''East of the Mountains'' is a novel by American author
David Guterson, first published in 1999, and in paperback in 2000. His second full novel, it marks something of a change of pace from the taut courtroom drama of ''
Snow Falling on Cedars
''Snow Falling on Cedars'' is a 1994 novel by David Guterson. Guterson, a teacher, wrote the book in the early morning hours over ten years then quit his job to write full-time.
Plot
Set on the fictional San Piedro Island in the Strait of Jua ...
'' (1994), being primarily focused on the chance actions and introspective musings of its
protagonist over the course of a few days.
Synopsis
Dr. Ben Givens is a 73-year-old retired
cardiothoracic surgeon and a widower, recently diagnosed with terminal
colon cancer. Still haunted by his experiences as a soldier in the
war
War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...
, and in mourning for Rachel, his late wife of some 50 years, Dr. Givens's current life consists primarily of his family (a daughter and grandson), and occasional
hunting
Hunting is the human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, or killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to harvest food (i.e. meat) and useful animal products ( fur/ hide, bone/tusks, horn/antler, ...
trips. Although he hunted as a boy with his father and brother, he abandoned it after the war, only taking it up again upon Rachel's death (he still uses his father's old
Winchester shotgun). Aware that he is nearing the end of his life, he decides to set off from his home in
Seattle
Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...
for one last hunting trip, along with his two
Brittany
Brittany (; french: link=no, Bretagne ; br, Breizh, or ; Gallo: ''Bertaèyn'' ) is a peninsula, historical country and cultural area in the west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica during the period ...
hunting dogs, Tristan and Rex, heading east across the mountains of
Washington state
Washington (), officially the State of Washington, is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. Named for George Washington—the first U.S. president—the state was formed from the western part of the Washington ...
back towards the orchard areas where he was born. His family does not, however, know of his cancer, and his intention during the trip is to commit suicide, shooting himself with his father's gun, staging it to look like an unfortunate accident which occurred whilst he was climbing over a fence, thus saving both himself and his family from the pain of a long, drawn-out death from cancer.
En route, however, Dr. Givens accidentally crashes his car, and although his only real injury is a swollen black eye, he is left without his planned mode of transportation. Deciding to continue with his trip, he is forced to make his way east by alternative means. Through a combination of hitchhiking, a long walk through the desert, a lift bought from a lorry driver, a
Greyhound bus
Greyhound Lines, Inc. (commonly known as simply Greyhound) operates the largest intercity bus service in North America, including Greyhound Mexico. It also operates charter bus services, Amtrak Thruway services, commuter bus services, and p ...
, and a rental car, he finally approaches his destination, but will the combined effect of the people he has met, the experiences he has undergone, the gains he has made, and the losses he has sustained during this journey be enough to make him give up his climactic plan?
Themes
The overarching theme of the novel is evidently the cycle of life and death, the interplay between the two, and the choice the individual can make to embrace one or the other. This is of course primarily highlighted in the main story of Ben's intent to commit suicide; although death is inevitable (as his cancer makes clear), Ben is still faced with the question as to whether life is precious enough to be worth maintaining for as long as possible, or whether a quick death to avoid the inevitable hardships of life is preferable.
In the first, the life element of Ben's birth and childhood in an orchard environment (i.e. a place of new life) is contrasted with the death of his mother, and the killings performed by his Father whilst hunting. Similarly, in the second flashback (set during the war), the choice of Ben's wife-to-be Rachel to become a nurse contrasts with Ben's choice to enter the war as an active soldier. It is significant that the flashbacks culminate with Ben's horror of killing a man in battle, and his admiration for the surgeon who saves his friend - an event which leads to his decision to follow Rachel's advice and become a doctor.
As the flashbacks demonstrate, Rachel (and before her his mother) represent the force of life for Ben: it is only after Rachel's death that he returns to hunting. During his journey, he meets several people with an optimistically positive outlook on life, and once again learns to appreciate its value. This is demonstrated by the lengths he goes to save his dog Rex, to provide medical care for an
illegal Mexican immigrant, and finally to safely deliver a baby in an orchard (returning to the life affirmation which marked his own genesis). These steps he takes to save and preserve the lives of others will eventually lead him to a more positive realisation of the value of his own life.
On the opposite side, the choice of death could perhaps be represented by the figure of William Harden - a somewhat sadistic hunter who takes Ben's gun after a fatal scuffle between their dogs. Harden arguably represents the extreme of what Ben, as a hunter, could become. Notably, the contempt in which Harden as a hunter, a figure of death, is held by those around him (including his own family) contrasts sharply with the esteem in which those same people hold Ben as a doctor, a figure of life. Ultimately, Ben chooses life, symbolised by his telling Harden that he can keep the gun:
:
"'My call is this,' said Ben. 'That gun was in my family sixty years. My father used it before I did, hunting birds. He killed a lot of birds with it. After him, I killed my share, too. But you know something about that gun? It was never anything but bad, really. A bad thing, that gun.
:
'Harden didn't answer. He wiped his mouth instead.
:
'That gun is cursed,' Ben said. 'All guns are cursed.'"[Guterson, David, East of the Mountains (London: Bloomsbury, 2000), pp.271f.]
Adaptations
In April 2021,
''East of the Mountains'', a film directed by
SJ Chiro, debuted at the
Seattle International Film Festival
The Seattle International Film Festival (SIFF), held annually in Seattle, Washington since 1976, is among the top film festivals in North America. Audiences have grown steadily; the 2006 festival had 160,000 attendees. The SIFF runs for more th ...
and appeared in theaters in September 2021.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:East of the Mountains
1999 American novels
Bloomsbury Publishing books
Novels set in Washington (state)