Ms. Smarty Pants Know It All

The influences on Snow Falling on Cedars are clear and obvious. A man from a discriminated-against minority population is on trial within a small, close-knit town. Ishmael, the local news reporter, serves as our narrator much of the time. He and other characters served in WWII and reflect the veterans’ disconnect with back-to-normal life.

The influences, as I’ve said, are obvious. I question the execution of them though. I don’t fault Guterson for taking Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird structure. It’s one that works well.

Here, a Japanese man is on trial for murdering a local fisherman of German decent. Guterson is a very good constructor of scenes, and he does well to give color, life, and texture to this rural Washington island.

Like in To Kill a Mockingbird, world events do not pass by towns just because they are out of the way. The island had to face the forced exportation and internment of its Japanese population and the inescapable effects of WWII.

In this aspect, I think Guterson does very well. I have some qualms about his handling of the courtroom scenes and the evidence of the alleged crime, but given his broader achievements in terms of character and setting, I can overlook these points.

What I don’t understand is his use of Ishmael. In a way, the novel fails to reach the highest heights because of Guterson’s struggle between Melville and Hemingway.

Ishmael is Herman Melville’s famed narrator of Moby Dick. If you haven’t read the book, you should. It’s a rich and rewarding experience. Melville’s writing style, however, is not for the faint of heart. You better know your SAT words if you’re going into Melville’s world.

Melville describes robustly and often provides information that may not be pertinent to the story at hand. This information, however, can serve to illuminate the greater context and environment of the characters.

But in Snow Fallling on Cedars, Ishmael seems more like a Hemingway hero than a Melvillian one. And throughout the book, Guterson’s style wavers between the sparcer approach of Hemingway and the denser one of Melville.

There’s that matter-of-fact stating that Hemingway does. There are paragraphs that have a Hemingwayesque sense of emptiness and space.

I found the back and forth frustrating at times.

Overall, I can see why so many people adore this book. There is a lot of potential here. Guterson shows the talent to be a unique voice if he is willing to be more free of his influences and not let himself over think as much.

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