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A review by gemmadee
Problems with People by David Guterson
4.0
It was a painful book to read. Let me be clear – the reading was easy. I finished the book in one evening. It was the stories themselves that were painful. In Problems with People, author David Guterson explores social awkwardness.
Guterson so deftly portrays the inner dialogues that we all (Oh God I hope it’s not just me) try so hard to hide behind faces of mature competence that reading these stories feels a little like pulling your fingernails out to see the pink skin underneath them.
It’s not all psychological torture, though. Guterson is a Pacific Northwest native and many of the stories are set locally. His depictions of place are as accurate and specific as his characterization, and it’s a lot of fun to mentally place events. I wouldn’t be surprised if his Berlin is as precise as his Seattle, too.
Guterson so deftly portrays the inner dialogues that we all (Oh God I hope it’s not just me) try so hard to hide behind faces of mature competence that reading these stories feels a little like pulling your fingernails out to see the pink skin underneath them.
It’s not all psychological torture, though. Guterson is a Pacific Northwest native and many of the stories are set locally. His depictions of place are as accurate and specific as his characterization, and it’s a lot of fun to mentally place events. I wouldn’t be surprised if his Berlin is as precise as his Seattle, too.