AS IF THE NATIONAL media’s shabby treatment of Seattle wasn’t bad enough, that Snow Falling on Cedars guy is piling on.

That’s right, novelist David Guterson is the latest interpreter of the pop culture theory that Seattle came into its own in the early 1990s (when the national media noticed us) but has developed growing pains in the last couple years (when the national media got tired of us). His March 29 New York Times op-ed piece is a classic of the genre, complete with references to Microsoft, grunge, and milky coffee drinks.

In fact, the most original claim he makes is to cite the twin successes of Kurt Cobain and Bill Gates as dual cases of Seattle “pretension.” It’s interesting that the Bainbridge Island novelist, who was himself the topic of much literary jealousy over Cedars‘ impressive sales figures, is now attacking people simply on the basis that they are successful.

Guterson does make one deft observation, if you can negotiate the commas: “The mayor, Paul Schell, makes dismayed pronouncements, sounding, as always, like Eeyore.”

JAMES BUSH jbush@seattleweekly.com