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- Title: Mountain Between Us: A Novel
- Author: Charles Martin
- Narrator: George Newbern
- Length: 09:57:00
- Version: Abridged
- Release Date: 01/06/2010
- Publisher: Random House (Audio)
- Genre: Romance, Fiction & Literature, Action & Adventure, Mystery, Contemporary
- ISBN13: 9.78E+12
There’s something about survival stories that strips humanity down to its rawest, most beautiful essence. Charles Martin’s “The Mountain Between Us” does exactly this, wrapping a tender love story within a gripping tale of endurance. As someone who’s spent countless hours in remote corners of the world – from the Atacama’s silence to Oaxaca’s vibrant storytelling traditions – I can tell you this audiobook resonates with the same authenticity I’ve found in those places where life becomes distilled to its essentials.
George Newbern’s narration immediately transports you into that small charter plane with Ben and Ashley. His voice carries the weight of impending crisis with perfect restraint – no melodrama, just the growing tension of two strangers whose lives are about to collide with a mountain. When the crash comes, Newbern makes you feel the disorientation, the pain, the sudden shift into survival mode. It reminded me of listening to “One Hundred Years of Solitude” while driving through the Atacama – how a skilled narrator can make a fictional world feel more real than your surroundings.
Martin’s prose shines in audio format. His descriptions of the High Uintas Wilderness are so vivid you’ll shiver even if you’re listening on a sunny beach. The way he writes cold – “the kind that settles in your bones and makes a home there” – paired with Newbern’s measured delivery creates an immersive experience. As someone who’s faced unexpected storms while hiking in Patagonia, I recognized that particular dread when nature reminds you of your smallness.
What makes this more than just a survival story is the emotional terrain Martin explores. Through Ben’s recorded messages to his estranged wife, we get a masterclass in restrained emotion. Newbern delivers these monologues with heartbreaking authenticity – his voice cracking just enough to suggest depths of pain without veering into sentimentality. It reminded me of those evenings in Oaxaca, watching the grandmother tell stories where the most powerful moments lived in what went unsaid.
The growing connection between Ben and Ashley unfolds with beautiful subtlety. Martin avoids easy romance tropes, instead showing how shared struggle can reveal people’s cores. Ashley’s realization that she might be settling in her upcoming marriage lands with particular poignancy in audio format – you hear her breath catch, the pauses as she processes this revelation. As someone who’s documented love stories across cultures, I appreciated how Martin lets this relationship develop through small gestures rather than grand declarations.
Newbern’s performance deserves special praise for how he differentiates characters while maintaining natural flow. His Ben has that quiet competence of someone used to being in control, while his Ashley perfectly captures the transformation from polished writer to determined survivor. Even the dog (an unexpectedly crucial character) comes alive through Newbern’s subtle vocal choices.
If I have one critique, it’s that some medical details during the survival sequences occasionally stretch believability. But Martin’s strong character work and Newbern’s grounded performance keep you invested even when the wilderness challenges might make a survival expert raise an eyebrow.
For listeners who enjoyed “The Great Alone” or “Wild”, this offers a similar blend of breathtaking setting and emotional depth. But Martin adds something unique – a meditation on how crisis distills life to its essentials, revealing what (and who) truly matters. The ending, which I won’t spoil, lingers in that beautiful space between resolution and ambiguity that the best love stories inhabit.
As a travel writer, I’m always seeking stories that capture how place transforms people. “The Mountain Between Us” does this magnificently, using the mountain as both physical obstacle and emotional crucible. Whether you’re an adventure seeker, romance lover, or just appreciate masterful storytelling, this audiobook delivers. Perfect for long journeys – though maybe skip it if you’re on a small plane.
With stories in my heart and dust on my boots,
Marcus Rivera
