Review of EVELYN IN TRANSIT by David Guterson (New Release)

 3 Stars

David Guterson is best known for his debut novel, Snow Falling on Cedars, which, like most people, I loved. Over the years, I’ve read other of his novels like Ed King (https://schatjesshelves.blogspot.com/2017/10/archival-review-of-ed-king-by-david.html) and The Final Case (https://schatjesshelves.blogspot.com/2022/02/review-of-final-case-by-david-guterson.html) but have been less impressed. His latest book, Evelyn in Transit, was also not a page turner for me.

There are two storylines set in very different parts of the world. Evelyn Bednarz is born in Indiana. From the beginning she feels like a misfit. She’s tall and large and very physically strong. Restless and fiercely individualistic, she is unsuited to life at school. At the age of eighteen, she leaves home and travels across the American West, taking odd jobs and living life on her own terms. She becomes pregnant and gives birth to a son she names Cliff River Bednarz. The other story is set in Tibet. Tsering Lekpa, a young boy believed to be the reincarnation of a high lama, is taken from his home and raised as a Buddhist monk.

The two stories merge, two-thirds through the novel, when a trio of Buddhist monks arrives at the Bednarz home to announce that 5-year-old Cliff is the reincarnation of a high lama. Evelyn is forced to question whether she believes in reincarnation and whether she should relinquish her young son to a monastic life.

The ending is so predictable. First there’s the title. Then there’s Evelyn’s desire “to live the right way”; she says, “’from my earliest memories, I’ve felt like something’s wrong, something’s missing, something isn’t right.’” Her attitude to life seems to be that of a Buddhist: she’s detached and aloof, showing little emotion, and lives mindfully in the present, not needing to control the future. Her love of nature and her nomadic lifestyle can only be foreshadowing. Of course, if readers know little about Buddhist practices, they will not perceive the inevitable narrative direction.

I did not enjoy the narrative style. Evelyn and Tsering’s lives are described through a series of vignettes. This episodic style feels disjointed. And the predominance of short, simple sentences makes for tedious reading. In addition, there is little plot. For the longest time the plot just meanders: something happens and time moves on and something else happens. The lack of momentum means a lack of tension which means a lack of interest. The narrative just feels aimless, especially because the two storylines intersect late in the book.

Because of the style, much is not explained. For instance, the political situation in Tibet leading to Buddhist monks fleeing the country should be explained. Much of Tibetan culture and Buddhist tradition is described vaguely or left unexplained. It is by fortuitous chance that I just finished reading The Last of Earth by Deepa Anappara set in Tibet; this novel describes much about Tibet. Were it not for this reading, I would have been confused for large parts of Evelyn in Transit.

I’m afraid this slow-paced novel about spiritual quests was not for me.

Note: I received an eARC from the publisher via Edelweiss.