East of the Mountains by David Guterson

Description

Bibliographic Details

• Author: David Guterson
• Title: East Of The Mountains
• Publisher: ‎ Harcourt Brace & Company; First Edition (April 19, 1999)
• Language: ‎ English
• Format: Hardcover – 279 pages
• ISBN-10: ‎ 0151002290
• ISBN-13: ‎ 978-0151002290
• Item Weight: ‎ 1.2 pounds
• Dimensions: ‎ 6.25 x 1.25 x 9.3 inches
• Book Condition: Used – Very Good
• Dust Jacket Condition: Very Good
• Edition: First Edition

Synopsis:

A man plans a final journey into the Western wilderness in this “wonderful” novel by the New York Times–bestselling author of Snow Falling on Cedars (The Miami Herald).

 

Mid-October is harvest time in the Columbia Basin of central Washington, a rich apple- and pear-growing region. Ben Givens, recently widowed, is a retired heart surgeon, once admired for his steadiness of hand, his precision, and his endurance. But now he has been diagnosed with terminal colon cancer. Ben has never been a man to readily accept defeat—but he is determined to avoid suffering, and to avoid being a burden.

 

Accompanied by his two hunting dogs, he sets out on a trip, which he plans to end with an “accident.” Journeying into deserts, yawning canyons, dusty ranches, and vast orchards, however, he is unprepared for the persuasiveness of memory and the promise he made to his wife, Rachel, the love of his life, during World War II. Along the way Ben will meet some people who force him to think more about his worldview—a young couple, a drifter, a veterinarian, a rancher, a migrant worker—and just when he thinks there is no turning back, nothing to lose that wasn’t lost, his power of intervention is called upon and his very identity tested.

About the Author:

David Guterson is the author of 12 books, including the novel Snow Falling on Cedars, winner of the PEN/Faulkner Award and of the American Booksellers Association Book of the Year Award.

His writing has been celebrated for its atmospheric intensity, narrative drive, and probing exploration of fundamental human themes–love, death, meaning, and morality among them. Guterson's body of work includes six novels, two story collections, two works of non-fiction, and two books of poetry.

He was born in Washington State and still lives there.