Charles Martin - Powerful Storyteller

This post is for all my loving friends and family who follow my blog despite their disinterest in the Paranormal Genre.

There is an author who, in my mind, rates right up there with J.K. Rowling at being able to tell a story in such a masterful way that you can’t help but be moved.  His name is Charles Martin.  Five or six years ago I read, on the recommendation of my sister-in-law, his book Chasing Fireflies and I was hooked.  The next year I read When Crickets Cry… I don’t think I’ve ever cried harder or longer while reading a book (not even when Dobby died—unless you count that I cry EVERY time I read Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows).  It was just SO captivating and heartbreaking.  

The thing about each of those books, though, is that you really have to WANT to get into them and read them.  They both have VERY slow starts and aren’t really the easiest read out there (but, obviously worth your time.)  So when I picked up The Mountain Between Us I expected the same thing.  I was prepared for a slow start and maybe taking several days to read… that is NOT what I got.  The plot moves in fast and before you know it you’re staying up ‘til midnight because you just have to know if they make it out alive.  See, knowing what I do about the author – happy endings are not guaranteed.

The Mountain Between Us can’t be called “fast-paced” but it does keep your attention from the beginning.  Based on the synopsis I had found on the library website I expected it to be from the woman’s POV (which would have been a different outlook for Martin), but it’s not.  In fact, we really don’t ever see any of Ashley’s thoughts except those she expresses (some more candidly than others).  And yet, even being from Ben’s POV doesn’t mean that you really understand him.  I think that is a lot of what held my attention—trying to figure him out (that and the whole “life or death” storyline). 

This story really has something for everyone.  It’s a story of survival, two people lost and hurt in a wilderness gives something for the outdoors person.  But it’s also a mystery—not the “who-done-it” kind, but the kind that keeps you on the edge of your seat for the simple reason that you have to know why Ben is who he is.  What is it that he’s keeping from you?  What is it that he simply cannot say?  And then, most of all it’s a love story.  It probes the question:  what does it mean to truly love someone?  And asks the even harder question:  how do you know when it’s time to let go?

Beautifully written, I would have to recommend this to any lover of fiction (of any sort). 

Just a note… watch for an upcoming movie of this book (I hope they keep true to the book because this would make a fantastic movie!)  I can’t seem to find a release date but there are articles that say it’s coming.