East of the Mountains
Books / Paperback
ISBN: 0156011042 / Publisher: Harvest Books, April 2000
In a novel of personal discovery set against the backdrop of the Columbia Basin of central Washington, retired heart surgeon Ben Givens, suffering from terminal colon cancer, embarks on one final, epic hunting odyssey through the American West
Read More
Ben Givens is a retired heart surgeon who has been diagnosed with terminal cancer. Deciding to take charge of his own demise, Ben travels into the wild country of Washington state with his two dogs and his father's Winchester, to hunt one last time and then to end his life on his own terms. But, as with all quests, the Fates intervene. A car wreck introduces him to various helpers and hindrances, and gradually Ben undertakes a journey back through his own past. As he nears the apple-growing country in which he grew up, he recalls the signal events of his youth and manhood-especially his wartime experiences and his profound love for his wife of fifty years. Ben is transformed into an American Odysseus as he confronts the many sides of his own nature in a novel that radiates with the glories of the natural world and the mysterious permutations of the human heart.
Read Less