The premise of a man dying of cancer but deciding, so as to spare his family heartache of a long drawn out death, to commit suicide in such a way that it would appear like a hunting accident didn't augur well. I had loved 'Snow falling on cedars' so thouight to give this a go. Am I pleased I did? Our hero's plans do not run smoothly and along the way he meets and interreacts with a whole horde of characters. It is not simply a straightforward cliche'd ' man-learns-the-value-of-life-through-his encounters' but its probably not far off. Some of these characters are bizarre and some unrealistic; I for one cannot believe any shop assistant would be so callous as the one who makes fun of his black eye so crassly. Her lack of compassion seemed to be there just so Ben could reflect on how her lack of compassion made him feel alone. This is what Guterson seems to do a good deal. He introduces us to naive innocence, saintly kindness and ridiculous small time cruelty in such a way that few of the characters ring true but it is so as to move his plot along to another 'incident'. Whilst talking to his daughter on the phone he tells her what has happened to him over the last few days and on a number of occasions she remarks how it all sounds unbelieveable....I couldn't have said it better myself. Guterson also thanks a number of people at the end of the book for their help regarding veterinary practices and army history and other things; as i read the book I just felt he had taken large excerpts from books as various as ' The insides of dogs after they've been bitten a lot ' , ' what to do when operating on bitten dogs ', ' What roads to drive along from Seattle to other places and what bridges you will cross on the way' and ' the many ways to describe orchards ' and then just inserted portions every now and again through the text. Maybe 'Snow falling on Cedars ' spoilt me but I have to admit to being rather disappointed.
East of the Mountains, by David Guterson, Narrated by Don Hastings, produced by Bantam Doubleday Dell Audio, downloaded from audible.com.David Guterson is a favorite author of mine starting from his first novel, “Snow Falling on Cedars” which he hasn’t equaled since, but may have done so In this book. Ben Givens is retired now but was a well-known and respected heart surgeon. He retired about the time that his wife of 50 years died. Already depressed, he learns that he has terminal colon cancer. He knows, as a doctor what pain the next nine months will probably bring. He decides that, for himself as well as for his remaining family, it would be better if he commits suicide than have them put up with the suffering of his death. But he decides that the suicide must look lik an accident because he knows that his family would be upset, first that he had cancer and didn’t tell them, and secondly that he committed suicide. So he plans his suicide carefully. He casually leaves his home leaving messages for neighbors and family that he’s going hunting and won’t be reachable. He figures that will buy him a week’s time to plan and carry out his suicide and have it appear as an accident. But, as is true in the best laid plans of mice and men, things go wrong from the beginning. He has some initial bad luck, but ultimately runs into some wonderful characters that make committing suicide less of an option. This is a beautifully written book with each event building to the next event in a perfect linear fashion. This book will probably be on my best fiction list for the year.
One wonders what Wolfe would have thought of David Guterson's dying, but determined, doctor doing what Wolfe had suggested was impossible. Unwilling to subject his family to the agony they had endured with his wife's death, Dr. Ben goes on something of a pilgrimage back to the Washington apple orchards of his youth. The journey's itinerary involves a final hunt with his beloved dogs before culminating in a suicide that is intended to look like an accident (thereby leaving his daughter in the dark regarding his terminal cancer prognosis). What transpires instead is a strange series of events that demonstrate that an old dog/doctor can learn new tricks as his morose perspective allows him to experience an assortment of interesting characters in a way that allows the reader a renewed appreciation of both people and the simple things in life that the healthy so often take for granted. Guterson writes beautifully in terms of people, motivations, and especially the scenery of a particularly beautiful part of the country. East of the Mountains is a wonderful read by any standards.
—Michael Twist
I'm definitely a Guterson fan--I like the slow layers of description on top of deeply moving life experiences. The last third of the book was the easiest part to read because things--momentous things--were happening continuously : Ben's remembered war experiences, the action-packed end of his journey, the resolution of his desire to end his life. Occasionally, Guterson's readers have to wade through endless detail, and this book was no exception. There's a lot about apple-growing, the war in northern Italy, details about a dog's surgery that make no sense to the average reader. But they're more than tedious. They're often insights into character development, disguised as "this author did his research."
—Nancy
There is such lyricism in this story. An old man, a retired doctor suffering from cancer, wanting to go out the way that means the most to him, he sets out on a well-planned 'last hunting trip,' into the hills and scarps of his youth, and then -- everything goes sideways. He encounters accidents, angry people, loving people, new friends, and he treats them all with goodness, surprise, and a cockeyed humor and kindness. He gives everything he has to give and even more, being very tough on himself, asking his beleaguered body to outperform what it is able to do. He drives himself beyond his limits, reminiscing along the way, remembering his wondrous rural youth, his mighty love, his war years and finding the profession that supported his family. A glorious story of discovery, even at the end of life. The indifference of the gods to our plans is always such a surprise to us. This is a story of surprise and wonder.
—Shari
