeks, as their hope for rescue dwindles. How will they make it out of the wilderness and if they do, how will this experience change them forever? Heart-wrenching and unputdownable, The Mountain Between Us will reaffirm your belief in the power of love to sustain us.
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  1. What's it about?

    Two strangers, a surgeon and a magazine writer, are stranded in Utah's remote wilderness after a blizzard. They rely on each other to survive, sparking an immediate connection that evolves into something more.

  2. Popular highlight

    Then someone comes along who mends a tattered edge, or returns a lost piece. The process is tedious, painful, and there are no shortcuts. Anything that promises to be one is not.
    665 Kindle readers highlighted this

  3. Popular highlight

    Forgiveness is a tough thing. Both in the offering…and the accepting.
    595 Kindle readers highlighted this

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    Waiting for somebody does that. It turns minutes to hours, hours to days, and days to several lifetimes.
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Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B00RWRZR84
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 15,706 ratings

About the author

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Charles Martin

Charles Martin

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CHARLES MARTIN is a New York Times bestselling author of 16 previous novels, including his most recent, 'The Record Keeper.' His work is available in 35+ languages. He lives in Jacksonville, Florida with his wife and their three sons.

Customer reviews

4.6 out of 5 stars
4.6 out of 5
15,706 global ratings

Customers say

Customers find the characters well-developed, strong, and tear-jerking. They also describe the writing quality as well-written, educational, and thought-provoking. Readers describe the content as fantastic, humble, and heroic. They appreciate the flow, pacing, and emotional tone. They find the story compelling, refreshing, and teaches lessons of faith, love, and hope. Opinions differ on the plot, with some finding it riveting and captivating, while others say it's predictable and not very realistic.

AI-generated from the text of customer reviews

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StorylineWriting qualityCharactersEmotional tonePacingCharacter strengthContentPlot
763 customers mention "Storyline"707 positive56 negative

Customers find the storyline compelling, believable, and amazing. They also say the ending is satisfying, enjoyable, and refreshing. Readers also mention that the characters are realistic but complex. They say the book teaches lessons of faith, love, and hope.

"...The Mountain Between Us is an incredible story that is superbly written, and worth every minute it takes to read it...." Read more

"...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..." Read more

"...So the story seemed quite credible to me but it is repetitive at places and the flashes of Ben’s personal life seem to fade insignificantly in the..." Read more

"...could've been "Bridge of Madison County, On Ice" takes an interesting and clever turn. One you don't want to miss...." Read more

285 customers mention "Writing quality"269 positive16 negative

Customers find the book well-written, magical, and vividly describe conditions. They also say the plot is compelling and harsh, with intelligent and well-drawn characters.

"...The Mountain Between Us is an incredible story that is superbly written, and worth every minute it takes to read it...." Read more

"...The Mountain Between Us" is a captivating story, written with the skill I've come to expect from Charles Martin." Read more

"...The book is well-written and I found the adventure of trying to survive extremely interesting...captivating, really...." Read more

"This book was so well written….the story line amazing…the ending was so incredible…did not see that coming (never saw the movie). Loved it!" Read more

159 customers mention "Characters"147 positive12 negative

Customers find the characters well developed and insightful. They also say the survival story makes it a page turner.

"...Ben's character is the narrator and his personality is fully developed through the trial and tribulations faced...." Read more

"...The plots are interesting. He develops characters well. There is never anything that would be R rated in a movie...." Read more

"...Each is unique with unique characters. Each has a plot of it's own. And each has an ending that grips you in your heart. Need I say more?..." Read more

"...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...." Read more

118 customers mention "Emotional tone"110 positive8 negative

Customers find the book emotionally engaging, with real sorrow, and a great story of tragedy and love. They also say it's not a sappy, annoying love story. Readers also mention that the book is both painful and great simultaneously.

"...This was pure Charles Martin. In other words, deep and moving and heart-touching and beautiful." Read more

"...The author is magical. He gets real love, real sorrow, real sacrifice. Would this really be so hard to portray in a movie, apparently so." Read more

"...This was entertaining and emotional and romantic, although it’s by not at all a romance novel...." Read more

"...And the feelings of Ben were worded beautifully...." Read more

81 customers mention "Pacing"65 positive16 negative

Customers find the pacing of the book excellent, moving, intense, and a quick read. They also say it's a beautiful journey with adventure and romance.

"...This was pure Charles Martin. In other words, deep and moving and heart-touching and beautiful." Read more

"...Very intense, very believable very worth the read...." Read more

"...THE MOUNTAIN BETWEEN US I read at a slow, steady pace, yet found it captivating, engaging, moving, and even educational...." Read more

"...Fast paced, knowledgeably plotted and heart rending, this author knows how to take you to the limits. Dixie L. Anderson" Read more

61 customers mention "Character strength"61 positive0 negative

Customers find the characters strong, faithful, and dedicated. They also describe the characters as real, alive, and broken. Readers say the book is tear-jerking and has a great lesson to learn about life.

"...The book is well-written and I found the adventure of trying to survive extremely interesting...captivating, really...." Read more

"...Two very strong people, battling an equally strong situation. I kept wondering over and over "How are they not beat down? How can they survive?"..." Read more

"...inspirational to me in my faith of God and his son, but in giving me hope for my future. I am healing by reading his books...." Read more

"...Charles Martin is amazing & refreshing. Heartwarming , strengthening Great" Read more

53 customers mention "Content"53 positive0 negative

Customers find the content thought-provoking, gifted, and purposeful. They also say the book is tactful, smart, and packed with details. Readers say the twist at the end is a surprise. They describe the technique used as clever and powerful.

"...Recommended easy read, any age. No profanity or sex." Read more

"...From the first page to the last it was fantastic but possible. I like all of the people as well as the dog...." Read more

"...I’m so glad I did. This book is focused on thinking positive even when in the direst circumstances, and we all need that lesson every so often...." Read more

"...Ben is a deeply thoughtful and purposeful man, and Ashley's thoughts of him are insightful and leave you pining for men to learn to love as he does...." Read more

101 customers mention "Plot"45 positive56 negative

Customers are mixed about the plot. Some find it holds their interest from the first paragraph and is impossible to stop reading. They say the book is well written and entertaining with no boring parts to skim over. However, others find the plot predictable, not believable, and hard to watch. They also say the movie is poorly researched, sappy, and unrealistic.

"...It was repetitive in that we seemed to have the same scenes played over and over with small variations...." Read more

"...know much of anything about this book.... and that made it sweet and gripping and engaging from the very first page...." Read more

"...The writing of this book is self-aggrandizing, awkward, boring, predictable, sexist, and a host of other things it should not be...." Read more

"...Mr. Martin is amazing how he grabs the reader and doesn’t let go...." Read more

A man caught between two roses
5 out of 5 stars
A man caught between two roses
I've read the book twice and enjoyed it even more the second time. It's a story of dedication to a love one and commentment to a traveling companion for survival. An awesome book.
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Top reviews from the United States

Lynda Wolters
5.0 out of 5 stars I didn’t see this one coming.
Reviewed in the United States on January 26, 2024
Verified Purchase
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.
3 people found this helpful
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Glynn Young
5.0 out of 5 stars A Story of Landscape and Brokenness
Reviewed in the United States on October 10, 2012
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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.
2 people found this helpful
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Balroop Singh
4.0 out of 5 stars Not Just A Survival Story But Much More Than That!
Reviewed in the United States on March 25, 2017
Verified Purchase
I don’t 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 didn’t like it. I even thought of dropping it but I am glad I didn’t 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 doesn’t 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 Ben’s 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 couldn’t 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.
61 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

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jackey
5.0 out of 5 stars A finely written book
Reviewed in Italy on January 3, 2023
Verified Purchase
I read the novel because I had seen the movie. They are both very good in a different way. The movie stars very skilled actors and is less sentimental than the book. The novel is very well written but sometimes strikes a too melodramatic chord. The two plots differ a little and I tend to think that the director wanted to make it more authentic-like . I liked the film ending more.
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scottmar
5.0 out of 5 stars You will want to read this at one sitting
Reviewed in Spain on July 31, 2021
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The first few pages were a little slow, but momentum picked up as I got deeper into the book. I really enjoyed this novel. It cost me a few hours sleep as I didn't want to put it down, but it was worth it. A great book.
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LMB
5.0 out of 5 stars An awesome story of survival
Reviewed in Canada on November 11, 2018
Verified Purchase
This is the first book I read by this author and I really enjoyed it. What would you do if your plane crashed on a remote mountain in winter? How would you survive? At times I found myself wondering if this story would be possible in real life. The characters were physically fit to begin with so that would help. The relationship between the main characters was very interesting and the ending was surprising.
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Cliente Amazon
5.0 out of 5 stars the mountain between us
Reviewed in Brazil on January 26, 2018
Verified Purchase
é um romance que demonstra a luta de duas pessoas para manter a sobrevivência após o acidente e estão muito distante da sociedade
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MarinaL
5.0 out of 5 stars Much better than the movie!
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 31, 2019
Verified Purchase
Unusually for me, I watched the Kate Winslet/Idris Elba movie version first. The movie's good, but the book is so much better! I thought it was beautifully written, with chapters being delivered in reasonably short bursts, maintaining the reader's interest. The story is seen and told through the eyes of Ben Payne, a doctor. Events taking place in the present are interlaced with flashbacks relating to events that have already occurred in Ben's life. Ben has been at a medical conference and is trying to get back home when he is told that his flight has been cancelled due to bad weather. He is scheduled to operate on a patient within a few hours and he decides to charter a flight to Denver, which will almost certainly get him home in time. Ashley Knox is also stuck at the same airport. She and Ben get talking and he invites her to join him on the charter flight and split the cost. Since she is about to get married, she also needs to get home sooner rather than later. But, when the pilot has a heart attack while flying over the Uintas National Forest, the charter plane crashes into the wilderness and Ben and Ashley must work together in an effort to survive. Ben has broken a few ribs and Ashley has broken a leg in the crash. So far so good - the book and the movie kind of agree in content. But it's at this point that the movie and book story lines begin to diverge. The book takes on a life of its own and I'm really struggling now to understand why the movie pursued the angle it did. The book is a wonderful concoction of a tale of endurance, love and survival against all the odds. And it's quite cleverly written on two levels, so we're not just talking about endurance, love and survival on the mountain alone. I absolutely love the book and I really wish the movie had stuck to it!
3 people found this helpful
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