The Mountain Story by Lori Lansens – 320 pages
Book Blurb:
On his 18th birthday, Wolf Truly takes the tramway to the top of the mountain that looms over Palm Springs, intending to jump to his death. Instead he encounters strangers wandering in the mountain wilderness, three women who will change the course of his life. Through a series of missteps he and the women wind up stranded, in view of the city below, but without a way down. They endure five days in freezing temperatures without food or water or shelter, and somehow find the courage to carry on. Wolf, now a grown man, has never told his son, or anyone, what happened on the mountain during those five days, but he can’t put it off any longer. And in telling the story to his only child, Daniel, he at last explores the nature of the ties that bind and the sacrifices people will make for love. The mountain still has a hold on Wolf, composed of equal parts beauty and terror.
My Review: 4 stars
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The Mountain Story did not disappoint. I loved this author’s earlier book, The Girls and was thrilled to see a new one on the shelf.
Although this book is about a young man and three other hikers that are stranded on a mountain outside of Palm Springs, it offers so much more. I’d categorize this book as a ‘coming to life’ story almost more than a ‘coming of age’ story. After all, it was our main protagonist that began his journey to the mountain with the plan to end his life.
The many ties of humans to animals, to nature, to other humans and to family are all explored. The survival story was described with a deft use of colorful words that made the reader truly able to envision the surroundings. The three unlikely women with whom he is stranded with, all have their own stories to share and each is connected and unique in their own right.
Themes in this novel also focused on regret, abuse, connections, fears, friendship and moving forward. This book makes for a great read and kudos once again to Lori Lansens.
Quotes I liked:
“I felt the weight of my father’s failures and the absence of my mother and I wondered who would teach me, or if a guy could learn on his own, what it means to be a man.”
“When you get older, you think of sadness in a different way. You don’t judge it so harshly.”
“Regrets. Sure you think about regrets, but it’s not regret for the things you’ve done that occupy you, as much as it is a longing for the things you’ll never have a chance to do.”
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