A review by kendralu
The Other by David Guterson

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.