Critical reception of Guterson's Snow Falling on Cedars has been overwhelmingly positive. The novel's evocative setting, courtroom drama, tender love story, language, believable characters, and portrayal of fear and prejudice have all earned critical acclaim. Los Angeles Times critic Michael Harris notes,

David Guterson's haunting first novel works on at
least two levels. It gives us a puzzle to solve—a whodunit
complete with courtroom maneuvering and surprising
turns of evidence—and at the same time it offers
us a mystery, something altogether richer and
deeper.

The unusual structure of the novel could easily be mishandled, but critics often note that Guterson intertwines the past with the present, the personal with the collective, and the various individual stories with control and grace. In a review of Guterson's short story collection and first novel, Philip Graham of the Chicago Tribune writes, "Guterson displays a fine eye for...