THE MOUNTAIN STORY BY LORI
LANSENS
2016 • 320
pages • Simon and Schuster
Wolf
Truly comes from a broken home. The tragic death of his mother and the
incompetence of his father leave Wolf longing for escape. Seeking adventure,
Wolf often hikes up the mountain near his home along with his friend, Byrd –
but after Byrd’s untimely death Wolf decides to hike up the mountain one last
time to jump to his own death. However, after meeting three fellow hikers –
Bridget, Nola, and Vonn – he finds himself stranded in the desolate wilderness
of the mountain, leaving the four of them to fight for survival. One of them
will not make it back alive.
This is
my first Lori Lansens novel and I’m glad to say that I was rather impressed by
her writing. The Mountain Story is raw and gritty and as
someone who enjoys hiking, I was able to appreciate just how frightening it
would be to be lost in such an unforgiving wilderness. It was interesting to
see how the teenage Wolf felt connected with the mountain and how he viewed its
natural beauty as an opportunity to escape his neglectful home life. While he
intends to climb up the mountain one last time in order to end his life
peacefully, this final journey inspires Wolf to keep living as his life becomes
intertwined with these three women who must now fight for survival with him.
Told from
the adult Wolf’s perspective as he writes a letter to his teenage son
explaining his mountain experience, the story gradually reveals secrets and
neglected memories from Wolf’s past. After initially getting off to a slow
start the story builds up considerable tension, leaving you trying to work out
who won’t survive the ordeal and how the lives of these characters all connect.
As I said, the story is gritty and at times I felt quite emotional as I read
how Wolf, Bridget, Nola, and Vonn fought desperately for their lives. This is
ultimately a novel about human survival – the desperate longing to keep living.
Whilst Wolf is stranded with his fellow hikers he too begins to fight for his
life despite his initial intentions, which makes for a very touching read.
The
emotional and psychological turmoil of these characters are all different. It
was interesting to see how I could guess how each of them would react to a
situation and I mean this in the best way possible. Due to the character
development I knew the strengths and weaknesses of each of them, which made the
characters realistic and ultimately, believable. Its Wolf’s story but Bridget,
Nola, and Vonn each have their own to tell and I liked how it focused on their
struggles as well as Wolf’s.
This is
an engaging and clever read that wonderfully explores the fierceness of human
nature as it fights against the brutality of nature itself. The ending was
especially rewarding and not one I was expecting which overall led to a
charming result.
Overall rating: 3 stars
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