In this prizewinning portrait of a time and place — Montana in the 1930s — that at once inspires and fulfills a longing for an explicable past, Ivan Doig has created one of the most captivating families in American fiction, the McCaskills. The witty and haunting narration, a masterpiece of vernacular in the tradition of Twain, follows the events of the Two Medicine country's summer: the tide of sheep moving into the high country, the capering Fourth of July rodeo and community dance, and an end-of-August forest fire high in the Rockies that brings the book, as well as the McCaskill family's struggle within itself, to a stunning climax. It is a season of escapade as well as drama, during which fourteen-year-old Jick comes of age. Through his eyes we see those nearest and dearest to him at a turning point — "where all four of our lives made their bend" — and discover along with him his own connection to the land, to history, and to the deep-fathomed mysteries of one's kin and one's self.
Monday, September 3, 2007
Montana
Framed said, "I just read English Creek by Ivan Doig, which is set in late-Depression era Montana. Like your other Montana suggestion, it involves the U S Forest Service and a host of other memorable characters. The narrator, a fourteen-year-old boy named Jick is particularly well-written."
In this prizewinning portrait of a time and place — Montana in the 1930s — that at once inspires and fulfills a longing for an explicable past, Ivan Doig has created one of the most captivating families in American fiction, the McCaskills. The witty and haunting narration, a masterpiece of vernacular in the tradition of Twain, follows the events of the Two Medicine country's summer: the tide of sheep moving into the high country, the capering Fourth of July rodeo and community dance, and an end-of-August forest fire high in the Rockies that brings the book, as well as the McCaskill family's struggle within itself, to a stunning climax. It is a season of escapade as well as drama, during which fourteen-year-old Jick comes of age. Through his eyes we see those nearest and dearest to him at a turning point — "where all four of our lives made their bend" — and discover along with him his own connection to the land, to history, and to the deep-fathomed mysteries of one's kin and one's self.
In this prizewinning portrait of a time and place — Montana in the 1930s — that at once inspires and fulfills a longing for an explicable past, Ivan Doig has created one of the most captivating families in American fiction, the McCaskills. The witty and haunting narration, a masterpiece of vernacular in the tradition of Twain, follows the events of the Two Medicine country's summer: the tide of sheep moving into the high country, the capering Fourth of July rodeo and community dance, and an end-of-August forest fire high in the Rockies that brings the book, as well as the McCaskill family's struggle within itself, to a stunning climax. It is a season of escapade as well as drama, during which fourteen-year-old Jick comes of age. Through his eyes we see those nearest and dearest to him at a turning point — "where all four of our lives made their bend" — and discover along with him his own connection to the land, to history, and to the deep-fathomed mysteries of one's kin and one's self.
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