What if you tried to end your life, yet ended up getting a whole new one instead?

the mountain story

The Book Jacket

Four lost hikers are about to discover they’re capable of something extraordinary.

Nola has gone up the mountain to commemorate her wedding anniversary, the first since her beloved husband passed. Blonde, stick-thin Bridget is training for a triathalon. Vonn is working out her teenage rebellion at eight thousand feet, driven by family obligation and the urge to escape her mistakes. Still reeling from the tragic accident that robbed him of his best friend, Wolf Truly is the only experienced hiker among them, but he has come to the cliffs on his eighteenth birthday without food or supplies because he plans to take his own life.

When a series of missteps strands this unusual group together in the wilderness, they soon realize that their only defense against the brutality of nature is one another. As one day without rescue spirals dramatically into the next, and misadventure turns to nightmare, these four broken souls begin to form an inextricable bond, pushing themselves and one another further than they ever could have dreamed possible. The three who make it home alive will be forever changed by their harrowing days on the mountain.

From the New York Times bestselling author of The Girls, The Mountain Story is a fast-paced, suspenseful adventure and a gorgeous tribute to the resilience of the human spirit. Braving a landscape both unforgivingly harsh and breathtakingly beautiful, Nola, Bridget, Vonn, and Wolf find themselves faced with an impossible question: How much will they sacrifice for a stranger?

Duffy’s Review

This book is so detailed, that at times, you feel as if you are living the situation ‘real time‘ with Wolf and the Devines.  In particular, there is one scene with a lamb which I could barely continue to read. I turned away from the page, but the scene was still locked in my head.  As the mountain story unfolds, Wolf flashes back to happier times with his one (and only) true friend Byrd, and his haphazard, neglectful, often heartbreaking childhood with wayward Frankie.

There is a grey shadow of a screwed up childhood which follows Wolf around the unforgiving mountain. As the story unfolds, you realise that not everyone is coming back and I kept changing my mind as I wondered who was going to be left up there on the cold, vast, wilderness of the mountain.

yellow canteen

The topic of God and fear comes up in the groups darkest hours and I found these conversations enthralling to read. The characters are not all tragic victims and at times can all be quite irritating, and then at the turn of a page the situations become incredibly moving. An addictive read which I recommend to anyone who loves to lose themselves in a good story.

Certainly a favourite book of mine for 2015.

4 out of 5 stars

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