Tournament of Books discussion

The Mountain Story, by Lori Lansens


About the Book (excerpted from Goodreads)
Five days. Four hikers. Three survivors. From Lori Lansens, author of the national bestsellers Rush Home Road, The Girls and The Wife's Tale comes a gripping tale of adventure, sacrifice and survival in the unforgiving wilderness of a legendary mountain. [The Mountain Story] explores the nature of the ties that bind and the sacrifices people will make for love.


About the Author (excerpted from the author's website)
Lori Lansens was born in July 1962 in small-town Chatham, Ontario, a rural community near the border to Detroit, Michigan, where she spent the first eighteen years of her life, a landscape that would become the backdrop for her first three novels. From early on she was inspired by Chatham’s unique history as a hunting ground for the neutral Indians, as a battleground for the War of 1812, as a terminus on the Underground Railroad where slaves from the southern United States sought freedom, and as a hotspot for bootlegging during prohibition.

Lansens now lives with her husband and children in a rural canyon in the Santa Monica Mountains with coyotes and bobcats and rattlesnakes. From her office above the garage she can see a horse ranch across the road and beyond that, the tawny hills and clear blue sky. Lansens is currently at work on her next book.

Author's Website: http://lorilansens.com

Review from the Globe and Mail: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/b...

On Twitter: @lorilansens



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If you would like to chat about this book, or this author, here's a place to do so!

Happy reading!!

I just started listening to this one on audio (it's not one I'm judging -- those I won't do on audio!). It seems like a good choice for audio for me -- something plot-driven that's not too complex in terms of writing style. So far, so good -- I'm enjoying the story very much (although also horrified at some of it).

Rebecca wrote: "I just started listening to this one on audio (it's not one I'm judging -- those I won't do on audio!). It seems like a good choice for audio for me -- something plot-driven that's not too complex ..."

Good to know that this book works well as an audio.
Thanks

I do have the print book from library.

Before I start this book I was wondering if anyone has read:

Lost Canyon by Nina Revoyr
I read this earlier this year and enjoyed.

or

Descent by Tim Johnston
I was about to start this book before joining this challenge but saw that an adventure book was on the list and decided to postpone reading Descent.

I have read them both. Both are good and worth reading though quite different in story content. Have not yet read The Mountain Story but judging from the summary, Lost Canyon would be the most similar.

Judy wrote: "I have read them both. Both are good and worth reading though quite different in story content. Have not yet read The Mountain Story but judging from the summary, Lost Canyon would be the most simi..."

Thanks for the info.
I do like "adventure" stories.

Beverly wrote: "Before I start this book I was wondering if anyone has read:

Lost Canyon by Nina Revoyr
I read this earlier this year and enjoyed.

or

Descent by ..."

I read Descent by Johnston, and would describe it more as a literary thriller/mystery.

About a third of the way into this book. Visited this area repeatedly about 20 years ago but never found the time to take the Tram up the mountain. Those windmills are planted like cornfields though and fairly ugly.

so i began re-reading this book last night... and it has caught me up completely. i read nearly 130 pages before i feel asleep, to be woken by the book falling on my face! can't wait to get back to it tonight! :)

I'm almost at the end of the audio version of this. I don't think I would have enjoyed it as much if I'd read it in print (some of it felt implausible to me), but on audio I found it suspenseful and absorbing. Believe it or not, I listened to much of it while by myself in the woods (with only my dog), and I made sure I didn't get near any cliffs or get chased by any coyotes :)

good plan, rebecca -- staying away from cliffs and coyotes! :)

who is the narrator?

why coyotes, though? That choice stretches this novel close to Sharknado territory for me since coyotes aren't typically dangerous unless you're a poodle.

I enjoyed Sharknado very much btw!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ARpJB...

poingu wrote: "why coyotes, though? That choice stretches this novel close to Sharknado territory for me since coyotes aren't typically dangerous unless you're a poodle.

I enjoyed Sharknado very much btw!

https..."

Thanks for sharing. That was the most entertaining 2 minutes of my day...or maybe the year.

Kendra wrote: "Thanks for sharing. That was the most entertaining 2 minutes of my day...or maybe the year. "

you're welcome Kendra.

I'm just saying, 'implausible' doesn't necessarily need to be a deal-breaker for enjoying a novel. Or a movie.

Jennifer wrote: "good plan, rebecca -- staying away from cliffs and coyotes! :)

who is the narrator?"

Corey Brill was the narrator. I liked him a lot.

As for why coyotes, you could say it's to evoke primal fears in readers, more like a nightmare than a realistic novel. I have to say that the ending was too much for me -- too absurd. I enjoyed much of the middle though.

Rebecca wrote: "As for why coyotes, you could say it's to evoke primal fears in readers, more like a nightmare than a realistic novel. "

Yes, I totally had to hit the 'reset' button a couple of times before I started enjoying this novel, with its lack of grounding in reality being one area I needed to reset expectations about.

But what exactly makes something "too absurd," in your opinion, Rebecca? It sounds like you were more ok in the beginning-middle than I was at first, but then some kind of implausibility threshold was exceeded, near the end, for you.

Also being attacked by a coyote is way more plausible than almost anything that happens in Undermajordomo Minor so why did it bother me?

I'm just wondering out loud here because "implausible" has come up in more than one discussion of these books and we all seem to have our own idea about what is ok or not on the implausibility scale.

For this novel at first all I could think of was "I don't buy it," not only about the coyotes but also about how weirdly friendly Wolf Truly gets with strangers when on his way to kill himself, and then there is his Truly implausible name to contend with, and the problem of whether I could imagine anyone not noticing a bone sticking out of her arm until someone points it out to her, or that someone for whom bee stings mean instant death wouldn't be 100% sure to take life saving medicine with her on a wilderness hike, or how weird it is that some girl in green flipflops just walks around following the group and Wolf doesn't ask her her name or where she came from and no one says a word about her being there for several pages... but then I just decided to relax and read the book.

poingu wrote: "why coyotes, though? That choice stretches this novel close to Sharknado territory for me since coyotes aren't typically dangerous unless you're a poodle...."

so i have two theories on the coyotes:

1) in native mythology and storytelling, coyotes serves as tricksters - their roles can vary, but one of the negative ways to use coyotes is as a symbol of negative behaviours -- including recklessness. another way to represent coyotes is to reflect positive qualities like resourcefulness.
coyotes are major figures in native mythology.
-- as a note: 'wolf' represents leadership and direction, protection & destruction; 'byrd' (eagle, one example) represents divine spirit, creation and freedom. often they convey messages from the creator. ravens, like the coyote, are often tricksters. **
-- lansens has included native characters in her story. i was very attentive to this element, and then how the animals and magical realism helped serve this aspect of the novel. she's got a lot going on with the book!! :)

2) to reflect back the desperation of the situation and the hunger -- it was noted in the book that the coyotes must be lacking food too to be acting the way they were towards the group.


** have read a lot of fiction by indigenous authors. this year Monkey Beach and Green Grass, Running Water were two reads i lead in another group, so had done more research on the symbols and importance of native mythology. the coyote is a particularly prominent character in GGRW; the raven in MB.

Thanks for this useful information, Jennifer. Up to now, this book was more-or-less just a diverting story for me. You are starting to educate me as to the deeper aspects.

Lagullande wrote: "Thanks for this useful information, Jennifer. Up to now, this book was more-or-less just a diverting story for me. You are starting to educate me as to the deeper aspects."

so glad you found it useful, Lagullande!

in my head, i am still unpacking my re-read. i finished the book at about 11:30pm last night... then couldn't fall asleep as i went over it all in my mind. i found it to be a very strong read. i feel as though lansens is, and i don't know if this makes sense, an 'elegant' storyteller. i always find a lyrical quality to her writing, and a lot of layers that connect back to one another. she also never seems to shy away from difficult themes, and manages to break my heart, yet also fill it up. (and not in a sappy, sentimental way.)

Jennifer, thanks for sharing these perspectives. I'll have to think on these ideas. The only way I could enjoy the novel was to stop thinking of it as anything but fun campy reading but it seems there is more here than what I found.

I had a lot of trouble for example with whatever the equivalent in novels would be to "blocking" in stage plays or "framing" in film. The movement, dialog, and action of the scenes felt very roughly imagined to me.

I also experienced what Rebecca mentions above about the ending. I'm not sure if the place where it got to be officially too much for me was the paternity reveal, the baby name reveal, the flying poncho sacrifice, the rattlesnake scene (why would this writer insist on making these women ninnies in every crisis?), the discovery of a naked dead body on the mountaintop, Noni biting Wolf's finger (foreshadowing a more deadly bite to come?), the buzzards, or Noni offering herself to be a meal, declaring "Eat me!" -- even though no one would be close to starving after just four days.

poingu wrote: "Also being attacked by a coyote is way more plausible than almost anything that happens in Undermajordomo Minor so why did it bother me?

I'm just wondering out loud here because "implausible" has ..."

This idea of how much we tolerate implausibility in fiction is really interesting to me. Why do we expect this of some stories and not others? Do we decide at the beginning of a book whether it should conform to reality - and if so, what is the basis of that decision? Does it matter whether the book is written in first person, or on whether you trust a the narrator?

I tend to be someone who only finds implausibility annoying in books I already don't like. While listening to The Mountain Story it never crossed my mind. On the other hand, in books like The Paying Guests or Preparation for the Next Life it took me out of the story.

Some stories are given more leeway - obviously some of this is based on genre. But I've read books where I was willing to entertain certain magical/fantastical elements but not others. Is that a sign of an author's successful world-building or of its failure?

Vanessa wrote: "I tend to be someone who only finds implausibility annoying in books I already don't like. "

I totally, totally bought the veracity of Preparation for the Next Life. I felt it provided a window into the world of the most disenfranchised and treated these people with great dignity.

But of course I don't know squat about what it's like to be either a veteran with PTSD or an illegal immigrant, so why was I so convinced of Lish's storytelling and you weren't? I have no idea.

I think you're right about our willingness to give a book more leeway if we like it, but what comes first, the liking, or the judgment about plausibility? It's very mysterious.

First let me say that this one book where I liked the US better than the Canadian or the UK cover - usually for me it is the other way around.

Everything about the blurb of the book said this is a book I would enjoy. I like adventure stories where you know there is going to be a crisis or two. I am a believer in that for many people no matter how much you plan and think you know how you are going to act in a crisis - you just never know until the situation arises.

This storyline did not engage me on a couple of levels.
Other than the description on the tram ride up the mountain - I really did not get a feel of the place. I needed a little bit more description of the place to appreciate some of the dangers and the majesty of the mountains.

You knew bad things were going to happen but the tension building was not necessarily there for me. There were a couple of foreshadowing scenes but not enough to keep my heart from racing.

But I understand that the storyline was about the three generations of women and Wolf to be able to reflect on their past and come to some sort of reconciliation. While all started out with different motives in mind - it became a soul-searching experience for all of them. In that respect the book succeeds and their supposedly being on the tram together and meeting up again was a way to facilitate learning what really is important in life.

I enjoyed the folklore and mythology of the area, animals and the plants and my attention perked up when that information came into play.

I had too may "eye-rolling" moments to just settle in and enjoy the storyline for what it was. And I have a problem with whiny women.

Judy wrote: "I have read them both. Both are good and worth reading though quite different in story content. Have not yet read The Mountain Story but judging from the summary, Lost Canyon would be the most simi..."

Now have to reading The Mountain Story I would agree Lost Canyon is most similar.

But I liked Lost Canyon much more.
Though both books had their implausible moments and hokey moments I thought Lost Canyon did a much better job of describing the physical environment that though I have never visited that mountain range I felt like I knew it and was there. Also the tension building was better and while the reader learned about the characters pasts and why they were hiking you also saw how this played into the characters current actions.

Vanessa wrote: "poingu wrote: "Also being attacked by a coyote is way more plausible than almost anything that happens in Undermajordomo Minor so why did it bother me?

I'm just wondering out loud here because "im..."

Yes, it is interesting.
I think we all have "trigger" points that help to make something seem implausible a story and other things that will let go for the sake of the story or we will is not a show-stopper.

I know that is what happened to me in The Mountain Story - one of my trigger points is whiny women and those that just do "stupid" things. I could not get past the "green flip-flops"

Jennifer wrote: "Lagullande wrote: "Thanks for this useful information, Jennifer. Up to now, this book was more-or-less just a diverting story for me. You are starting to educate me as to the deeper aspects."

so g..."

I understand your feelings and yes it is a heartbreaking story as the it is revealed what happened to the characters.
And yes, she is an elegant storyteller.
I think if these characters had met in a different setting than this one I would have been more sympathetic to the characters and what was happening to them.

Jennifer wrote: "poingu wrote: "why coyotes, though? That choice stretches this novel close to Sharknado territory for me since coyotes aren't typically dangerous unless you're a poodle...."

so i have two theories..."

Good points.
And there elements you mentioned above were some of the things that I liked about the story.

so funny -- whereas i took the green flip-flops as one way of showing how people go out and about unprepared, and the complete unawareness of the challenges involved in hiking in such an area. i think i was more willing to write that piece off to vonn's age, and the fractures within the relationships of the three women. (bridget and vonn didn't know what nola was planning, and then seemed to scramble to get up the mountain in time.)

heh! bridget!!! so whiny, eh? but don't we all know people like this? i felt like lansens did a good job conveying just how annoying she was --- though i get that could, in turn, serve as totally annoying to read. :)

i'm still thinking on the very ending -- i did really, really like this read. a lot. but i am still trying to reconcile bridget's sacrifice, and daniel's paternity.

suspending disbelief is something i encounter kind of frequently in my reading. mostly, i am not very good at it - but i find i am less good at it when a book is dealing with things i have less experience with. like sic/fi and fantasy, and magical realism challenge me (but i keep trying!). i spend a lot of time going 'yeah, but...'

if i have previous experience with an author, and feel trust, i am more likely to go wherever they are leading and more hopeful of a good outcome.

i feel like my reading of the book was well-served by my past experiences reading indigenous authors and knowing a bit about native mythology and storytelling.

just read this article, that shares a bit of personal background form lansens on the novel, and mentions her interest in the Cahuilla and their culture: http://reviews.libraryjournal.com/201...

Beverly wrote: "And there elements you mentioned above were some of the things that I liked about the story. "

just realized i should have mentioned 'lark' in there with wolf, and byrd!

tangentially - was was quite taken with the names - wolf truly and glory truly. i get that could be eye-rolling for some (many?) readers, but i found it... amusing. two very memorable characters from The Girls are 'rose and ruby darling'. The Wife's Tale, lansens went with 'mary gooch' for her main character (didn't love this one, sadly). naming characters is an interesting process! :)

oh -- have people read both Sweetland and The Mountain Story?? though completely unintentional on my part in having these kind of similar-ish books in the running, i keep thinking about the states of mind of the characters in each book, and the visions, and physical/geographical elements. there's definitely something about canadian authors and the natural world. :)

Jennifer wrote: "so funny -- whereas i took the green flip-flops as one way of showing how people go out and about unprepared, and the complete unawareness of the challenges involved in hiking in such an area. i th..."

Yes, at first that was my thought also the green flip flops chalking it up to Vonn's age and the lack of communication between all of the women. But then I got annoyed at Nola as she should have known better. But then I chalked it up to Nola needing to spread the ashes on that specific day so she did not recognize the lateness in the day and Vonn's flip flops and it was grief clouding her thought process.

exactly -- all of the other 'stuff' going on with each of them... so caught up in their own issues and plans that what to bring or wear on the mountain wasn't really well thought out... nor did they expect to be there past sunset.

poingu wrote: "Jennifer, thanks for sharing these perspectives. I'll have to think on these ideas. The only way I could enjoy the novel was to stop thinking of it as anything but fun campy reading but it seems th..."

Poingu, the stuff at the very end got to me too -- the paternity, the relationship between Vonn and Wolf (since I listened on audio, I was picturing her name as "Vaughan" or "Vaughn" the whole time, don't know why). Part of my problem with all that was that we got that information after the rescue happened and I found out who did and didn't make it, so the feeling of suspense was over. While I was wondering how they were going to get off the mountain, I was more willing to accept whatever the narrator told me because I wanted to keep going to find out what would happen.

I think it was smart marketing, by the way, to say that there were four people lost and three survivors. So I kept speculating on which one wouldn't last. I'm sure some readers knew from the beginning who wouldn't last, but I'm the kind of reader who never figures anything out :)

Rebecca wrote: "While I was wondering how they were going to get off the mountain, I was more willing to accept whatever the narrator told me because I wanted to keep going to find out what would happen."

Yes, this novel does have an easy to follow plot, which is something not every novel in our tournament has, and novels without such a thing can frustrate readers in ways different from how this novel challenged me.

coyotes are howling out in my backyard exactly now...they come about 3 nights a week, wonderful.

I'll probably never have another appropriate place to share my coyote experience on GR

I finished this last night, I did a bit of a marathon read as I could not put it down. I was actually surprised with how much I enjoyed it as I recently read If I Fall, If I Die which has some similar elements but I really did not care for that book.

Yes, initially there were some eye rolling moments in the book - Vonn in her flip flops and Bridget with her fake pony tale and shallowness - but as the story went on it all fit into place. I have been on enough hiking trails to have observed people wearing inadequate footwear. And I have run across some shallow people in my life. I can believe that Nola was reluctant to confide in her family members the real 'mission' of her hike especially if she felt that Bridget would not approve.

I am willing to accept the coyotes as predators though coyote attacks are rare and usually occur in more urban environments. I imagine if stressed or hungry they might attack and Nola's arm was injured so they did have the scent of blood. (Here is my coyote experience: I occasionally hear coyotes and they can make an appearance behind my house. Once I even had a small pack corner one of it's own in our yard. This is why my chihuahua is never out back alone and my two cats only have 'supervised outside time'.)

@Jennifer, I also reading with some of my background knowledge of Native Americans and the significance of ravens and coyotes and visions in their culture. Although I am not familiar with the Cahuilla specifically.
I got excited when Wolf found the metates. I have visited Indian Grinding Rock State Park in central California. It is a beautiful and fascinating spot with a very informative museum.

Jane from B.C. wrote: "I got excited when Wolf found the metates. I have visited Indian Grinding Rock State Park in central California. It is a beautiful and fascinating spot with a very informative museum."

i really liked that part too!

so glad the book worked for you, jane! i still haven't read christie's book.

Jennifer wrote: "so glad the book worked for you, jane! i still haven't read christie's book. "

Yes, I was pretty bummed as I felt it has such promise. It started out strongly for me but then I struggled to finish it. :o(

i keep hearing spilt opinion. i really have to get to it for myself.
lansens book was also one i read very quickly. i didn't want to put it down! :)

This book is the most plot driven of the 16 we're reading together and I can see why some readers would prefer it above all others for that reason alone.

Jane, this is interesting, I think of If I Fall, If I Die as just about the polar opposite of an outdoor survival/adventure story. So that is really intriguing to me that you see them as similar reads. Also Christie's novel felt like it was trying to to examine a social problem from a unique perspective rather than follow a linear plot, in fact the novel felt stuffed with many themes to the point of "too many," vs. The Mountain Story which is "4 people on a mountain, 3 came back."

poingu wrote: "Jane, this is interesting, I think of If I Fall, If I Die as just about the polar opposite of an outdoor survival/adventure story."

Here is where I am coming from making connections between The Mountain Story and If I Fall, If I Die :

(Hidden for those that don't want "If I Fall, If I Die" spoiled) (view spoiler)[

Both books have young protagonists who are being raised by single parents. TMS has an absentee negligent unsupportive parent while IIFIID has a parent with such extreme phobia that it stifles him. Both boys have to take it upon themselves to be resourceful in their new communities (both have recently relocated) and end up befriending Native American/First Nations boys with whom the protagonists explores and experiences life in their new home towns. In TMS, Wolf and Byrd have photography & hiking. While in IIFIID, the boys (have totally forgotten their names) have skateboarding. There are criminal/unsavoury elements in both books. Both stories have elements of things being connected by the end(Vonn's child is Wolfs half-brother and the skateboarder's uncle is alive after all).

I absolutely agree that IIFIID is not an adventure/survival story it is a mystery, a skateboarding culture story, a story about crippling agoraphobia and mental illness and an examination about what happens to a town when the local industry shuts down and criminal elements move in. Man there was too much going on in that book, you are so right! (hide spoiler)]

Jane from B.C. wrote: "Here is where I am coming from making connections..."

Jane, thank you so much for writing this.

finished this last night (thank you lori lansens for two sleepless nights) and i admire the heck out of it. narrative, characters, composition, depth, nature, human pain, love, loss, description of rural poverty, native american culture, writing (excellent), plausibility (didn't have a a problem with any of it), lyricism, suspense, omg i really loved this book.

i too have one or two qualms but i'll keep them to myself for now cuz i don't want to spoil my enthusiastic write-up!

that's great, jo! so glad the book worked for you as well!! sounds like we had very similar experiences. can't wait to read your write-up!! (also, would love to endorse The Girls as another example of lansens' great writing skills!!)

Until I read on here that people had trouble with its believability factor, that hadn't even crossed my mind -- which means that I was sold on it from the beginning. Her writing is beautiful.

jo wrote: " writing (excellent)"

Ellen wrote: "Her writing is beautiful."

Lots of praise for the writing here that made me wonder, what is good writing to you? Can you quote some from the novel?

Lots of times I find myself writing "beautiful writing" in my reviews but I'm not sure if I could explain it and also not sure if "beautiful writing" means the same thing to other people.

poingu wrote: "jo wrote: " writing (excellent)"

Ellen wrote: "Her writing is beautiful."

Lots of praise for the writing here that made me wonder, what is good writing to you? Can you quote some from the novel? ..."

okay, i'll play. entirety of p. 51.

more than the technicality of forming beautiful sentences (though that, too), for me beautiful writing is writing that is rooted in something deeper than the plot, that reveals the depths of the characters' feelings and stories, their losses, they loves. and does so in a relatively compressed way.

so in this page 51 to which i send you, there is this quick transition:

The wind drove against the trembling pane, as I strained to look out over the ploughed field and the dimly lit pastures beyond. I missed my mother. All at once leaving Michigan felt like leaving her. My misery grew as the cool night slipped in under the kitchen door.

the mother is not part of the story at this point. she hasn't been mentioned in a while. but we see this terrifically described landscape, we see the ramshackle house and feel the desolation, and when the narrator makes the connection to missing his mom, we get it.

more than the technicality of forming beautiful sentences (though that, too), for me beautiful writing is writing that is rooted in something deeper than the plot, that reveals the depths of the characters' feelings and stories, their losses, they loves. and does so in a relatively compressed way.

That sounds about right. Thanks jo.