Age, Wandering, And Wisdom
David Guterson's novel "East of the Mountains" is set in the Columbia Basin of central Washington in the late 1990s. It tells the story of Dr. Ben Givens, a renowned heart surgeon who has recently lost his wife, retired, and learned he is suffering from terminal colon cancer. With the goal of saving himself and his family from unnecessary pain and suffering, he sets out with his two dogs on a hunting trip with the intention of committing suicide.
The book has strong components of a picaresque novel, with Dr. Givens's adventures in his brief journey, and of an American coming-of-age novel with its protagonist an elderly, successful man rather than a youth struggling to reach maturity. In some ways, this book reminded me of Kerouac's "On the Road" with an older and wiser hero. "Huckleberry Finn" for the ageing also lurks somewhere in the background
In his journey, Dr. Givens has a variety of experiences and meets many different sorts of people emanating from an automobile accident he suffers at the outset. He meets a young couple going skiing, a drifter who provides him with marijuana, a graduate student to whom he is briefly attracted who is studying Rudolph Steiner (the founder of an esoteric movement somewhat similar to Theosophy), illegal immigrants picking apples, a young woman veterinarian, and many others. He also recollects during his journey his past life, particularly his loving wife, his wartime experiences and his decision to become a physician.
Each of the people he meets along the way has something to teach him towards recovering (or gaining) a degree of self-understanding and acceptance of his condition. I found it striking and good that most of the people are rather ordinary in intelligence and achievement, with something valuable to teach a famous and skilled heart surgeon.
The book explores the theme of life as a journey and a quest for self-knowledge for someone with the experience of age. It speaks of the value of this our world, the only world we know. I was reminded of the American poet Wallace Stevens's observation that "The greatest poverty is not to live in a physical world". The book celebrates the beauty of the West, the emotional and erotic beauty of women, the beauty of using one's skills to help others, and the beauty of trying to understand oneself. The descriptions are good, and the story is well-told, even though it lacks a certain sparkle. A worthwhile and thoughtful book.
Robin Friedman
