In Conversation with David Guterson

“’Self’ appears to be a gathering of body, thoughts, perceptions, awareness, and sensations, yet we experience ourselves as something else.”

David Guterson grew up near a Tibetan diaspora family in his Seattle neighborhood, befriending the boys in the family who were his age and spending time with them in their home. Even as a child, David noticed and remembered the endless and consistent kindnesses and generosity in their home. This inspired a deep curiosity about Tibetan Buddhism which eventually led to his academic studies of the religion, travels in Nepal and India, and the publication of his seventh novel, “Evelyn in Transit,” releasing Jan. 20.

I had the great pleasure of interviewing David last week about his latest novel, and in anticipation of his visit to Bend on Jan. 29.

“Evelyn in Transit” is a novel the tells the parallel story of two intersecting lives – Tsering, a young boy raised as the sixth reincarnation of a prominent lama in Tibet, and Evelyn, a formidable and radically open-minded young girl often labeled as a misfit, who leaves home to hitchhike across the American West taking odd jobs. Though both of their lives are revealed as a series of moments rather than a continuous flow, there is a time early in their life where both Tsering and Evelyn experience an emergence, or dramatic awakening, when they gain a sense of their separate identity, as self. Halfway across the world from each other, they both exclaim:

“I’m alive… I’m separate from everything else.”

And the reader knows in an instant, this book is not quite like other novels. “Evelyn in Transit” is at its heart, a deep exploration of the philosophy of self. Fate, duty, obligation, family ties, desire, and circumstance all play a role in our sense of being. David noted that from a very early age, Evelyn feels as if something isn’t quite right, that something is missing. David explained it as Evelyn confronting the reality of being human:

“As beautiful as it is to be human, as full as happiness as life can be, there is also a lot of suffering and sadness in it. Why is that, and how do we confront the realities of life: the reality of our mortality, the reality of evil, and the reality of suffering? This is what lies behind the question of “living the right way.” Evelyn’s quest is meant to find some sense of accommodation for those realities. She seeks some resolution as to how to contend with these forces in life.”

Tsering goes through his own struggles with doubts and purpose. His feelings of discontent with the rigor and discipline of monastic life led him to distance himself from the monastery at a young age, but he returns as an adult, and we get to know him through the lens of a lama and thought leader. After the incursion of Chinese troops into Tibet, he flees across borders like many Tibetans have throughout history, first landing in Italy and eventually coming to Seattle to be a member of the University of Washington community of thinkers. Naturally, he is addressed with many philosophical questions throughout the novel, especially when he interacts with the academic and religious leaders at UW.

During our conversation, David pointed out that like all religions, Buddhism takes many forms. There’s no one correct answer to any question. As Tsering considers answers to the questions proposed to him, he is aware that they are being asked predominately from a western perspective, without the context of the Tibetan Buddhist world he knows so well, and so formulates his answers with a clarity and logic that can be easily digested.

But Guterson does not shy away from the big philosophical questions that shape us all: purpose, religious beliefs, death, self, language, and destiny all come into play throughout the novel. One central aspect of Tibetan Buddhism, and a core theme of the novel, is the Tulku, or the conscious reincarnation of a prominent Tibetan Lama. In preparation for this book, David researched and interviewed several parents of Western Tulkus and discussed with me how it is becoming more common to find western children identified as Tulku’s. Sometimes they embrace the role, and sometimes they step away, but there is always this question of belief that must be considered by the child and the family. While this book is inspired by real events, David clarified that it is not based on one specific story.

When I think about my experience with the book, I am struck by the strength embodied by both characters – whether that is presented physically as the great feat of strength and determination Evelyn displays when carrying 1,000 stones to the top of a mountain, or the strength of mind displayed by Tsering to embrace compassion and commit to a life (or multiple lives) in pursuit of helping others escape suffering.

This quiet and philosophical read is the perfect book for patient readers, for anyone that has known and loved a prior David Guterson book, including his PEN/Faulkner award winning, “Snow Falling on Cedars,” or anyone who simply wants an introspective start to the new year. We invite you to join an in-person event with David Guterson at Roundabout Books on Thursday, Jan. 29, at 6:30pm. Tickets are available at roundaboutbookshop.com.

What Cassie’s Reading: “Evelyn in Transit” by David Guterson

David Guterson Author Event
"Evelyn in Transit" 
Thu, Jan 29 6:30pm
Roundabout Books and Cafe
900 NW Mt. Washington Dr, Ste 110 Bend
Admission is cost of book purchase, $29.99

This article appears in the Source January 22, 2026.