January 2020 Book of the Month Club

[rubysmama]

Discussion "officially" starts tomorrow, so here are some questions about "The Mountain Between Us".

Feel free to answer as many, or as few, as you like.

Questions that were listed at the end the book

1. The Mountain Between Us is an adventure story, a story of survivial, but and above all a love story. By the end of the novel, what do we learn about the author’s views of love? Is there such a thing as a perfect marriage? What do Ben and Ashley learn from the pilot, Grover, about the nature of enduring love? Is that a lesson that stays with them throughout the book? In your experience, does marriage get better? What makes a great marriage?

2. After the crash, Ben and Ashley are stranded at 11,500 feet, fifty miles from any kind of civilization with no hope of rescue, she with a broken leg, he with three busted ribs and a possible collapsed lung, and minimal supplies...yet they survived for more than four weeks in these extreme conditions. What skills and character traits do you think helped ensure their survival? Did you find the story credible?

3. Was Ben to blame at any point for what happened? Should he have hired the charter plane to take them out in the coming storm? During their time on the mountain, what choices did Ben make? Do you believe he made the right choices? What would you have done in his place?

4. We learn about Ben’s wife mostly through the recordings she made on Ben’s dictaphone. Is she a strong presence in the book? What kind of person was she? What made her so special to Ben?

5. Ben refers to himself as “a bit of an emotional blockhead” (page 119). Why do you think he finds it so difficult to come to terms with his “separation” from his wife, Rachel? What part did his childhood experiences play in his emotional development?

6. In the most difficult times on the mountain, when Ashley and Ben are losing hope of survival, how do they keep themselves going? What was the most difficult part of their ordeal? If you were in their position, what would you have done? Do you think you would have made it back home alive?

7. How does Ben and Ashley’s time in isolation on the mountain change their perspective on life? Does it make them see any more clearly? Are their lives irrevocably changed by the experience? In what ways?

8. Were you surprised by the revelation about Ben’s family life at the end of the book? How did the discovery make you feel? Looking back through the book, did the author lay any clues for the reader along the way?

9. Ben uses his dictaphone to communicate with his wife. What do you learn about Rachel from his recordings? Do you think this technique works as a narrative device? What does it say about the way we communicate with our loved ones today? Why did Ben throw the dictaphone into the ocean at the end of the book?

10. What is the significance of the title? What is “the mountain between us”?

11. In the author’s note, Charles references one of the most beautiful Bible verses: I lift my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come.... What part does religious faith play in this novel? Do you think the author’s own optimism is derived from his faith in God?

Generic questions we post for every book

12. How would you rate the book on a scale of 1-5 *****?

13. Who was your favorite character?

14. Did you have to force yourself to get through the book, or were you unable to put it down?

15. Would you read another book by the same author?

16. Did you learn something you didn’t know before?

17. Did you find the characters believable?

18. Is there any part of the book you would change?

19. Were there any points of view you felt the author had that you disagreed with?

 

[Willow's Mom]

I'm not posting spoilers today.

I didn't put the book down. I pretty much read it in one sitting with potty and food breaks. The characters were believable to me, although I would not notice as many inconsistancies and poor research as a physician or someone in Ashley's socioeconomic class would. I think that's normal, though. It would be boring to only read about characters whose lives mirrored our own.

I think I learned a lot about the power of metaphor from reading this book. I get criticized for overdoing the metaphor in my daily writing, but the author's description of Ben's mother conveyed so much in so few words. My mind took it literally at first and made a picture. The picture circumvented a lot of my prejudices and premature assumptions and helped me see Ben's mother as a human being who did the best she could instead of as flat, cardboard plot development.

The author then returned to symbolism at the end of the book to explain Ben's relationship to Rachel. I found this very effective. I would like to read more of his work.

Of course I want to know what happened to Ben and Ashley next. That's what I expect from a good story. I'm only human.

 

[Mia6]

****

3. Yes, I think Ben was stupid to hire Grover, Grover irresponsible in not letting anyone know
what he was doing, but there would be no book if Ben hadn't hired Grover, ha!!

4. I would try anything to make it home alive as I am a survivor. I went through a lot after the surgery
that caused my disability and if I were in their predicament I'd do anything in my power to make it
out alive.

 

[rubysmama]

This was my 2nd time reading this book, and since I almost never read a book more than once, the fact that I read every word again, tells me it was well written.

I'll get to the book questions later, but for now I'll answer the easy ones.

12. How would you rate the book on a scale of 1-5 *****?
5*****

13. Who was your favorite character?
Not a lot of characters to choose from, and I liked the 2 main characters equally

14. Did you have to force yourself to get through the book, or were you unable to put it down?
Not at all. I'm generally a slow reader, so it did take me a week or more to read, but I definitely did not have to force myself to read it, despite the fact I'd read it before and knew the ending

15. Would you read another book by the same author?
I would, I think. Must remember to look at his other books

16. Did you learn something you didn’t know before?
Nothing I can think of off the top of my head, as I already knew I would never get on a small plane.

17. Did you find the characters believable?
Hmmm... compared to me, no. Especially since I'm not an athletic or adventurous person, hate the snow and cold, and can't ever see myself getting on a small plane with a stranger. But I don't doubt the will to live will bring out inner strengths one didn't know they had.

18. Is there any part of the book you would change?
I don't don't think so

19. Were there any points of view you felt the author had that you disagreed with?
nothing off the top of my head

 

[rubysmama]

8. Were you surprised by the revelation about Ben’s family life at the end of the book? How did the discovery make you feel? Looking back through the book, did the author lay any clues for the reader along the way?

This is probably the question I'm most interested in seeing other answers to.

I can't remember when I suspected Rachel was dead the first time I read the book. I tried to spot the clues this time as I read, and couldn't pinpoint the spot that made me suspicious on the first read. I think it was quite near the end though.

Reading the 2nd time, I spotted "clues" almost immediately. Like when Grover asked how long Ben and Rachel were married, Ben's answer was "we got married 16 years ago". Subtle, and definitely didn't ring any bells on my first read, but there when you're looking for it.

 

[verna davies]

Q2
I found a lot of the story credible but not all. With the injuries Ben sustained I doubt he would have been able to put her shoulder back into its socket not straighten the leg bone. Both take a lot of upper body strength and with broken ribs and a possible collapsed lung he would have been in too much pain. Does anyone else think it could have been possible, am I being a cynic?

Q3
I put the blame on Grover. Ben was desperate to get home and relied on the expertise of a qualified pilot. Grover was confident he could get to his destination but failing to report the flight plan was extremely unprofessional. As far as the decisions Ben made, he didn't have a lot of choice. It would have been the easy option to stay at the lodge and wait for help but when it would arrive would have been anyones guess. It maybe would have been more sensible to leave Ashley there as he would have been quicker getting help on his own but what if he hadnt made it. Hobsons choice.

Q4

I think Bens wife is a strong presence. I felt it was his strong love for her that gave him the determination to carry on. I think it was Bens guilt over her death that made him feel the way he did. Would the marriage have survived if she and the twins have lived and would his feelings been as strong. I dont think so, what do others think.

Q6
I dont know what the most difficult part was, maybe straight after the crash, the injuries, knowing they were a long way from anywhere, not knowing how badly they were hurt, doubting their ability. Once they had come to terms with all that, having decided what they must do to survive or at least try to survive, I think that was their biggest mental challenge. The thing that kept them going was sheer determination, in Bens case, not to let Ashley down because he felt he had let his wife down and carried that guilt with him. I cant say whether I would have made it, I suppose it depended what I had waiting for me at the end of the journey. It must be so easy to drift into sleep being in that situation.

Q7
I dont think it changed Ben much, he still went back to his old life, grieving for his wife and children. Ashley on the other hand realised that the life she had chosen with Vince would have been empty and uneventful.

Q8
I was taken by surprise to find his wife and children were dead and didnt pick up on it at all.

Q10
Not sure of the significance of the title. Whilst reading the book I thought it was because of the marriage difficulties between Ben and his wife but once I found out she was dead, it didnt make sense to me.

Q12
I would rate it 4.5, just missing out a 5 because I found Bens abilities with his injuries a little unbelievable.

Q13
My favourite charactor was Ashley. She did all she could to help taking into account her injuries and that she had the strength of charactor to walk away from her wedding and go to Ben.

Q14
I enjoyed reading the book from start to end and looked forward to finding out what happened next.

Q15
I would definately read another book by this author. I gave found quite a few books written by him and will order them from my library.

Q18
Maybe a little less humour between them when they were at the crash site. I cant imagine anyone being quite as jokey in such dreadful circumstances, injurues and a dead body to deal with.

Did anyone else find the part where it says that Grover managed to land the plane after he died a bit strange.

 

[rubysmama]

I think I learned a lot about the power of metaphor from reading this book. I get criticized for overdoing the metaphor in my daily writing, but the author's description of Ben's mother conveyed so much in so few words. My mind took it literally at first and made a picture. The picture circumvented a lot of my prejudices and premature assumptions and helped me see Ben's mother as a human being who did the best she could instead of as flat, cardboard plot development.

The author then returned to symbolism at the end of the book to explain Ben's relationship to Rachel. I found this very effective. I would like to read more of his work.

W Willow's Mom : care to elaborate on the metaphor and/or the symbolism? I think both went over my head.

Does anyone else think it could have been possible, am I being a cynic?

Yeah, he was a bit McGyver-ish.

Did anyone else find the part where it says that Grover managed to land the plane after he died a bit strange.

Yes, that was odd.

Maybe a little less humour between them when they were at the crash site. I cant imagine anyone being quite as jokey in such dreadful circumstances, injurues and a dead body to deal with.

Good point. And it did get just a tad tedious after a while, but I think maybe it was to show how similar their personalities were and that they would make a good couple.

 

[Willow's Mom]

W Willow's Mom : care to elaborate on the metaphor and/or the symbolism? I think both went over my head.

I'm not sure how many lines we can quote here, but instead of just saying that Ben's mom was a drunk, the author described her as "crawling into a bottle" to hide and the metaphor gave me this momentary visual picture of a woman literally inside a bottle, as in a ship in a bottle:

and showed how Ben did not blame her for her alcoholism, but saw her as a comrade whose life was also negatively impacted by his father.

This should have prepared me better for the revelation that Rachel and the twins were long dead. There were early mentions of how small and "odd" the house was and how Ben had put in marble floors to keep things cool. The visual details were always of a mausoleum. It was also odd that Ben didn't mention the twins at all, except to note their existence. He was a sensitive man, although very career-oriented, and to be that distant from his own children should have tipped me off to the fact that there were only so many reasons why he would have had no relationship with them at all.

I guess I just jumped to the conclusion that his separation was acrimonious and that he had voluntarily relinquished all parental rights.

 

[verna davies]

W Willow's Mom . Good pick up on the fact that Ben didnt mention the twins pointing to the fact that they may be dead, I missed picking up on that.

Does anyone think it would have added or detracted from the book if there had been a couple of chapters on what happened to the relationship between Ben and Ashley.

 

[Willow's Mom]

I think it would have detracted from it. I'm left wondering and wanting a sequel, but that's how good books should end.

Over the course of the book, Ashley came to realize the value of marriage and of herself. She ended her relationship because she deserved better. It looked as if she was planning on persuing a relationship with Ben wholeheartedly, without trying overly much to protect herself from the possibility of rejection or of Ben simply being too damaged to ever commit to another relationship.

I kind of like the ambiguity. Sometimes love isn't enough. Ashley may have traded a marriage of convenience for having her heart ripped to shreds, but is that really such a bad thing for a young woman? Wasn't it that Billy Shakespeare dude who said "It is better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all."?

Does anyone else see that as a theme in this book? "The Mountain Between Us" is Ben's grief, IMNSHO. It's something Ashley can't understand. Ben loved Rachel enough to respect her decision not to abort the twins even though it cost Rachel her life and, depending on your perspective, it either came very close to costing Ben his sanity or it did.

Is love worth it?

Grover's wife certainly seemed to think it is.

 

[rubysmama]

Does anyone think it would have added or detracted from the book if there had been a couple of chapters on what happened to the relationship between Ben and Ashley.

I think it would have detracted from it. I'm left wondering and wanting a sequel, but that's how good books should end.

I think it would have detracted from the book, as well. And funnily enough, unlike some books when I wish there was a sequel, I didn't feel that way about this one.

 

[rubysmama]

T Texaskitty : you mentioned in the Dec thread that you read the book. What did you think of it?

Boris Diamond : Did you finish it?

 

[rubysmama]

My thoughts on a few of the book questions...

2. After the crash, Ben and Ashley are stranded at 11,500 feet, fifty miles from any kind of civilization with no hope of rescue, she with a broken leg, he with three busted ribs and a possible collapsed lung, and minimal supplies...yet they survived for more than four weeks in these extreme conditions. What skills and character traits do you think helped ensure their survival? Did you find the story credible?

I think the fact that they were both athletic, and that Ben had been mountain climbing and had been a boy scout, helped in that they had the supplies as well as his knowledge of survival in extreme conditions. Regardless of the "will to live" without physical strength, and the hiking supplies, plus a lot of luck, I think it would have been extremely difficult for them to survive and get themselves rescued. Me, as a city girl, probably wouldn't have survived 24 hours, but then again, I would probably have stayed at the snowed in airport and waited.

3. Was Ben to blame at any point for what happened? Should he have hired the charter plane to take them out in the coming storm? During their time on the mountain, what choices did Ben make? Do you believe he made the right choices? What would you have done in his place?

Ben really wasn't to blame, as he had a licensed pilot agree to fly, despite the bad weather conditions. And though Grover knew he had health problems, if he hadn't had the heart attack, I think he would have gotten them to their destination safely.

The only thing Ben might have been blamed for was taking the shortcut when they left the lodge. But at that point, if not for the avalanche, it would have saved time and distance. And they did both agree to take the shortcut, so it wasn't just his decision.

6. In the most difficult times on the mountain, when Ashley and Ben are losing hope of survival, how do they keep themselves going? What was the most difficult part of their ordeal? If you were in their position, what would you have done? Do you think you would have made it back home alive?

For me, the cold and snow and dark and unknown would have been terrifying for me. And knowing Grover was dead and that they were going to have to leave him there would have bothered me. And, though they had to eat to survive, as a vegetarian, killing the rabbits and deer and even the cougar, would have been hard for me. But if I was starving, maybe that would make a difference in how I thought.

 

[Texaskitty]

T Texaskitty : you mentioned in the Dec thread that you read the book. What did you think of it?

Boris Diamond : Did you finish it?

Hi Rubysmama, I liked the book a lot. What hooked me the most though was the survival against all odds in the wild kind of thing, I like stories about that (marooned on a desert island, adrift in the ocean for months with no food) etc. and living through it. One of my favorite movies ever is Castaway with Tom Hanks, I've watched it about 5 times. Anyway I like the author's detail in describing everything. I thought Ashley's character was more realistically developed than Ben's. I could see her as a real person but not him. I think he would have went ahead and told Ashley about his wife and children being deceased, during all the time he was in such an intimate situation with her. But I wanted them to get together in the end, and that was a satisfying ending to me. I would recommend the book, I passed it on to my coworker who likes to read. This book was a great recommendation and I'm glad you suggested it!

 

[verna davies]

Just read through the responses, want to add some comments but I've been up since 5am and its 9pm here so I'll do it on the morning, besides I have 2 demanding cats that want the lights off.

 

[rubysmama]

Hi Rubysmama, I liked the book a lot. What hooked me the most though was the survival against all odds in the wild kind of thing, I like stories about that (marooned on a desert island, adrift in the ocean for months with no food) etc. and living through it. One of my favorite movies ever is Castaway with Tom Hanks, I've watched it about 5 times. Anyway I like the author's detail in describing everything. I thought Ashley's character was more realistically developed than Ben's. I could see her as a real person but not him. I think he would have went ahead and told Ashley about his wife and children being deceased, during all the time he was in such an intimate situation with her. But I wanted them to get together in the end, and that was a satisfying ending to me. I would recommend the book, I passed it on to my coworker who likes to read. This book was a great recommendation and I'm glad you suggested it!

T Texaskitty : Glad you enjoyed it.

Did you see our thread for February?
February 2020 Book of the Month Club

 

[verna davies]

I cant understand why Grover agreed to fly, as stated above, bad weather, health issues and what appeared to be a wonderful marriage. Why risk that alone. Does anyone think that in the real world a pilot such as Grover would have made the same decision?

I thought of that case in the Andes in 1972 where the survivors eat the dead to survive. Compared to that eating wildlife would seem simple. I, at one time thought they migjt way Grover. I worry about my mind on times.

Like T Texaskitty , I enjoyed reading the tricks and survival skills, they never fail to surprise me.

 

[rubysmama]

I cant understand why Grover agreed to fly, as stated above, bad weather, health issues and what appeared to be a wonderful marriage. Why risk that alone. Does anyone think that in the real world a pilot such as Grover would have made the same decision?

Small planes sadly crash often, and in similar weather conditions, so yes I think some pilots would have made the same decision. Especially if it were a case of someone needing to be somewhere.

Grover, of course, could have just said no. But I think he knew his plane, knew his flying ability, and truly thought he could get them there safely.

I thought of that case in the Andes in 1972 where the survivors eat the dead to survive.

I remember being beyond horrified when I first heard about that.

Compared to that eating wildlife would seem simple. I, at one time thought they migjt way Grover. I worry about my mind on times.

Ben mentioned that plane crash, actually, and said he would not eat Grover. He would have considered the dog, but luckily for the dog, he was too small, thus wouldn't be worth it.

 

[Boris Diamond]

Boris Diamond Boris Diamond : Did you finish it?

I enjoyed the interplay between Ashley and Ben. Their sense of humor was sustaining to them. And I enjoy stories about surviving in frigid temperatures. I kinda finished it. I started skipping what was in italics. I finished it to see how they would make it. I like a good adventure, and I realize fiction sometimes requires suspension of disbelief. But it's a little tough to believe that with what he thought were three broken ribs and a possible collapsed lung that Ben was able to pull Ashley across the mountain and down to the valley over a period of so many days. Also tough to believe that the snowshoes he cobbled together from airplane parts held together for even a day. Many other things stretched belief. But OK. As I said, fiction often requires suspension of disbelief.

The revelations at the end of the book made me think the guy was, well, kinda nutty and amazingly obsessive. He set up a shrine to his wife and visited it regularly and talked to her as if she were still alive, and he did it for years. And years after her death, a big night for him was listening to recordings of his dead wife's messages. Near the end of the book, at the end of chapter 49, he said, "I'm not really sure, but for the first time since our argument, I lay down, my tears dripping onto her face and slept with my wife." You were sleeping on the marble floor of your dead wife's shrine, Ben. Did no one else think Ben had a screw loose? I am glad there was a happy ending. And I hope Ashley and Ben find happiness.

 

[verna davies]

I also found it difficult to believe his strength considering his injuries but it was creative fiction.

It struck me as odd that he walked into the house, laid down with his wife, cried over her face then they slept but I still didnt realuse that she was dead. Sometimes I am slow to catch on.

Keeping a house as a mausoleum, visiting it and sleeping beside it was beyond strange but I suppose the author wanted to show the depth of his dispair. Dont fancy Ashleys chances of healing him.