The Country Ahead of Us, The Country Behind

From the award-winning, bestselling author of Snow Falling on Cedars—a beautifully observed and emotionally piercing collection of short stories that “center[s] on men in the Pacific Northwest, characters whose emotions are sometimes as isolated as the landscape” (The New York Times).

Like his novel, Snow Falling On Cedars, for which he received the PEN/Faulkner Award, Guterson's short stories are set largely in the Pacific Northwest. In these vast landscapes, hunting, fishing, and sports are the givens of men's lives. With prose that stings like the scent of gunpowder, this is a collection of power."Guterson displays a fine eye for the mysteries of the human soul, creating dramatic moments that are often layered with social and historical complexities and framed by the stark beauty and terror of the natural world.... Touching moments of intimacy abound in David Guterson's short stories, resulting in a bracing collection that speaks to the heart and mind both." —Chicago Tribune

"These short stories by the author of Snow Falling on Cedars center on men in the Pacific Northwest, characters whose emotions are sometimes as isolated as the landscape. The author tracks the elements of this world with a precision that evades both vagueness and cliches." —The New York Times DAVID GUTERSON is the author of a collection of short stories, The Country Ahead of Us, the Country Behind; Family Matters: Why Homeschooling Makes Sense; Snow Falling on Cedars, which won the 1995 PEN/Faulkner Award, the Pacific Northwest Bookseller Association Award, and was an international bestseller; and the national bestseller East of the Mountains.