A deep examination both of two individuals and of the decade in which they lived

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	• The Other David Guterson Knopf, 2008 - 272 pages average customer review:based on 11 reviews view larger image
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An interesting book, from an interesting author

This was a well written book that I enjoyed reading immensly. As a former student of Guterson from when he taught school in room 104 I thought the book was very, biographical. Many of the vivid descriptions written by the author brought me back to days in Seattle and camping on the Washington coast. This added with many of the characters in the book that are real names that I recognize from my youth on Bainbridge Island. Nights in Seattle at Dick's drive in and living near Laural Hurst in the first few years of my life, really brought back memories of the area and it's people. If you have ever lived in Seattle you will enjoy reading about points of interest from all over western Washington especially the Hoh area. If you have never lived in Seattle and read the book paying attention to what I think is the authors struggles with his own hipocracies, you will come away seeing the personal struggles we all have. Personally although some reviewers seem quick to dismiss themes in this book that it was well written even though at times I needed a dictionary by my side to look up words. I hope you take the time to read this, after my next book I plan to pick of "Snow Falling on Cedars" as I have yet to read it but have heard it is a wonderful book.

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Sometimes Friendship is Hard

Once upon a time, when we were much younger, my husband and I toyed with the idea of faking his death for the insurance. We thought we could buy a small sailboat and Ken would sail it back and forth from Long Beach, CA to Catalina and one day he'd sink it, hide out and after I collected a bunch of money, we'd buy a larger boat, take off for parts unknown and never return. However, we didn't do it, didn't disappear, this is the story of a man who did.

John William Barry doesn't sail away into the wild blue yonder, instead he hermits himself away into the wild green yonder of Washington state. We learn this right from the get go. We also learn that his friend who aids him, Neil Countryman, inherits 440 Million bucks from Barry's estate. We know the ending when we've barely begun, but it makes no difference for this is a story you read for the story, not the thrill or the big payoff.

The story is narrated by Neil Countryman, who takes us back to a time when he was racing in a high school track meet, struggling not to come in last. Running against him, John William (as he was called). The boys become fast friends, sharing a love of dope smoking and the outdoors. Neil is from a middle class background, John Williams is heir to a fortune. Neil wants to be a writer, John Williams wants to live the life of a hermit. He wants to disappear.

Neil aids him by helping to fake his disappearance, but unlike Tarzan John William cannot live without help and over the years Neil treks in supplies to his friend, all the while keeping his secret. As time passes John William deteriorates and Neil struggles, wondering if he did the right thing, if he should talk John William into rejoining the world. But hard and harsh as life is, it's the life John William has chosen. He'd rather be a Gnostic than live in a Hamburger society.

Sometimes this story was a little slow going, but it was never boring. Mr. Guterson has nailed the wilderness of the Pacific Northwest and he's nailed Seattle. He's nailed his two principle characters and he's told a story of the hardships of friendship that is truly unforgettable.

Reviewed by Vesta Irene, Number One fan of Ken Douglas, writer of Tangerine Dream, Desperation Moon & Running Scared. One of the advantages of being married to a writer is that there are plenty of good books around the house. It's turned me into quite a reader. In addition to Ken's books you might also want to check out Snow Falling on Cedars, Mr. Guterson's wonderful first novel.

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A deep examination both of two individuals and of the decade in which they lived

In THE OTHER, David Guterson tells the story of two high school students who meet at a long-distance track meet in 1972. Neil Countryman is blue-collar Irish and has aspirations of being a famous writer. John William Barry is a non-typical "rich boy" and the product of two of Seattle's most prominent families. The differences in their backgrounds, including the high school each attends, would make it nearly impossible for them to ever meet under normal circumstances. However, following their initial encounter, they strike up a conversation and at once are drawn to each other.

As they begin to talk and spend time together, Neil and John William learn that they share not only a love of literature but also an extreme affinity for the outdoors. As their friendship grows, they find themselves exploring the great Northwestern wilderness, which at times leads them into unchartered territory where they must survive on their wits and each other. Fear of getting lost seems to have no impact on John William and foreshadows events that will shape his future.

The novel jumps back and forth between present and past to create a puzzle of sorts that allows the reader to put together the clues that will dictate the choices both Neil and John William make. Neil graduates college, gets married, teaches high school English and embarks slowly on his writing career. John William's life goes down a radically different path as he decides to move deep into the wilderness in an effort to avoid societal hypocrisies and tenets. Still, he remains connected to the outside world through Neil, who visits him often and supplies him with food, clothing and literature.

An only child, John William reflects on his damaged family, which includes a semi-psychotic mother who turns out to have been a poet writing under a male pen name. He has sought to insulate himself from the hypocrisy of the world and warns aspiring writer Neil: "The problem of living in the hamburger world is that you risk turning into an idiot. Didn't you say you want to write books? You can't do it with a cheeseburger in your hand."

As they continue to lead divergent lives, the plot of the book shifts when John William proposes that Neil help him disappear completely. I found myself comparing Guterson's tale to Joseph Conrad's classic novel, THE SECRET SHARER, which also revolves around two close characters who seem to be two parts of the same soul. At times, Neil and John William are like two facets of the same personality. Neil understands that he has gone down the expected path that society and education have laid out for him, yet he still feels connected with John William's plight.

THE OTHER is the best work that David Guterson has written since his 1994 bestseller, SNOW FALLING ON CEDARS. I question the release date only because it is not a traditional "beach book" or "summer read." Nevertheless, those seeking an honest study of 1970s American youth that looks to answer the questions we ask ourselves about --- concerning our identities and what it means to exist --- will be spellbound by the journey that John William Barry and Neil Countryman take in this novel.

--- Reviewed by Ray Palen

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reviews: page 1, 2, 3

From the author of the best-selling Snow Falling on Cedars, a dazzling new novel about youth and idealism, adulthood and its compromises, and two powerfully different visions of what it means to live a good life.

John William Barry has inherited the pedigree?and wealth?of two of Seattle?s elite families; Neil Countryman is blue-collar Irish. Nevertheless, when the two boys meet in 1972 at age sixteen, they?re brought together by what they have in common: a fierce intensity and a love of the outdoors that takes them, together and often, into Washington?s remote backcountry, where they must rely on their wits?and each other?to survive.

Soon after graduating from college, Neil sets out on a path that will lead him toward a life as a devoted schoolteacher and family man. But John William makes a radically different choice, dropping out of college and moving deep into the woods, convinced that it is the only way to live without hypocrisy. When John William enlists Neil to help him disappear completely, Neil finds himself drawn into a web of secrets and often agonizing responsibility, deceit, and tragedy?one that will finally break open with a wholly unexpected, life-altering revelation.
Riveting, deeply humane, The Other is David Guterson?s most brilliant and provocative novel to date.

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