Two strangers come together after crash.
The Blurb:
What if your life depended on a stranger?
On a stormy went tonight, to strangers wait for a flight at the salt lake city airport. Actually Knox is an attractive, successful writer, who is flying east for her much anticipated wedding. Dr Ben Payne has just wrapped up a medical conference and is also eager to return home. When the last outgoing flight is cancelled due to forthcoming storm, Ben finds a charter plane that can take him around the weather front. And when the pilot says the single engine prop plane can fit one more, Ben offers the seat to Ashley.
Then the unthinkable happens and the plane crashes into the High Uintas Wilderness – one of the largest stretches of harsh and remote land in the United States. Ben, who has broken ribs, and Ashley, who suffers a terrible leg fracture, along with the pilots dog, are faced with a battle to survive. How will they make it out of the wilderness and if they do, will they ever be the same again?
The Review:
I’m sorry, but this review is not a very positive one. This is one of those rare moments when the book was not better than the movie. They were both equally bad. In the book, the characters were shallow, except for a few flashbacks of Ben Payne’s childhood and relationship with his wife. Of course, he has a harsh childhood where his father abuses him. We get to hear nothing of Ashley’s past though. Why? This story was extremely predictable.
As seen on the blurb “What if your life depended on the stranger?” and “How will they make it out of the wilderness?” seems extremely unoriginal. The story was very uninteresting and sounded like any other survival story – where once again the cliché of two people coming together and through adversity fall in love with each other was used.
Of course that would happen. The way it was written was extremely flat as it didn’t have much description and just stated what was happening. It did not use the well-known story structure of ‘show not tell’ instead it just told everything as it was. The only success of this book was the twist at the end. I did not see this coming and this was the only part of the book that keep it afloat in my eyes. The story is written in first person. The addition of the symbolism of the Dictaphone was a good additive to the story as it made a link to the later twist.
I would not recommend this book to people who love world-building or heavy description as there was none. For those of you who wish to read this, yeah sure, give it ago but mark my words: you may be disappointed. In 2017, the film was released, starring Idris Elba and Kate Winslet and was also a disappointment. This film was doomed from the get-go after being based on the book that had virtually no plot and no possible scene development. It closely followed the story but shortened the time it took for them to reach all the memorable points in the book. Strangely enough, the names of the main characters were changed in the film. How would this make a difference to an already dull movie? The names of the main characters in the film were changed to Ben Bass and Alex Martin which was just a completely strange thing to do and made no sense. It didn’t change the story anyway and there was no reason behind the name change. There’s one thing I need to make clear: why did they even bother making a film out of a book that wasn’t made for a film in the first place? The book was worse enough and making a film didn’t make it any more appealing to read. This book was set in the wilderness of the US, so anyone who lives outside of the US, you may struggle to grasp the context of this novel. For those of us who aren’t American, we just won’t get the humor. This book was hard to finish, although the twist made it somewhat worth it in the end. Give it a go if your game. But be prepared that you may just find yourself looking at other books in your bookshelf very longingly.
Thank you, Charles Martin for the personal note to the reader as I felt that I somewhat understood the reason behind your story in the end. I applaud your persistence in writing this novel and having it made into a movie. That is what all authors hope to achieve. The setting of this novel was a very beautiful landscape and it is always awe-inspiring looking at the nature God created for us. We all should “Lift our eyes to the hills and remember where our help comes from”.
Release Date: 9 September 2017
Favorite Quote:
How can I be expected to have a favorite quote as I didn’t like the book. Perhaps the common cliche that I found when I was going through the book trying to find a quote is my fav.
“What was her greatest weakness prior to the separation?”
“The thing that’s also her greatest strength.”
“Her love… for me and the twins.”
Ben Payne and Ashley Knox NOT Ben Bass and Alex Martin
Favorite Character:
This was hard, especially when you don’t particularly like the characters. Can I say the dog, Tank-Napoleon?
***Spoiler Below***
QFTR (Question For The Readers)
- What did the title represent and why do you think was it chosen?
- Is Ben to blame for the crash as he was the one who suggested taking a charter plane into a storm?
- Why do you think Ben kept the real truth about his wife secret from Ashley?
- What do you think the Dictaphone symbolizes?
What did you think about this book? Write your thoughts below.
