Rating: 
Summary: Interesting new slant on the reasons for living
Review: A two day read. I was drawn into this book immediately, unlike everybody's favorite"Snow"' which I found hard to get into. Realisitic segues into Ben's experiences. Yes I also skipped the many descriptive sentences, yet it is part of the book's charm. I came away more assured than ever as to how important it is to be sensitive to others needs regardless of ethnic differences. A refreshingly positive book for a change.
Rating: 
Summary: Disappointing; rushed; loose prose
Review: I was so looking forward to reading this second novel by the author of the delicately crafted Snow Falling on Cedars.But this novel proved a disappointment. I can't help but feel that he has been such a sensation that his publisher pressured him to crank one out quickly - and it failed. The dialogue seems stiff and forced; the characters encountered by the elderly doctor seem artificial and one-dimensional. His decision to smoke pot comes too quickly and with no explanation, on the heels of an adamant refusal to smoke that stuff. His memories of childhood, the war and meeting his wife seemed an author's trick of filling uncomfortable gaps in the action. I ended up merely skimming too many pages. This is a shame. I believe David Guterson is a magical writer. And this story could have been so good. I hope he takes more time on his next one.
Rating: 
Summary: Ben Givens' Testament To Humankind
Review: Having just finished David Guterson's "East Of The Mountains", I came away with thoughts toward my future and immortality. Not many novels make you examine yourself and your place in the world. The novel is a bit too detailed on certain tasks, but it sets the mood, the place, and Ben Givens' statement on humankind. A worthy try with such a difficult subject.
Rating: 
Summary: Long on detail - Short on story
Review: Having not read "Snow Falling on Cedars" I bought his new novel expecting to read a moving story. The plot device of an elderly man coming to grips whith his own mortality - seemed to be ripe with possibilities. However, the book was a slow read with painfull intricate detail of the most mundane things. The main character was never fully developed into a someone I cared much about. The book left me flat and disappointed with its ending as exciting as squeezing the last of your toothpaste from its package.
Rating:
Summary: I COULD SMELL THE APPLES
Review: This is a book for literature-lovers. I loved a lot of it. I agree that the first few chapters were draggy. The trip from Seattle to the first stop was too detailed. But the descriptions of the country around Wenatchee were priceless. And I emphathized with Ben Givens.
Rating:
Summary: A sorry book!
Review: A very disappointing book. A boring read
Rating:
Summary: undigested
Review: Guterson showed up on the tv magazine Sunday Morning with hunting dogs, but his character Ben Givens demonstrates nothing of the hunter's knowledge, the pet owner's intimacy, or the farmer's pragmatism toward his animals. The irish wolfhound scene came out of one of the books I have at my elbow, without the authenticity of firsthand experience. It isn't simply that Guterson made mistakes throughout the novel (many of them), it's as if he looked things up in order to construct a story and the magic never had a chance to happen---the book never took on a life of its own. I disagree with the assessment of some that his plot is weak---what else is here? The concept is powerful, the story is a "good idea." I wasn't certain when I began reading how Ben would resolve his decision to commit suicide, but I also found it difficult to care very much. Ben is not an interesting person and his eventual choice is not emotionally satisfying to anyone interested in exploring the moral dilemma he faces. Guterson claimed he wanted to go beyond the plot-driven structure of his first novel, but I can't see that's he's done that. Despite some fine moments, I found the book irritating and shallow rather than deep and clean to the bone. I think he might be able to write better than this, but Guterson is being compared to Cormac McCarthy. If you've heard that, I suggest you read Cormac McCarthy and make up your own mind about who has succeeded in conveying the power of a lean landscape and the unsentimental lives of men on the edge.
Rating:
Summary: A great disappointment
Review: If you loved 'Snow Falling on Cedar's' (as I did), and buy this book as the next great novel by Guterson -- you are likely to be disappointed. For me, the great plot and vivid writing were missing. This was a bland and slow-moving story. If you must read it -- wait for the paperback. It is not worth the price of the hardcover.
Rating:
Summary: Good entertainment
Review: David's books are hauntingly descriptive. Sometimes you have to re-read the long flowing sentences but they are worth the effort. They are best enjoyed like a fine brandy - slowly by the fire. East... is no exception. It might lack the drama of Snow... but it accomplished what any author wishes for - it pulls you in and makes you feel what the character feels. You, the reader, take a long arduous journey of discovery along with Ben Givens. I have never been to eastern Washington but I feel like I have.
Rating:
Summary: a disappointment after the wonderful Snow Falling on ...
Review: Boring, depressing, full of vivid descriptions of the bowel problems of a man with terminal colon cancer.
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