David Guterson’s redolent prose in his new book, Problems with People: Stories is exactly what his large fan base expects. As author of the acclaimed Snow Falling on Cedars and East of the Mountains, Guterson has a reputation to uphold. That reputation stays intact as he hits the ball out of the park with this short book. In less than a dozen stories, none more than 20 pages long, Guterson’s eye for introspection is effortlessly on display.
Each story highlights and showcases Guterson’s writing abilities as they meander through poignant , thoughtful and tragic topics. These succinct and well crafted stories take place mostly in the Pacific Northwest with a foray or two in Nepal and South Africa.
Whether it’s the grief over a lost son, an awkward older landlord meeting his attractive young tenant for the first time, siblings caught in an African game park, an older couple meeting through an online dating site or the relationship between a dog walker and her dying client, the reader is in good hands with the efficient, stark but beautiful prose that Guterson gifts to the reader. Enjoy.
