Sopheatra Khiev
An Old Man's Journey
<Tab/>The novel East of the Mountains by David Guterson is not about a boy or alien but an "old" man's struggle with terminal colon cancer. "Suicide was at odds with the life he knew, at odds with all he understood, of himself and of the world"(58). An old and retired heart surgeon, Ben Givens seeks to put all of his memories behind him and commit suicide. His plan was to hang himself and make it appear as if it was accidental. Since, the novel was 277 pages long, it was apparent that suicide was not going to come easy. Ben's chance enc…
