Characters, descriptive language, and style!, 04 Jun 1999
A reviewer of Mr. Doig's "English Creek" notes that it does not deal with a "dysfunctional family". The other current fad the author avoids is the emphasis on "quirkiness" vs. character. Like Wallace Stegner and David Guterson, Mr. Doig's feeling for the land is aparent in his careful and lovely descriptions. Most of all, he presents us with characters so well developed and described we feel we know them. This emphasis on believable characters is, in my estimation, the strongest point of "Dancing at the Rascal Fair" and "English Creek". I enjoyed both tremendously and look froward to finishing the Montana trilogy.

I loved the style, but not the ending., 12 Mar 1999
Doig's writing, like so many who are from Montana and write about it, captures nature beautifully. Like other writers from this area (Norm McClean comes to mind) Doig paints a beautiful picture of plains, mountains, and of course the weather becomes a character in itself. My only disappointment was the denouement in the end. It rather strained the credibility of an otherwise realistic story. I would rather Doig had stayed away from actually telling a story, and had made it more a novel "about nothing." For this reason, I enjoyed "This House of Sky" more, but this is still a novel which I feel falls into the class of literature, rather than popular fiction. For me, that is high praise indeed.

Great Read, highly recommended, 18 Jun 1998
I recommended this to eveyrone who would listen.

If Only World Enough & Time, 05 Mar 1998
Doig details the life of the 14-year-old Jick in Two Medicine Country. This is a subtle, slice of life book that in the end will split your heart like a close knit family suddenly breaking apart. The images of the people of Two Medicine Country, the dance scene, and the relationship of Jick with his older brother fall into your mind like your own memories. This is the masterpiece by one of this century's best.

Characters, descriptive language, and style!, 04 Jun 1999
A reviewer of Mr. Doig's "English Creek" notes that it does not deal with a "dysfunctional family". The other current fad the author avoids is the emphasis on "quirkiness" vs. character. Like Wallace Stegner and David Guterson, Mr. Doig's feeling for the land is aparent in his careful and lovely descriptions. Most of all, he presents us with characters so well developed and described we feel we know them. This emphasis on believable characters is, in my estimation, the strongest point of "Dancing at the Rascal Fair" and "English Creek". I enjoyed both tremendously and look froward to finishing the Montana trilogy.

I loved the style, but not the ending., 12 Mar 1999
Doig's writing, like so many who are from Montana and write about it, captures nature beautifully. Like other writers from this area (Norm McClean comes to mind) Doig paints a beautiful picture of plains, mountains, and of course the weather becomes a character in itself. My only disappointment was the denouement in the end. It rather strained the credibility of an otherwise realistic story. I would rather Doig had stayed away from actually telling a story, and had made it more a novel "about nothing." For this reason, I enjoyed "This House of Sky" more, but this is still a novel which I feel falls into the class of literature, rather than popular fiction. For me, that is high praise indeed.

Great Read, highly recommended, 18 Jun 1998
I recommended this to eveyrone who would listen.

If Only World Enough & Time, 05 Mar 1998
Doig details the life of the 14-year-old Jick in Two Medicine Country. This is a subtle, slice of life book that in the end will split your heart like a close knit family suddenly breaking apart. The images of the people of Two Medicine Country, the dance scene, and the relationship of Jick with his older brother fall into your mind like your own memories. This is the masterpiece by one of this century's best.

Holds up as one of my all-time favorites, 14 Dec 1998
Doig's poetic use of language is haunting. I read and re-read many phrases and paragraphs just to fully appreciate the beauty he evoked with the language. As a native to the western landscape, I could visualize his story in a way so much more profound than the simple telling of the story. Certainly the best of Doig's books I've read so far! I highly recommend this book and am now buying a replacement copy for myself and one for a Christmas present.

Excellent reading, 19 Nov 1998
This book shall be held up as an example of master craftsmanship for generations to come. It is a western in the best sense. Do not miss This House of Sky.

Wonderful book about fathers & sons and loss., 26 Dec 1997
I ordered this book when it was first published for my dad. When I was home for his funeral the bookstore called to tell me it was in. I bought the book and read it about 6 months later. I have never read a book that was so unique in the way the author used language. If you want to know how cowboys and sheepherders in Montana speak read this book. If you want to know how people compromise themselves for the ones they love read this book. If you want to gain insight into a truely fine father and son relationship read this book. If you don't want to be moved to tears and laughter don't read this book. It took me over a year to finish this book because the language was so vivid it transported me back to my childhood and I felt as it I were sitting in my dads truck listening to him shoot the breeze with his cowboy friends. My fathers voice whispered in my ear and I would have to put the book down. Read this book you will not be disappointed.

An amazing piece of work!, 24 Dec 1997
Ivan Doig's "This House of Sky" is one of the most moving books I have read. Raised in Montana myself, I can relate to almost every segment of this well written book. I have given it as gifts to several family members, all who have raved about it. Thanks, Ivan, for special memories and sharing your life.

Characters, descriptive language, and style!, 04 Jun 1999
A reviewer of Mr. Doig's "English Creek" notes that it does not deal with a "dysfunctional family". The other current fad the author avoids is the emphasis on "quirkiness" vs. character. Like Wallace Stegner and David Guterson, Mr. Doig's feeling for the land is aparent in his careful and lovely descriptions. Most of all, he presents us with characters so well developed and described we feel we know them. This emphasis on believable characters is, in my estimation, the strongest point of "Dancing at the Rascal Fair" and "English Creek". I enjoyed both tremendously and look froward to finishing the Montana trilogy.

I loved the style, but not the ending., 12 Mar 1999
Doig's writing, like so many who are from Montana and write about it, captures nature beautifully. Like other writers from this area (Norm McClean comes to mind) Doig paints a beautiful picture of plains, mountains, and of course the weather becomes a character in itself. My only disappointment was the denouement in the end. It rather strained the credibility of an otherwise realistic story. I would rather Doig had stayed away from actually telling a story, and had made it more a novel "about nothing." For this reason, I enjoyed "This House of Sky" more, but this is still a novel which I feel falls into the class of literature, rather than popular fiction. For me, that is high praise indeed.

Great Read, highly recommended, 18 Jun 1998
I recommended this to eveyrone who would listen.

If Only World Enough & Time, 05 Mar 1998
Doig details the life of the 14-year-old Jick in Two Medicine Country. This is a subtle, slice of life book that in the end will split your heart like a close knit family suddenly breaking apart. The images of the people of Two Medicine Country, the dance scene, and the relationship of Jick with his older brother fall into your mind like your own memories. This is the masterpiece by one of this century's best.

Holds up as one of my all-time favorites, 14 Dec 1998
Doig's poetic use of language is haunting. I read and re-read many phrases and paragraphs just to fully appreciate the beauty he evoked with the language. As a native to the western landscape, I could visualize his story in a way so much more profound than the simple telling of the story. Certainly the best of Doig's books I've read so far! I highly recommend this book and am now buying a replacement copy for myself and one for a Christmas present.

Excellent reading, 19 Nov 1998
This book shall be held up as an example of master craftsmanship for generations to come. It is a western in the best sense. Do not miss This House of Sky.

Wonderful book about fathers & sons and loss., 26 Dec 1997
I ordered this book when it was first published for my dad. When I was home for his funeral the bookstore called to tell me it was in. I bought the book and read it about 6 months later. I have never read a book that was so unique in the way the author used language. If you want to know how cowboys and sheepherders in Montana speak read this book. If you want to know how people compromise themselves for the ones they love read this book. If you want to gain insight into a truely fine father and son relationship read this book. If you don't want to be moved to tears and laughter don't read this book. It took me over a year to finish this book because the language was so vivid it transported me back to my childhood and I felt as it I were sitting in my dads truck listening to him shoot the breeze with his cowboy friends. My fathers voice whispered in my ear and I would have to put the book down. Read this book you will not be disappointed.

An amazing piece of work!, 24 Dec 1997
Ivan Doig's "This House of Sky" is one of the most moving books I have read. Raised in Montana myself, I can relate to almost every segment of this well written book. I have given it as gifts to several family members, all who have raved about it. Thanks, Ivan, for special memories and sharing your life.

Indelible impact, 02 Nov 1998
Sea Runners will etch the coastline of British Columbia in your mind. An awesome tale.

A Great Story, 08 Mar 1998
Sea Runners is a book I will read to each of my children when they get to the "mature read-aloud" age - say 11. It is an awsome story of risk and survival. Escaping from indentured servitude and making an incredible canoe voyage down the coast of Canada. Here is a book you will read and long remember.

Characters, descriptive language, and style!, 04 Jun 1999
A reviewer of Mr. Doig's "English Creek" notes that it does not deal with a "dysfunctional family". The other current fad the author avoids is the emphasis on "quirkiness" vs. character. Like Wallace Stegner and David Guterson, Mr. Doig's feeling for the land is aparent in his careful and lovely descriptions. Most of all, he presents us with characters so well developed and described we feel we know them. This emphasis on believable characters is, in my estimation, the strongest point of "Dancing at the Rascal Fair" and "English Creek". I enjoyed both tremendously and look froward to finishing the Montana trilogy.

I loved the style, but not the ending., 12 Mar 1999
Doig's writing, like so many who are from Montana and write about it, captures nature beautifully. Like other writers from this area (Norm McClean comes to mind) Doig paints a beautiful picture of plains, mountains, and of course the weather becomes a character in itself. My only disappointment was the denouement in the end. It rather strained the credibility of an otherwise realistic story. I would rather Doig had stayed away from actually telling a story, and had made it more a novel "about nothing." For this reason, I enjoyed "This House of Sky" more, but this is still a novel which I feel falls into the class of literature, rather than popular fiction. For me, that is high praise indeed.

Great Read, highly recommended, 18 Jun 1998
I recommended this to eveyrone who would listen.

If Only World Enough & Time, 05 Mar 1998
Doig details the life of the 14-year-old Jick in Two Medicine Country. This is a subtle, slice of life book that in the end will split your heart like a close knit family suddenly breaking apart. The images of the people of Two Medicine Country, the dance scene, and the relationship of Jick with his older brother fall into your mind like your own memories. This is the masterpiece by one of this century's best.

Holds up as one of my all-time favorites, 14 Dec 1998
Doig's poetic use of language is haunting. I read and re-read many phrases and paragraphs just to fully appreciate the beauty he evoked with the language. As a native to the western landscape, I could visualize his story in a way so much more profound than the simple telling of the story. Certainly the best of Doig's books I've read so far! I highly recommend this book and am now buying a replacement copy for myself and one for a Christmas present.

Excellent reading, 19 Nov 1998
This book shall be held up as an example of master craftsmanship for generations to come. It is a western in the best sense. Do not miss This House of Sky.

Wonderful book about fathers & sons and loss., 26 Dec 1997
I ordered this book when it was first published for my dad. When I was home for his funeral the bookstore called to tell me it was in. I bought the book and read it about 6 months later. I have never read a book that was so unique in the way the author used language. If you want to know how cowboys and sheepherders in Montana speak read this book. If you want to know how people compromise themselves for the ones they love read this book. If you want to gain insight into a truely fine father and son relationship read this book. If you don't want to be moved to tears and laughter don't read this book. It took me over a year to finish this book because the language was so vivid it transported me back to my childhood and I felt as it I were sitting in my dads truck listening to him shoot the breeze with his cowboy friends. My fathers voice whispered in my ear and I would have to put the book down. Read this book you will not be disappointed.

An amazing piece of work!, 24 Dec 1997
Ivan Doig's "This House of Sky" is one of the most moving books I have read. Raised in Montana myself, I can relate to almost every segment of this well written book. I have given it as gifts to several family members, all who have raved about it. Thanks, Ivan, for special memories and sharing your life.

Indelible impact, 02 Nov 1998
Sea Runners will etch the coastline of British Columbia in your mind. An awesome tale.

A Great Story, 08 Mar 1998
Sea Runners is a book I will read to each of my children when they get to the "mature read-aloud" age - say 11. It is an awsome story of risk and survival. Escaping from indentured servitude and making an incredible canoe voyage down the coast of Canada. Here is a book you will read and long remember.

Not what I had hoped, but I'll try again..., 12 Apr 1999
"Bucking the Sun" starts with the discovery of two bodies and the promise of a mystery to be solved. I was hooked after reading the first chapter. However, the mystery reappeared once in the next 350 pages or so. In the meantime, I learned about dam building, New Deal projects , and Comunist politics of the era.

On the plus side, Mr. Doig certainly knows his subjects well. He develops interesting characters and relationships and weaves it all into a complex novel.

I was left feeling like I'd been teased with the mystery which turned out to be little more than a footnote. Also, I'd have to say I didn't find the author's style all that easy.

On whole, though, the book was worthwhile and I'll try another of his works.

Excellent work, 11 Jan 1999
Bucking the Sun is an excellent work. Ivan Doig uses amazing description in his story of "The first family of the Fort Peck Dam". I highly recommend it to anyone.

An Amazing Novel!, 11 Nov 1998
Like Fort Peck dam, Doig has fashioned a lasting and monumental achievement here. He has done what no dam engineer could--elevate the project to the level of metaphor. I LOVED this book--it's utterly compelling and pure poetry at the same time. I admit haven't read much Doig, but I recently listened to the audio book of "Bucking The Sun" read by Will Paton on a car trip, and even abridged, the book still has a tremendous impact. Long may Ivan Doig wave!

Characters, descriptive language, and style!, 04 Jun 1999
A reviewer of Mr. Doig's "English Creek" notes that it does not deal with a "dysfunctional family". The other current fad the author avoids is the emphasis on "quirkiness" vs. character. Like Wallace Stegner and David Guterson, Mr. Doig's feeling for the land is aparent in his careful and lovely descriptions. Most of all, he presents us with characters so well developed and described we feel we know them. This emphasis on believable characters is, in my estimation, the strongest point of "Dancing at the Rascal Fair" and "English Creek". I enjoyed both tremendously and look froward to finishing the Montana trilogy.

I loved the style, but not the ending., 12 Mar 1999
Doig's writing, like so many who are from Montana and write about it, captures nature beautifully. Like other writers from this area (Norm McClean comes to mind) Doig paints a beautiful picture of plains, mountains, and of course the weather becomes a character in itself. My only disappointment was the denouement in the end. It rather strained the credibility of an otherwise realistic story. I would rather Doig had stayed away from actually telling a story, and had made it more a novel "about nothing." For this reason, I enjoyed "This House of Sky" more, but this is still a novel which I feel falls into the class of literature, rather than popular fiction. For me, that is high praise indeed.

Great Read, highly recommended, 18 Jun 1998
I recommended this to eveyrone who would listen.

If Only World Enough & Time, 05 Mar 1998
Doig details the life of the 14-year-old Jick in Two Medicine Country. This is a subtle, slice of life book that in the end will split your heart like a close knit family suddenly breaking apart. The images of the people of Two Medicine Country, the dance scene, and the relationship of Jick with his older brother fall into your mind like your own memories. This is the masterpiece by one of this century's best.

Holds up as one of my all-time favorites, 14 Dec 1998
Doig's poetic use of language is haunting. I read and re-read many phrases and paragraphs just to fully appreciate the beauty he evoked with the language. As a native to the western landscape, I could visualize his story in a way so much more profound than the simple telling of the story. Certainly the best of Doig's books I've read so far! I highly recommend this book and am now buying a replacement copy for myself and one for a Christmas present.

Excellent reading, 19 Nov 1998
This book shall be held up as an example of master craftsmanship for generations to come. It is a western in the best sense. Do not miss This House of Sky.

Wonderful book about fathers & sons and loss., 26 Dec 1997
I ordered this book when it was first published for my dad. When I was home for his funeral the bookstore called to tell me it was in. I bought the book and read it about 6 months later. I have never read a book that was so unique in the way the author used language. If you want to know how cowboys and sheepherders in Montana speak read this book. If you want to know how people compromise themselves for the ones they love read this book. If you want to gain insight into a truely fine father and son relationship read this book. If you don't want to be moved to tears and laughter don't read this book. It took me over a year to finish this book because the language was so vivid it transported me back to my childhood and I felt as it I were sitting in my dads truck listening to him shoot the breeze with his cowboy friends. My fathers voice whispered in my ear and I would have to put the book down. Read this book you will not be disappointed.

An amazing piece of work!, 24 Dec 1997
Ivan Doig's "This House of Sky" is one of the most moving books I have read. Raised in Montana myself, I can relate to almost every segment of this well written book. I have given it as gifts to several family members, all who have raved about it. Thanks, Ivan, for special memories and sharing your life.

Indelible impact, 02 Nov 1998
Sea Runners will etch the coastline of British Columbia in your mind. An awesome tale.

A Great Story, 08 Mar 1998
Sea Runners is a book I will read to each of my children when they get to the "mature read-aloud" age - say 11. It is an awsome story of risk and survival. Escaping from indentured servitude and making an incredible canoe voyage down the coast of Canada. Here is a book you will read and long remember.

Not what I had hoped, but I'll try again..., 12 Apr 1999
"Bucking the Sun" starts with the discovery of two bodies and the promise of a mystery to be solved. I was hooked after reading the first chapter. However, the mystery reappeared once in the next 350 pages or so. In the meantime, I learned about dam building, New Deal projects , and Comunist politics of the era.

On the plus side, Mr. Doig certainly knows his subjects well. He develops interesting characters and relationships and weaves it all into a complex novel.

I was left feeling like I'd been teased with the mystery which turned out to be little more than a footnote. Also, I'd have to say I didn't find the author's style all that easy.

On whole, though, the book was worthwhile and I'll try another of his works.

Excellent work, 11 Jan 1999
Bucking the Sun is an excellent work. Ivan Doig uses amazing description in his story of "The first family of the Fort Peck Dam". I highly recommend it to anyone.

An Amazing Novel!, 11 Nov 1998
Like Fort Peck dam, Doig has fashioned a lasting and monumental achievement here. He has done what no dam engineer could--elevate the project to the level of metaphor. I LOVED this book--it's utterly compelling and pure poetry at the same time. I admit haven't read much Doig, but I recently listened to the audio book of "Bucking The Sun" read by Will Paton on a car trip, and even abridged, the book still has a tremendous impact. Long may Ivan Doig wave!

Not Stegner, 17 Aug 1999
I wanted to like this book. And in places the novel is satisfying, for example when Doig's characters are involved in nature (especially the trek to the fire tower). Especially pervasive throughout is a dialogue that just doesn't work - people don't normally converse the way Doig's characters do - at least not throughout the entire story. The repetitive, "so-hip" banter between characters becomes annoying almost from the start. The characters too were so extreme that I felt each person developed into a caricature, or stereotype that was so hard to become involved with, or develop sympathy for.

I would have quit this book mid way but for the hype on Amazon. Especially the comparisons between this author and Wallace Stegner. Compare this book to say Crossing To Safety, and you can see just see what an unbelievable stretch this comparison is. And it may have set up expectations in my mind about Doig that were unfair to him.

The original McCaskill lore is back!, 14 Aug 1999
For those who are familiar with Doig's subject family, the McCaskills, Mountain Time brings back the original powerful relationships between family members, as seen in English Creek and Dancing at the Rascal Fair. I feel that Ride with Me, Mariah Montana lacked a great deal of the characterization found in the prior two novels, and now in Mountain Time. Doig also borrows from the mystery element of Bucking the Sun in his newest work. His language and word choice are definitely superior to any of his prior works, as much of Mountain Time read like poetry. I felt let down by Ride with Me, but Doig has given his readers a gift with Mountain Time.

Highly enjoyable read as with all Doig books, 11 Aug 1999
If you have never read a book by Ivan Doig, you're missing a wonderful collection of stories. As with earlier books, Mountain Time is largely set in Montana and Seattle and Doig makes it highly visual with his writing style. The terrain, the climate, the family generations and local customs are all described so well and so subtly that you will not immediately realize that he has transported you there. You will feel the story more than you read it. You will NOT be able to put this book down because you will be so committed to the characters and their search for meaning in life.

Ivan Doig-Zen Master-Mountains Won't Remember Us, 28 Jul 1999
A painted silk scroll from China shows a zen poet and calligrapher trying to capture the satori, the spontaneous enlightenment sometimes attained by the immensity of the landscape. The tree-lined mountains, and the winding creeks and brooks overshadow the artist who sits at his bench as incense plumes rise into the landscape.

Ivan Doig has written what could be a zen contemplation with the power of a volcano in his newest work. It's not so much the wonderful characterization of the main characters and their innocence and fragility in terms of one another, but it is the way their bodies and minds, abused like much of the landscape, try desperately to connect.

Generations must come to terms: a dying one that had survived the depression and had fought through two world wars and an aging one, "the baby boomers" who rebelled against older ideals but feel what it's like to age, and wonder, in a cloud of nostalgia; Are there resolutions? Between Father and Son? Wife and Husband? Daughter and Father? Man vs. Nature?

All relationships are represented maginificently in Mountain Time. Nature casts a shadow on all the characters. The forests, the mountains, and the streams age with humanity, but they won't remember us.

In short, an apt metaphor is Mt. St. Helens, which figures in the novel and which Doig brings alive as a character. No one can forget the force of power, the gray blast of hot ash, the blanket of destruction marking itself in the mind. And one can see, today, the renenwal and rebirth of the landscape even after such destruction.