The Other – Jennifer Rish

Book Review >>> Jennifer Rish The Other

Guterson, David. New York: Vintage, 2009. 272 pp.

David Guterson’s The Other is a haunting story about the choice between being a part of society and not being a part of it. The novel is about two men who meet running high school track and eventually become partners in a symbiotic relationship they do not understand, and a friendship that they understand even less. One of the men, Neil Countryman, ends up living a normal life as an English teacher and father of two. The other, John William Barry, retreats to the wilderness and eventually earns himself the title of “the hermit of the Hoh”. John William sets out into the Washington wilderness, shunning family wealth and the wiles of the world to live in a trailer, and when that is not remote enough, carves himself a cave out of limestone. Set in the state of Washington, The Other uses the dense forests at the end of the American frontier as a backdrop that contrasts the cosmopolitan bustle of modern day Seattle. When John William retreats from the world he retreats from it not to find himself, but to lose civilization in the retreat of his mind. The depth of John William’s removal becomes apparent as he becomes further removed, reading Gnostic gospels on the evils of the world and eventually accusing Neil of “sleepwalking through life” (169). However, Neil continues to support his friend in his endeavor, saying, “There was a part of me, at 28, with a wife, two kids, a house, a dog, and a job, that agreed with him,” (177). Neil has to deal with the hypocrisy that goes hand in hand with surviving in modern society, in the sense that the gains are more important than the losses. John William goes to the wilderness instead, and his suffering from his removal from society is unmistakable. Deep and tragic, The Other explores the depths and nature of friendship, despite how people change as time passes. As John William grows progressively more insane, Neil sticks to the blood oath they made as young men, providing him with basic necessities in the wilderness even as he denies wanting artifacts from civilization, which he calls “hamburger world,” (169). In the meantime, Neil wonders if John William may be right about the value of removing oneself from the backwards commercialized society we call home. Thematically, The Other explores the artistic question of whether it is possible to truly judge the world if we are a part of it, and if real art can be made by those mired in the system. Guterson shows in The Other that art cannot be successful in retreating and hating the world completely, but requires connection with the world to be of consequence. In its closing The Other leaves the reader wondering which of the two men made the correct choice. There is an obvious winner and loser when it comes to the physical state both men are left in by The Other’s ending, but still we are left to wonder who, in fact, managed to defeat “the unhappiness machine.”

The nature of humanity is to question. We question family, friendship, career, soci- ety, politics, and all things that define our lives as “human.” John William’s decision to spurn the world is not unfamiliar to us, but Guterson’s novel takes a tragic spin. John William’s removal leads inevitably towards his destruction, turning away from family, wealth, and power in the process; but the nature of the novel leads the reader to question the totality of his demise. Did he get what he wanted by finally escaping the world? Or did he erase himself into oblivion? The philosophical nature of The Other leaves us with no answer. Perhaps that is how it should be. Perhaps we, like Neil, must make that decision for ourselves. The Other is a beautiful book that would appeal to artists and social critics alike in its showing of the necessity of both removal and involvement within society that makes life complete. Anyone looking for an engaging, critical, and thought-provoking read will find it in The Other. The Other is not for those looking for a light, feel good read. The only thing that matches The Other’s thematic density is the density in its prose, which has the tendency to be pompous and uninviting. Though the descriptions of the world in which Neil and John William live are vibrant, the references that ground it are not meant for a younger audience, and some of the character’s motivations may be elusive in the way that an intimate friendship can be. Neil’s motives can be cloudy and we never have a real insight into John William’s mind; however, most of us can still recognize the disturbingly valid angles John William is coming from. The Other is as tied into real events and cultural phenomenon as it is culturally critical, in a way that only makes the book’s message more apparent. We can never fully remove ourselves from society no matter how hard we try. It will always come to find us in the end.