Reviews

The Other by David Guterson

victorygin's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

cseibs's review against another edition

4.0

I've always liked Guterson and he did not disappoint with this novel. As always, his love of the Pacific Northwest is central to the book, and I enjoyed how the setting was more like an additional character, rather than just a backdrop for the novel. The narrator's perspective was spot on, too - there really is no other way to tell the story of John William, than through a narrator who also is confused and conflicted. Most satisfying was that Guterson did not try to tie everything up neatly in the end, but left us - and Neil - struggling with John William's legacy. Beautiful novel.

mikewa14's review against another edition

4.0

Interesting, but mournful / reflective book - full review here

http://0651frombrighton.blogspot.co.uk/2013/03/the-other-david-gutterson.html

magpiewithpebbles's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.25

kendralu's review against another edition

3.0

This book took me a little longer to get into then I am used to, but once I was into it, I was hooked. It was an interesting read after Krakauer's Into the Wild as they deal (slightly) with similar subject matter. To me this read was much more interesting than Krakauer's writings mostly due to the female characters in the book and their roles and the honest way mental illness came into play. In the end I found it to be an interesting depiction of the toll that mental illness takes on families and on individuals. Guterson did a good job portraying the helpless bystander feeling that exists when loved ones are mentally ill and acknowledging that there appears to be no right way to handle these situations. It was very thought provoking.

One complaint--One of the female characters is from Pocatello, Idaho, of which I am a native. She says that the locals call it Poke. Inaccurate. We call it Poky. As in P-O-K-Y POKY PRIDE IS POWER! (High school chant) I've never heard it called Poke in my entire life and I was completely annoyed by it for some reason.

lizaroo71's review against another edition

2.0

guterson's book of fiction is reminiscent of into the wild. i couldn't help thinking of it at every turn of the page. the writing is interesting and filled with details guterson is so adept at including in his works. i felt the voices of mr. barry and ginnie barry could have been more prominent and not just included at the end. i felt their impressions on their only child, john william, were extremely important to his decision: to disappear from the world. john william drops out of college and with the aid of his friend, neil countryman (the narrator of the story) he disappears in the Hoh. countryman continues to live his life and marries, has children and settles into a teaching job. all the while countryman continues to visit john william and take him supplies in his isolated cave. the reader never really truly understands what is driving john william forward with his hermitage, but it is an interesting form of philosophy and the paths one's life takes.

luisasm's review against another edition

3.0

I mean it was just so forgettable. I liked it. It had some good characters with good back stories. Except then nothing happened but continual musings on life and friendship and death and the state of humans. There's nothing particularly wrong with that, it's just not my type of book. It's very sentimental and pretty depressing actually. Ehhhh I'm just not a fan, but not because this wasn't a good book.

missjenm's review against another edition

2.0

The 'hermit' character in this novel sort of parallels McCandless in Krakauer's Into the Wild which was for me both interesting and a little irritating. I enjoyed seeing the two characters paths side-by-side, but in the end felt the story was just okay and was kind of put off by the emphasis on the 'wealthy-but-crazy parents might have made me become an obsessive gnostic hermit' story arc near the end.

lindsayharmon's review against another edition

3.0

3.5

angiedkelly's review against another edition

2.0

Very Wordy book. Was a decent read but was hard to follow the flow of the book. I really enjoyed Snow Falling on Cedars but all of his books since have not been as good.