Ten sharply observed, funny, and wise new stories from the best-selling author of Snow Falling on Cedars : stunning explorations of the mysteries of love and our complex desire for connection. Ranging from youth to old age, the voices that inhabit Problems with People offer tender, unexpected, and always tightly focused accounts of our quest to understand each other, individually, and as part of a political and historical moment. These stories are shot through with tragedy—the long-ago loss of a young boyfriend, a son’s death at sea; poignant reflections upon cultural and personal circumstances—whether it is being Jewish, overweight and single, or a tourist in a history-haunted land; and paradigmatic questions about our sense of reality and belonging. Spanning diverse geographies—all across America, and in countries as distant as Nepal and South Africa—these stories showcase David Guterson’s signature gifts for characterization, psychological nuance, emotional and moral suspense, and evocations of small-town life and the natural world. They celebrate the ordinary yet brightening surprises that lurk within the dramas of our daily lives, as well as the return of a contemporary American master to the form that launched his astonishing literary career.
Author
David Guterson is an American novelist, short story writer, poet, journalist, and essayist. He is best known as the author of the novel Snow Falling on Cedars (1994), which won the 1995 PEN/Faulkner Award. To date it has sold nearly four million copies. It was adapted for a 1999 film of the same title, directed by Scott Hicks and starring Ethan Hawke. The film received an Academy Award nomination for cinematography. Guterson's subsequent novels are East of the Mountains (1999), Our Lady of the Forest (2003), and The Other (2008). He is also the author of a short story collection, The Country Ahead of Us, the Country Behind (1989) and of a book of essays on education called Family Matters: Why Homeschooling Makes Sense (1992). Guterson was born in Seattle, Washington, and received an M.A. from the University of Washington. A Guggenheim Fellow, and a former contributing editor to Harper's magazine, he is a co-founder of Field's End, an organization for writers.
