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Summary: The Strength of the Human Spirit
Review: East of the Mountains by David Guterson is a moving account of the strength of the human spirit. Ben Givens, a retired heart surgeon who has been diagnosed with inoperable colon cancer, takes the reader on a hunting trip designed to cover up his planned suicide. Though actually spanning one week of time, Givens adventure in the high desert of Eastern Washington State guides us through a lifetime of memories and leads us to a deeper understanding of Ben's desire to end his life. Guterson's style of slow and patient writing adds to the feeling that his main character is winding down, putting things in perspective and trying to make sense of a life that he can no longer control. Guterson writes with the wisdom of someone who has experienced the slow process of forced acceptance. Through vivid flashbacks and visual descriptions, Guterson paints a picture of Given's childhood in the apple orchards along the east bank of the Columbia, the area itself, and how he met and fell in love with Rachel. When Ben is called to serve his country in World War II, he witnesses death first hand on the battlefields in Italy's Apennines, and is awed by the power of healing that emanates from the hands of the Army doctor. This experience leads Givens to choose a fulfilling career as a thoracic surgeon. After marrying Rachel and fathering a daughter, Ben is sustained by the love and devotion of his family, the power of healing others, and the richness of personal accomplishments. When Rachel dies, Ben realizes how deeply his own sense of self was rooted in his relationship with his wife; now, only nineteen months after his wife's death, Ben is faced with the onset of colon cancer. The fight or flight syndrome is even more intense for a surgeon who is personally acquainted with the process of a slow death. "Ben was aware of regions of pain so terrible, they obliterated all arguments"(p 15). Ben envisions the burden and pain that such a painful fatal illness will inflict on both him and his loved ones; he turns to the alternative-suicide. "Like all physicians, he knew the truth of such a verdict; he knew full well the force of cancer and how inexorably it operated. Better to end it now, he'd decided; better to avoid pain than to engage it" (p 4). However, the human spirit clings to life, and as Ben Givens spends a week in the east side of the mountains, he encounters several people who influence and help him to discover his inner strength. After Ben wrecks his 1969 International Scout at Snoqualmie Pass, he nearly loses his eye and alters his immediate plans. Ben meets a couple of incense-carrying "forevers" who remind him of youthful desires and a drifter who provides him with marijuana to ease his pain. Givens encounters a coyote hunter and survives a wild nighttime standoff with a ravenous pack of Irish wolfhounds, leaving one of his dogs dead and the other critically injured. Ben tests his physical endurance as he carries his wounded pet from the desert to a veterinarian where her touch reminds him of the power in a surgeon's hands. As his journey continues, he meets a migrant worker who tries his ability to understand and comes face to face with a situation that questions his identity as a physician. However, Ben's skill saves the life of a mother and infant in a very harrowing delivery, and life begins to take on new meaning for Ben. "Things looked different" (p 264). Guterson makes us understand that even when the body gets old and betrays us, the human spirit is ageless and can endure. Ben Given's decision to end his life is not so shocking considering the road ahead of him; however, his inner strength to find a new path toward his final passing is inspiring. In the unhurried quiet of Ben's soul, truth was affirmed. Ben's encounters with people on the east side of the mountains taught him that life is a gift filled with purpose and beauty, and that even in the darkest hours, the human spirit can reach out and touch someone's heart. Guterson reminds us that we are all human, that we do not want to suffer, and that it takes an extremely strong person to live life fully when faced with the finality of death.
Rating: 
Summary: An Average Work from an Extraordinary Writer
Review: Like many of my fellow Amazon reviewers, I read "East" after Guterson's outstanding work "Snow Falling on Cedars". I was prepared for the letdown and indeed it came, though not quite as I expected. While Guterson's rich, eloquent language and gifted descriptions of landscapes, both internal and external, mark him again as an exceptionally gifted young writer, "East" is only an average effort. The dialog never elevates to the level of the surrounding prose and is often hurried and banal. Guterson writes with an obvious, though somewhat heavy-handed, affection toward women. Virtually all the female characters are supposed to evoke our sympathy, but often they come across as trite or single-dimensional instead. Initially, the plot is provocative enough, but unfortunately, East lacks the multi-variant themes, as well as the suspense and intrigue that made "Snow" such compelling reading. The net result is a novel that begins with a promise of examining serious moral and ethical issues, but, in the end, leaves the reader dissatisfied with the resolution of its own themes. It's as if the main character starts out with the intention of a dark, troubling and lonely act of suicide and decides to sit and gorge himself on mom and apple pie instead. Ho Hum, David. You can and have done allot better. Please try again.
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Summary: The Literary Talent is Obvious But No Story Here
Review: The author of this book has wonderful literary talent. But unfortunately I found the work to be,if not downright pretentious, highly presumptuous. There was no story. The events were episodic, predictable and boring; points to be made by the author masquerading as plot. One cliche after another. Snow Falling on Cedars was much better but even those characters never really breathed life either. All the characters this author creates seem to have life happen in their close vicinity rather than that they lived.
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Summary: Another gift from Guterson
Review: It'd be hard to top Snow Falling on Cedars, and D. Guterson hasn't quite done it with East of the Mountains. But it's definitely a worthwhile read, a quiet exploration of the meaning of life set against the certainty of death, whether it comes naturally or by suicide, which is the crux of this book. At the beginning, the protagonist, Ben, a retired surgeon, has been diagnosed with cancer, knows it's terminal, and sets off toward his childhood home in the Cascade Mts for the purpose of committing suicide. Like most of us, he dreads a slow inevitable decline in which he becomes a burden to his family. As he moves forward toward what he expects will be his death, at the same time he moves back in time to his past. Like a film rolling backwards in a story that's moving forward, readers are treated to the history and analysis of his whole life, the choices he made, and how those choices continue to affect him. The odd people he meets along the way contribute to his saga with their own incomplete stories. He is yanked back and forth between life and death decisions, hard choices, philosophically faced, reasoned with, and decided upon.
Beautiful rhythm and flow to the quiet, low-keyed writing, as well.
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Summary: Sophomore Jinx
Review: I like richly drawn, stylistic novels in which the sense of location literally makes the setting itself one of the key characters of the book. Cold Mountain by Charles Frazier was like that, as was David Guterson's masterful first novel Snow Falling on Cedars, a slow, painstaking and ultimately satisfying debut set in the Pacific Northwest. Here, in his second novel East of the Mountains, the author paints a very pretty picture of the apple orchards of Washington just east of the mountains, but the book delivers little else. You know from the synopsis above the fundamental aspects of the plot. Retired widower and surgeon Ben Givens learns he has terminal colon cancer, and with his medical training he knows better than to hope for medical miracles. So he decides to pack up the dogs for one final hunting trip, east of the mountains, after which he plans on ending his own life and making it appear like a hunting accident to spare his family the grief of a suicide, and to spare all involved the horror of a prolongued battle with cancer. Instead, his plans are set off track by a bizarre series of events, including a car accident, a woman in labor, an injury to a dog, etc. that propel him into unselfish action. The book brings him into contact with a Frank Capra-like series of characters and events reminiscent of "It's a Wonderful Life", which ultimately seemed a little contrived to me. I thought the best aspects of the book by far were his considerable reminisces about life with his brother working in the family apple orchard, meeting his future wife, etc. There is a sense of melancholy pervading the entire story, as you know none of the potential outcomes are all that satisfying. Nevertheless Guterson on an off day is a more polished and satisfying writer than most, and I will look forward to reading his next novel. There are wonderful passages in East of the Mountains, but this was no masterpiece by far.
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Summary: Beautifully written, but tiresome
Review: Guterson's skills as a writer are unquestionable, as was demonstrated in his first book. However, East of the Mountains is no Snow Falling on Cedars. The writing is there, which kept me reading, but the plot is lacking. The story of a dying man on a journey toward death who encounters individuals who, *surprise*, each represent a little piece of himself was predictable and uninteresting. One of the best aspects of Cedars was Guterson's character development and the author's subtle intertwining of those characters. This is not the case in his second book, as each character appears for only a few pages. I found myself much more interested in the migrant workers, the vagabond, and the kids in the VW bus than in the main character. As a previous reviewer pointed out, it does feel as if Guterson rushed on this one. It's pretty good, but certainly not great.
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Summary: Masterful tale of a life-changing journey
Review: I had never been to eastern Washington state -- until I read David Guterson's loving portrayal in this rich and understated novel of a sick old man trying to lose his life, and finding it in the process. Guterson's plain, beautiful prose in this book took me to that region of the U.S. His writing here reminded me of both Wallace Stegner and Willa Cather, both exemplars of loving and meticulous portrayals of the American west and its people. The emotional descriptions are never overwrought, and because of that they are immensely affecting. Ben Givens is likable in spite of a stubborn thread. The flashback accounts of his halcyon youth on an apple farm are just gorgeous; you will smell the crisp apples hanging from the rows of trees and feel the love between young Ben and his brother, mother, and father. In Guterson's fictional world, husbands and wives love each other deeply and unwaveringly; children and elders operate from a platform of profound mutual respect and affection. What a pleasant change from much of today's ironic, cynical, nihilistic fiction about relationships! I liked "Snow Falling..." very much, but I feel this book is the greater writerly achievement of the two. In my view, it vaults Guterson into the ranks of some of our finest regional and national fiction writers.
Rating: 
Summary: East of the Mountains
Review: The premise of this novel seemed interesting and the author garnered a slew of accolades for Snow Falling on Cedars (though I haven't read that work). Based on the above I thought I'd give this a try. Unfortunately I found it a poor effort. The writing is uninspiring and the plot unimaginative. If Cedars was as good as the ratings indicate, Guterson either rushed this, or resurrected something he'd written before he developed his talent and had wisely stored away on a closet shelf, forgotten. With his Cedars' success, he pulled it out to foist on an unsuspecting public. Either that, or he and his publisher mimiced his East of the Mountains' character, Ben Givens, and were smoking dupe. I made it through 200 pages and skimmed the rest. Take my advice and skip the whole thing.
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Summary: A wonderful book about life and compassion
Review: This is an excellent novel about a seventy-three year old widower who decides to take his life after learning he has terminal colon cancer to spare himself and his family the painful experience that is sure to come over the next few months. A retired surgeon, he plans to stage a gunshot accident while hunting for birds in the Yakima Valley which is "east of the mountains" from Seattle where he lives. He spends three days in the valley where he grew up as a boy during which he confronts other issues about life and death and reflects on some of the important events in his life while growing up. This is a thoughtful novel that speaks volumes regarding the value of life and how individuals affect the lives of others. It is interesting to see how other people have reacted to this book in light of the success of "Snow Falling on Cedars." Second novels tend to be judged harshly, especially when people have expectations that the next book will somehow be the same as or a continuation of the first. "East of the Mountains" has a different premise and explores different issues than "Snow Falling on Cedars." Instead of dealing with issues of cultural expectations and community values, "East of the Mountains" is about personal fulfillment and the value of life. Ironically, despite the pallor of loss, it ultimately expresses more about hope than "Snow Falling on Cedars." Readers who can accept this book as its own work will find it to be a profound and carefully crafted story.
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Summary: So many feel they have so little to offer
Review: This book was my introduction to the author. It had contrived situations but the message regards how we encapsulate our lives and then regret the emptiness of our existence. This novel takes a suicidal individual out of his everyday life and thrusts him into situations where he faces life's complexities, it's frustrations and joys. In other words, he began to live again. I read his first book after reading this, and though it was good I prefer East of the Mountain.
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