Ivan Doig Books

This magnificent book is a must read for anyone who cares about humanity; who loves people and wants to ride with them. It is more than that. It is the feel of Montana, of the West, of the people who built this country and the hard, blistering work they did. Don't miss this book. You'll love it and hate when you must put it down.

This book was one of the few memoirs I have read when in the end I placed the book down and sighed "wow." What a wonderful story. The author rolled experiences together in western Montana with his dad and grandmother and turned it into a lovestory for fathers and grandmothers, for people of Montana, and all that using very little dialogue. (That gave the book a sense of truthfulness, as who can recite full conversations that took place years ago?)

The constant struggle with man against nature, man against man and man against himself come alive in these pages. Despite many obstacles of every kind, his father never abandoned him and sacrificed what he had to to raise his son and to give him what he needed. Montana and its bittersweet closeness never leave the reader; its isolation and wide open sky are always in the background. Thus the title is so perfect for this beautiful memoir.

This was my first Doig book and I will definitely read more of him. I definitely consider this book one of the top ten in American 20th century writing.

This was my first Ivan Doig book, and I loved it! As a result, I've read most of the rest of what Doig has written and thoroughly enjoy reading about (and remembering) the areas of Montana where I used to live.

Of the three best books I've read in 2007, this probably ranks number two. It took me a little while to get into it, but the wait was well worth it. Ivan Doig is a magnificent writer and his talents are well displayed in this book. The other two books were The Good Old Boys, by Elmer Kelton, and The Missouri Riders, by George Banks.

This is my all time favorite book. Period. Beautifully written, thought-provoking. It will make you want to move to Montana. It will make you love open sky and a horizon that goes on forever and the importance of family.

An excellent piece of literary work. From the time I received it, I couldn't set it down.

This is one of the best books I've ever read. It's been a while since I read it, but saw it the other day on my book shelf and just wished I could read it again fresh and brand new for the first time. It has joy, it has heartache. It has love, hate and the cruelty of the world all wrapped wonderfully around the beauty of nature and the awe of God's creation. Passages in this book can move you to tears in both a sad and joyous way. The ending pages are almost like a religious experience. It's hard to find someone in this day and age that can put words together like Norman Maclean did. The book is very poetic. I happen to love fishing, but it doesn't matter if you've ever fished in your life. This book is one you won't ever forget.

I love fly fishing. I love Montana. I love rivers. So how could I not like this book? I remember some years ago discussing the novella with a friend, and he said he thought it was too simplistic. I suppose what he was really saying was that it was too sentimental, that it was trying too hard to be poetic, or that it simplified itself into silence to pull at your heartstrings. I see his criticism, but to this day I still don't agree.

I'm a sentimental person who is also a cynic -- so I may shed a tear or two, but I hate it when I do -- especially when I feel at all manipulated. But the final page of this novel always makes me grieve in a way that makes me feel expansively human, and not at all self-conscious.

I wonder how many people who don't share my interests are moved in the same way as I am by this story?

A River Runs Through It deals with tragedy, loss, and other such deep themes, but it's impossible for the reader to distant himself from the realization that much of the tragedy and loss inflicted on the family being explored is, in one way or another, the fault of the family members. While this does not automatically make the situations any less meaningful, it does chip away at the feeling that these tragedies were undeserved or unforseen.

The patriarch of the family is a stubborn, unyielding man who teaches his children by example to ruin another's fishing spot if he has better luck than you that day. His unyielding belief in the Biblical interpretation of a young earth and the scientific evidence of an old one is resolved by a stern splitting of the difference, by averaging the ages and coming up with a "medium aged" earth theory that he lectures to his sons. And when, as little children, they refuse to eat their veggies, the father shouts until he turns red, forces the child to stay at the table until the veggies are eaten, and then gives up in defeat when the child outlasts him.

Is it any wonder, then, when his youngest child grows up to be a free-spirited, gambling, immature man who simply cannot be talked out of his self-destructive tendencies? No one ever reasoned with him growing up - he was taught, by example, from day one that the most stubborn, unyielding person always wins. He was taught to never consider the needs and desires of others as anything but subbordinate to his own. It is difficult for me, therefore, to feel much pity for the bereaved family when the young man finally self-destructs - didn't they see this coming, every moment of every day? Didn't they train the child, every day, for years to reach this eventual moment?

Yes, the story is poignant. Yes, it is beautiful and touching. Yes, it should be read. But it should be read, I think, as a cautionary tale more than as a compassionate one.

One passage amoungst many sticks out from this book that is full of wisdom if you take the time to read closely and relate it to the many aspects of your life and the lives of others:

He thought back on what had happened like a reporter. He started to answer, shook his head when he found he was wrong, and then started to answer. "All there is to thinking," he said, "is seeing something noticeable which makes you see something you weren't noticing which makes you see something that isn't even visible."

This book should be read by anyone seeking an understanding of life. If you've seen the movie, give the book a try. The combination of both will give a feel for a moment in one man's life and a lifetime of reflection. Both are superb!

What a wonderful book. Doig knows his subject and characters so well that one feels as if it has to be an autobiography, which it isn't.
The writing itself is also excellent. I highly recommend this book, set in the days of the Montana one room schoolhouse. This intelligent novel,the endearing Milliron family of Motherless boys,and the indefatigable school teacher, Morrie, all come together to make this a book you hate to see come to an end.

Ivan Doig must be the Midwest's answer to Stegner...well written, engaging, great characters that reveal just enough (unlike our People Mag oriented society). One of those books I am so glad to have read and will recommend. Also enjoyed the historical perspective of the United States at that time of one room school houses, etc.

A good read. Not spectacular.

The point of view, time period, certain situations reminded me of The Waltons. Not a bad thing, but that's what came to mind.

This book is told from the perspective of Paul as an adult, looking back on his youth growing up in Marias Coulee and attending a one-room schoolhouse. The plot ambles along, rather than charges, but the characters come to life and the story is well written. If you're a person who appreciates a well-worded and clever phrase, you will love this book because it's chock full of them. This book felt like an antidote to the crazy, overbooked, super-speed pace of my life.

Our PAGES (Prose-Adoring Girls' Enlightenment Society) Reading Group read and discussed The Whistling Season by Ivan Doig. We absolutely recommend it to book clubs for a very delightful read and a lively, interesting discussion about life in the early 20th century West, one-room school education, and the details of the book, itself. We rate this book 4.5 stars.

A couple of things that may not have come out in the published discussion questions and elsewhere in these reviews:

Did you notice the possible similarities in the two brothers, Paul and Damon, and in Morrie and Casper?

Also, we all felt rather melancholy at the end of this book about the loss of that way of life and the one-room school education. In searching the internet we found that, at the time of the setting of this book, there were about 250,000 one-room schools in the United States. Today, there are fewer than 400. But, the fact that there are some left helped to lift our spirits. Maybe we'll have a reading group outing and go visit a few!

I thoroughly enjoyed this trilogy! It brought me back to the places I was familiar with when I lived in Montana.

Very well written book. Gave the reader a feel for the hardships, joys, and life of an immigrant. Beautifully describes the Montana scenery.
Book easily held the interest of the reader. In fact I had a hard time putting the book down. I would highly recommend this book to any age person who has a nominal interest in the life of our forefathers. Reading it, I could just feel the excitement and the beauty as well as the pain of life in the 1890's.

One reader compared Doig to Larry McMurtry...hmmm, maybe, but I think not. Dancing at the Rascal Fair is my first Doig novel, but not my last. I will be reading his other work, for sure. D at the RF is so well written, I am bonded to these fictional characters as if they were real. Am thinking of them, long after I've finished the last page. If you enjoy reading about land, early settlers, hardships and love - you'll enjoy this one.

What a beautiful book, yet tragic. As usual the writing is simply wonderful. If you love literature, this is a must. The story chronicles the migration of a couple of Scottish families to Montana and the trials and tribulations that they experience. The book is masterful. A must read.

a fantastic family saga of life on the montana prairie back in the day. everything one could want in a historical novel: realistic, interesting characters, a strong sense of narrative, and a grand presentation of a place in time. this is the 1st book i have read by this author, i now greatly anticipate reading more of his work. my highest recommendations.

Chronologically, English Creek is the second in Doig's Montana trilogy--better to read Dancing at the Rascal Fair first. This one gives us Montana frontier life in the 30s and invites one to continue with his contemporary book three, Ride with Me, Mariah Montana. I enjoyed all three and also recommend The Whistling Season.

Like the other novels of Ivan Doig that I have read, ENGLISH CREEK might fall shy of great literature, but it certainly is top-notch storytelling. Doig's narrator for this story is Jick McCaskill, who has as personable a narrative style as one could want. Looking back over more than a quarter century, Jick tells the story of his summer of 1939, when he was 14 and grew from boy to young man. His story moves along at a leisurely pace, but it never stalls, largely because of the wry humor and charm of both his narration and many of his characters. And in telling the story, Jick/Doig give us what I am confident is a realistic picture of ranching life in Northwest Montana, at the foot-hills of the Rockies as they rise out of the plains, just before WWII. Particularly vivid and memorable are extended set pieces of a community Fourth of July (with picnic, rodeo, and square dance), end-of-summer haying, and fighting a raging forest fire.

It may well be that the book will appeal most to readers "of a certain age," as they say. I am uncertain what the cut-off is (about 45?), but for those who have passed the threshold I have little doubt that they will enjoy the story immensely.

I hated to get sleepy at night, because I didn't want to put this book down. I thought this was a good story, and the author does a good job of describing the beautiful countryside to the reader.

I uncovered Doig's "Dancing at the Rascal Fair" at a small bookstore in Oregon many years ago. Since then, his books have earned a "do not loan" status on my bookshelf. I'll tell friends how much I love his books, but they have to buy their own copies. English Creek is one of my favorites. It immersed me in Montana, in a young boy's summer, in the fold of time between childhood and adulthood. While some of Doig's books have a darker, gritty, edge, English Creek made me laugh outloud. I've just ordered three more copies to give as gifts to friends who I know will love the premise, the prose and the portrait of life on the edge of growing up.

Set in northern Montana in 1939, this novel tells the story of the McCaskill family. Young Jick is 15 and interested in learning his family's history--not easy since his parents are pretty tight-lipped. His older brother wants to get married rather than go to college, which causes a rift in the family. The father works for the Forest Service and in tackling a big fire at book's end provides Jick with important family history. Good in spots, especially the last 50 pages or so, but one gets the feeling in much of the book that Doig is trying hard to write an epic, only it comes across as only boring details.

This is a very nice addition to Doig's early book, "This House of Sky," which relates the story of his family (esp., his father and maternal grandmother) from the time of his mother's death, on Doig's sixth birthday. This is an account of his mother over approximately a year before her death, as the Doig's moved around the West trying to find a place suitable for her health. The writing is a good example of Ivan Doig's style and fits well with his other works.

First, read Doig's House of Sky. Together, these books create memoir at its best, set in a beautiful, hard place. This is straightforward language from the heart, a memorable read.

Another wonderful tale by western author Ivan Doig. Washington Post rates Doig as one of the 'finest writers' in America today. He is the ONLY author who made the San Francisco Chronicle's TOP 100 fictional and TOP 100 non-fictional best Western Novels of the 20th century lists.

This is another fine Ivan Doig work. If you like it, and I bet you will, try his TRILOGY series of his fictionalized biographical family settling into the TWO MEDICINE high country of Montana from Scotland in the 19th century. Fabulous writing, poetical prose and a great set of tales. "Dancing at the Rascal Fair" is #1 followed by "English Creek", my favorite. I have given Doig books as gifts to many, many people and they all say: "Who is this author? Did not know him and he is absolutely wonderful!"

"Heart Earth" is a nice way to get into Doig's writing, but there are many more of his works to enjoy, too. Buy one and you will get hooked!

Professor Peter B. Liebowitz

...condsidering that I was suffering from metaphor fatigue by the end of the second page.

I suppose it's a matter of taste, but the whole book was "waxing poetic," and I found the style to be a bit tedious. I much prefer a writer who just tells the story and breaks out the occasional metaphor for emphasis. You don't really need one in every single sentence.

Otherwise I enjoyed the book.

As a sometime writer, I am always humbled by Ivan Doig's rapturous rendering of human experience in the written word. His love of language is a perfect match for the sense of wonder he brings to whatever he's writing about, and he can spin what is often a simple idea into a lengthy interweaving of carefully observed details and nuances of feeling and gentle humor.

He does that here with a handful of letters written by his mother from Arizona and Montana to her brother on board a Navy destroyer in the Pacific during the closing months of WWII. They are also her own last months, dying as she does of heart failure in a high altitude sheep camp where she has been spending a summer with her husband and young son, the author. Doig generates pages of meaning and significance from single sentences in her letters, notably recreating one of her last days, herding sheep on horseback and alone, while husband and son travel to nearby Bozeman.

This is a short book compared to his other fiction and nonfiction, really more like an appendix to his memoir of growing up, "This House of Sky." It captures almost worshipfully the day-to-day reality of people living proudly and with determination on the margins of a rural wartime economy only beginning to recover from the Great Depression. Enjoyable also is Doig's gift for replicating the wry humor in the way they deal with and talk about life's vagaries. Highly recommended to readers of his other books, this is also an excellent introduction to Doig for those who haven't read him yet.

It should come as no surprise to any fan of western literature that Ivan Doig has returned to the necessary soil of Montana to tell his latest story. But that he has combined his familiar landscape and characters with a new twist might cause a pleasant wonder.

In "Prairie Nocturne," the West?s pre-eminent literary novelist rides the wide-open range between Montana and New York City during the Harlem Renaissance, gathering a cast of players for one last inspired grasp at love and celebrity.

In a Faulknerian flourish that has threaded through five of his six previous novels, Doig again populates his seventh with some familiar faces in old settings. What Doig fan would be astonished to find the indomitable Angus McCaskill making more than a cameo appearance in Doig?s newest novel?

And lest any reader think Doig?s beloved landscape has been relegated to a cameo appearance shorter than any McCaskill?s, fear not. No western writer ? and Doig is the prime living model for that species ? can escape the ageless countryside?s effect on either character or author.
Doig?s poetic prose is growing richer and more subtle with each book, like a stone in a river. In "Prairie Nocturne," as the narrative entwines the pasts and presents of its three principal characters, his essential themes re-emerge: family, landscape, childhood memory, loyalty, and the inescapability of our past.

Doig?s characters, new and old, are unforgettable, and not just because he keeps bringing them back to life in subsequent books. He embroiders them with history, myth and sensuality. Combined with the timeless beauty of his own ancestral ground, they are fast becoming as much a part of the American mind-scape as the Snopes family of Yoknapatawpha.

Alone, independent, and now in her forties, DANCING AT THE RASCAL FAIR's Susan Duff returns as one of three principal characters in Ivan Doig's seventh novel, PRAIRIE NOCTURNE. Set in 1924 Helena and in Montana's Two Medicine country wilderness, World War I hero and failed gubernatorial candidate, Wes Williamson, surprises his former paramour, Susan, with a request that she teach Monty Rathbun how to sing. The son of a buffalo soldier, Monty is a chauffer and former rodeo clown. Because he is black, Monty's rise to celebrity eventually stirs up racial prejudice in a subplot involving the local Ku Klux Klan. Though well written, blending a lovely story with plenty of Western history, landscape and lore, Doig's novel, much like a prairie, rambles on endlessly at times; Doig's PRAIRIE also tends to be dogged with digressions. But this is my only criticism of an otherwise satisfying historical novel, written by one of the finest Western writers spinning yarns today.

G. Merritt

The full significance of this novel's evocative title does not become clear until the very closing pages, and that's fitting for a melodrama-historical-romance that holds its cards very close to the chest right up to each turn of the plot. There are in fact several narratives and themes that weave in and around each other, and Doig is careful to balance them artfully so that each new development has an element of the unexpected for the reader.

The texture of Doig's narrative style is richly detailed, like tapestry. His characters and the exchanges between them spring strongly to life. You do not speed read for the plot but linger over the nuances of behavior, gesture, verbal inflection, thought, and feeling. Meanwhile, a compelling story is told of a black ranch hand and rodeo clown who is transformed under the guiding hand of a white voice teacher to become a rising star in the music world.

Set in the 1920s, the story also portrays the social forces and prejudices that intrude on their growing relationship. And the reader learns how the KKK reached as far west as Montana with its use of secrecy and intimidation to enforce a code of racial and ethnic discrimination. Just as ugly, though not resorting to hoods and sheets, are those at the very highest social rungs who have their part to play in enforcing racial divisions.

Set primarily in Montana, the book needs to look back only a generation to the immigrant homesteaders of the 1880s, the cavalry posts on the plains, the rise of the cattle barons, and the subduing of the Native Americans. Meanwhile, the trenches of WWI inhabit recent memory. The book captures the breadth of American life from the closing frontier on the one hand to jazz-age New York and the Harlem Renaissance on the other.

I recommend this book to anyone interested in the historical West, relationships between strongly independent characters, the African-American experience, singing and voice training, and a richly textured, multi-layered style of storytelling. Doig is a master.

I have lived in Washington and Southeast Alaska for 25 years. Over these years I have been to or seen most of the places Doig writes about, from Sitka to Dall Island (crabbing with a friend), to Vancouver Island and Prince Rupert, as well as the Pacific coast of Washington. The mere thought of getting into a canoe and crossing Dixon Entrance in the winter sounds like suicide. The images of the mountains, trees and water are so true I could feel them.

The story about the men is also very true and brings back to me experiences with men over my life, in circumstances good and bad. We are weak, fragile things and usually hold onto the normal and cozy for comfort, but these men took on the unknown and elements with a courage few can muster; though whether they would have done this if they had known what they faced is questionable.

Doig does an admirable job of capturing the beauty, the menace and the feeling of SE Alaska, as well as the courage and weaknesses of men.

Wonderful story. Fear was the constant. I could hear the voices, see the scenery, smell the smells. I loved it.

Ivan Doig is a word-smith who crafts wonderful stories in beautiful language. This early book of his is no exception. Taking a sparse, true account from the mid-1800's he develops a wonderful tale of escape and survival.

An enjoyable survivalist tale, along the lines of "The Long Walk" or even Shackleton's "Endurance." Basically four workers escape an indentured work camp in Alaska, steal an Indian canoe and try to make it down the coast of British Columbia and what is now the state of Washington to make it to the settlement at the mouth of the Columbia River.
The depictions of the water and scenery is good. The author spent some time researching the surroundings. The rough humor and tension between the men is hilarious. As they battled starvation during their journey my only question is why didn't they catch more fish, as that coastline is chock full of fish, but that's a minor detail. Love the scene where they get to witness a Northwest Indian tribe bring in a whale, as that is of historical significance. You'll feel an ache in your own back and blisters on your own hands as you empathize with their journey.
First book of his that I've read, and I now want to find more.

sure its a bit funny, and it touches me cause i am a swede, but it seriously is not that good of a book. its just about rough seamean looking out at the BRISK sunrise. big words don't make a book good.

i did NOT like this book, but im giving it some sympathy points, which is why it gets 2 stars.

Ivan Doig is a poet who writes lovely stories and autobiographical tales of old Montana. He is right up there with Wallace Stegner, but his prose and stories are more resonant.

Washington Post said a few years ago that Ivan Doig is one of the 'finest writers' in America. I agree. Had the pleasure of spending a couple of days with Ivan and his wife, Carol, at a Stanford Old West seminar in 2000. What a terrific and humble guy.

I recommend you read one of Doig's TRILOGY first. They are semi-biographical about his family settling from Scotland into the Two Medicine high country of Montana last century. "Dancing at the Rascal Fair" is #1, followed by "English Creek", my favorite. Fabulous writing, period.

Assuming you read and like "Winter Brothers", you will love Doig's others novels and autbiographical books. He is a treasure to the art of writing.

Peter B. Liebowitz

Generally, I love what Doig has written, but I had trouble getting into this book. I hung in and completed it; and by the end, I was sorry to finish it. I guess I'm saying I prefer his fiction.

Ivan Doig found gold when he came across the unpublished diaries of James Gilchrist Swan in the Manuscripts Section of the University of Washington library. Swan was a pioneer on the Olympic Peninsular, living mainly among the Indians at Neah Bay and Cape Flattery, the western-most edge of the contiguous United States. Doig spent one full winter season, 90 days, living on the Peninsular, during which he kept a daily journal of his own, almost all of it incorporating an examination of Swan's 1862-1898 diaries. It's a fascinating book.

Doig, a prodigious writer himself, is ever in awe of the sheer massiveness of Swan's diary. Spread across dozens of pocket-sized (for the most part) diaries, comprising two-and-a-half million words, and spanning four decades, Swan's magnum opus recorded daily life, from the mundane ("swept out the schoolhouse again") to the (for him) magnificent (the Smithsonian finally gets around to publishing his manuscript on the Makah Indians). "The diaries dazzle and dazzle me" [Doig writes] "first simply by their total and variety." Again and again he reminds us of Swan's quantitative achievement, describing in loving detain the physicality of the diaries: their varying sizes, the neat handwriting, the care he took in recording weather information. He also quotes freely from them, in random clips, interesting encounters with people on the Peninsular: Indians come to him seeking advice, friends share drinks with him in a saloon, fishing and hunting trip companions shoot the breeze with him about the latest gossip. The diary seems a perfect marriage of the simple data of day-to-day life and Swan's loftier reflections on what they all might mean. Doig has obviously gained much from his 90 days spent with Swan and his extensive diary, and he makes us eager and willing companions in this exploration. It's my favorite of Doig's books. Highly recommended.

I've enjoyed this delightful book more than once. Doig writes a travel narrative as he retraces the life and journeys of a fellow named Swan who left detailed daily diaries of life on Washington's Olympic Peninsula during the 1850s. This book provides an insightful look at the Pacific Northwest and the early interaction between settlers and the native Northwest Coast Makah tribes at Neah Bay and Cape Alava. This book is a must-read, just like Doig's "The Sea Runners" and Annie Dillard's "The Living," if you are to understand the Pacific Northwest of the past or present. Doig (via Swan's experiences living on the reservation as an English teacher to Makah children) discusses Haida native art and mythology as well as whale-hunting and potlatches. Just an awesome and insightful read, especially for a cold winter evening by the fire. Makes me want to pull out my copy and read it again, and again, and again.

After enjoying listening to Ivan Doig's autobiographical books, I was anxious to hear more and chose the "Winter Brothers" book on tape. The common theme that ties the two stories in this book together are fairly solid, but for me the two stories together were frustrating and less easy to follow than his other books. Although a major problem was the fact that the reader didn't use much of a voice change to differentiate between Doig and Swan (maybe in this case reading the book would have been better), I at times found myself wishing that the Swan entries could be less interrupted. Also, while Doig is an artist with word descriptions, they were occasionally a bit distracting. On the positive side, the descriptions of the Northwest setting and the character of Swan and his relations with the Indians were fascinating and educational. And even though I wished for the Swan story to be less interrupted, it sounds like Swan was a very prolific diarist and it was nice that Doig did the gleaning of the most interesting parts for us and filled in the background context that so enriched them.

Ivan Doig is an excellent writer and Mountain Time rates as one of his best. He bases his books in Montana and provides outstanding pictures of the people, attitudes, landscape, and scenery of the state. I am a native Montanan and know both Seattle and Montana's Rocky Mountain Front. Both are accurately depicted here. Doig's description of a cafe that is "somewhere between unfinished and deteriorating" would fit any number of cafes in small-town Montana. On a plot level, Mountain Time presents some unique twists and many poignant moments that will keep the reader involved from the beginning to the end. This is not a book where you will guess the ending before you get there.

In Montana, not far from where Ivan Doig grew up beneath a big sky that still haunts him, three rivers flow together to form the deep and wide Missouri, lacing through both time and landscape, the old West and the new. And like the brawny Missouri, Doig has channeled three deep literary tributaries into "Mountain Time," a coda to his McCaskill family trilogy.

Three people, three intense relationships, three rivers. "Mountain Time" is the confluence: The very real familial clash between Lyle and Mitch echoes the clash between the historic and contemporary West, where exploitation has always been at odds with environmental anxiety.

"Mountain Time" will not dissuade those who rank Doig among the best living American writers, and one might even begin making comparisons to some of the best *dead* ones, too. Faulkner comes most readily to mind: The Snopeses of Yoknapatawpha County are no more troubled and no more human than the McCaskills of the Two Medicine country in Montana. Two great rivers in different landscapes.

This story provides the reader with characters that are so real, so unpredictable, so human, that the world around you is mirrored in each one. Not always pretty, not always rational, not always logical, just the kind of story that I love. And Doig weaves a fantastic story as he always does and it is one highly worth reading. I would not miss this modern look at Montana and its people.

Scanning some of the reviews, I notice I felt many of the same impressions as other readers with this book. I just finished the trilogy, _Dancing at the Rascal Fair_, _English Creek_, and _Ride with Me, Mariah Montana_. The first two were the best, the last was so-so, and _Mountain Time_ just fell flat.

I found the conversations annoying, especially between Mitch's daughter and Mitch.The jargon was forced and very unflattering to the characters. The book was somewhat stiff to get into, but my respect for Mr. Doig encouraged me on. When the story line gets to Montana, it does pick up a bit and become more promising. The best part was the 3 day back pack trek into the mountains to scatter the ashes of Mitch's dad. Unfortunately, the cadence did not sustain itself, and the ending was spiritless.

Some considerations bothered me. For instance, I kept waiting to find out the cryptic reason Lyle was so intent on making Mitch promise to scatter his ashes up on the look out tower. I expected some message to be written on the walls, or some other justification for such an insistent request by the father, Lyle to be fulfilled by his son, Mitch. Another let down was the bit about the torn up camp site that the 3 characters come upon during their hike up the mountain, allegedly by a grizzly bear. We have torn up sleeping bags, (where's the bodies?) and a ripped up teepee. Alas, I thought!! A little action, mystery, hey, the story is going to pick up now..!!

But..,not exactly..

It looked promising for a while when they scuffled over the old man's ashes, and Mitch got seriously hurt. Lexa made the brave decision to be the one to hike out off the mountain for help, against the odds of time, weather and the elements to save her lover. Leaving her cutie sister, Mariah up in the watch tower as the nurse, the story alludes very suddenly to romance between her and Mitch. What? He has a broken leg, little food, stinky armpits and no alcohol. This was just too hard to swallow.. but it did suggest the story might improve.

But, ok, now Lexa is hiking down, the weather is worsening, food is low, she is exhausted and what is lurking in the woods but that big huge woolly grizzley bear. OK!! ACTION!

But, noooo.....

Suddenly the story is about over, Mitch is saved, Lexa is on the outs in favor of Mariah, and one feels the story can't get much worse when you have to read these side line reflections of Bob Marshall. (Who is Bob, many of you may ask?)

The last 15 pages you hope for some kind of conclusion to all these loose ends.. does Mitch repair his relationship with his kids, and if there is no furthur mention of them, why bring them in at all? There is the rushed explainations of the hobby buisnesses of Lyle and how he makes his tire irons (I didn't care) and this abrupt resumption of Mitch's and Lexa's love affair. All this in a fatal gasping ending.

Mr Doig, I loved your personal history books, _Heart Earth_ and _This House of Shy_. They were exquisite representations of the beautiful Montana area and a wonderful accounting of your incredible family. I promise not to let this book disappoint me so much that I won't read you again, indeed I am going to start your other books next.

It is just that this story was, well, a story interuptus..

It's true this is not Ivan Doig's best work. It would be difficult, if not impossible, to top my favorite, Dancing at the Rascal Fair. Mr. Doig's storytelling is honest and straightforward; his wordsmithing in high form. Some of the reviews indicate trite characterization of western Washington, and an uninvolving story with unsurprising revelations. Not true if you come to this story with different expectations. Life in Washington isn't the point of this story (and what may seem trite seemed all to real to what I've seen here in Seattle. Mr. Doig writes issues many Baby Boomers may be facing or have confronted: a dying parent; coming to gripes with a parent's choices; life changes, in this case, the impact of divorce on self; loss of job. Having experienced aspects of what this story covered, I found the novel a good depiction of these issues and relationships. Yes, it takes a while to get into the story, but once in I found it quite satisfying.