On Sale
1/20/2026
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“What a beautiful, strange, soulful spell David Guterson casts in Evelyn in Transit.... an inspired portrait that is both cosmic and sacred.”
–Paul Harding, Pulitzer Prize winning author of Tinkers and This Other Eden
Advance praise for Evelyn in Transit
“A glorious exploration of meaning and purpose”
–Lucy Kogler, Talking Leaves (Buffalo, NY)
“A parable of sorts, a quest for connection across continents and traditions--deeply intellectual and sometimes unexpectedly charming”
–Rafe Posey, Third Place Books, Seattle
“A wonderful antithesis to reading the news every day: compelling, sweeping and hopeful”
–Llalan Fowler, Kramerbooks (Washington, DC)
“I have admired David Guterson's work for over thirty years but was unprepared for the transporting experience Evelyn in Transit gave to me. I was carried through the highly original plot, the beautifully worded descriptions of personal experience and exotic lands, and its broad laugh-out-loud humor all the way to the final breath-catching finish. This is a book to keep on your shelves and reread through the years with each reading giving the reward of exquisite writing and thought-provoking philosophy, as well as an undeniable sense of hope for the world.”
–Mary Grey James, former manager of Parnassus Books
Evelyn in Transit is my seventh published novel and thirteenth book. There are other books I either didn't finish because they hit dead ends or finished without feeling good about them.
I started out writing short stories. I published five in periodicals, and put those in an envelope along with five others, and sent them off to publishers in New York with a cover letter addressed to "Dear Editor." They came back to me twice, but the third time someone called and said yes, and that was how my first book, The Country Ahead of Us, The Country Behind, came to be published.
An editor at Harper's read it, then got in touch to ask if I would write something for that magazine, and I said yes. After my essay appeared in its pages, an editor from a publishing house got in touch to ask if I would consider expanding it into a book, and I said yes to that too, and that's how my second book, Family Matters: Why Homeschooling Makes Sense, came to be published…read more
