In the second part of his McCaskill trilogy, Ivan Doig creates a rich and varied tapestry of northern Montana and of our country at that still innocent time before the Second World War. It is the summer of 1939, and teenager Jick McCaskill is anticipating the usual activities of summer: the annual sheep count, the Fourth of July picnic, the excitement and danger of the rodeo. But when his brother decides to forgo college for the life of a cowhand, a painful rift in the family leads Jick to discover his own connection to the ...
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In the second part of his McCaskill trilogy, Ivan Doig creates a rich and varied tapestry of northern Montana and of our country at that still innocent time before the Second World War. It is the summer of 1939, and teenager Jick McCaskill is anticipating the usual activities of summer: the annual sheep count, the Fourth of July picnic, the excitement and danger of the rodeo. But when his brother decides to forgo college for the life of a cowhand, a painful rift in the family leads Jick to discover his own connection to the land, to history, and to family - to discover, in fact, who he is.
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Very Good. Very Good condition. A copy that may have a few cosmetic defects. May also contain light spine creasing or a few markings such as an owner's name, short gifter's inscription or light stamp.
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Good. Good condition. A copy that has been read but remains intact. May contain markings such as bookplates, stamps, limited notes and highlighting, or a few light stains. Bundled media such as CDs, DVDs, floppy disks or access codes may not be included.
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Very good. Connecting readers with great books since 1972! Used books may not include companion materials, and may have some shelf wear or limited writing. We ship orders daily and Customer Service is our top priority!
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Seller's Description:
Very good. Connecting readers with great books since 1972! Used books may not include companion materials, and may have some shelf wear or limited writing. We ship orders daily and Customer Service is our top priority!
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Very Good. Book Octavo, softcover, near fine. Contemporary American Fiction Series. By the author of "This House of Sky. " A story set in northern Montana in the time before World War II. It starts in the summer of 1939 & the main character is anticipating summer with its annual sheep count, the Fourth of July picnic & the rodeo. His older brother's decision to forgo college for the life of a cowhand causes a rift in the family. It leads him to discover his own connection to the land, to history, to his family & to discover himself. 343 pp.
Ivan Doig's (1939 -- 2015) writings celebrate the United States, the American West, and the State of Montana. His novel "English Creek" (1984) the first book in his Montana Trilogy is set in 1939 in Northwest Montana as the state is slowly coming out of the Depression. The book is narrated in the first person by Jick McCaskill, age 60, forty-six years after the events it describes. The aging Jick looks back on the pivotal events of the summer of his fourteenth year with the wisdom that sometimes comes with maturity. With his wisdom and capacities for reflection, Jick writes in a colloquial, punchy style with many one-liners and salty, irreverent language.
Much of the novel is a coming of age story of young Jick, whose family includes his father Varick McCaskill, a ranger for the Forest Service, his independent mother, Beth, and his eighteen year old brother, Alec. Much of the plot is set out in the novel's first few pages. Alex brings his 17-year old girlfriend, Leona, a ravishing blonde, home for dinner and announces that he and Leona plan to marry. He proposes to support himself by working as a cowboy at menial wages for the local wealthy rancher. Alec's parents are dismayed as they have high hopes for their son and have sacrificed so that he may attend college. The family fractures over this incident which is developed throughout the novel. Young Jick is in the middle of the process just, in early adolescence, beginning to get an understanding of himself and others.
Doig's novel tells the story of the McCaskills and of their friends and neighbors in rural areas and small towns. But this is only part of the book. Jick's coming of age and the McCaskill story is told against the backdrop of Montana. A strong theme of the book is that individuals are made by the particular families and communities in which they grow up. Doig's novel shows Montana, its geography, its economy, and its people in extensive detail.
The book is organized into three large parts telling the story of Jick through the summer of 1939 followed by a fourth shorter chapter in which the 60-year old Jick discusses events subsequent to his story. In the early part of the book Jick accompanies his father on his rounds before the pair meet a mysterious man, Stanley, from his father's past. With his father's permission, Jick accompanies Stanley on his mission of herding sheep. The mountains, the climate, the life of shepherding are described painstakingly and at length with beautifully textured prose. The second part of the book recounts a series of events on the Fourth of July in a small Montana town. These events include a picnic, a rodeo and a square dance, all of which are described at length in extensive and realistic detail. The final climactic chapter begins with a long treatment of haying on a Montana farm and works to an extended description of a near-catastrophic forest fire and of the efforts needed to bring it under control. Before the short final chapter, the book concludes with the beginning of WW II in Europe.
The lengthy descriptions of places and activities make "English Creek" slow reading indeed. Doig has obvious love for the people and places of Montana, and he writes to preserve and try to have the reader understand his love. The result is that the story line sometimes is neglected through the lengthy depictions of places and people. The book requires a great deal of patience to read, and I found it necessary to take frequent breaks and to read only a few pages at a time.
With the deliberateness of the pace, I found myself loving this book and engaged with the characters and the story. I fell in love with Montana, a state I knew only in passing from some work experience and from a long train ride last year on Amtrak's "Empire Builder". I came to feel Doig's love for the state and for a way of life, in its particulars, not my own. Allowing readers to see a way of life not their own is part of the function of good literature.
Much of this book is made by Doig's writing, which is a mix of the sharp and the reflective. Here is an example of the latter from late in the book is Jick reflects on the loneliness, individualism, and precariousness of the life of Montana settlers.
"The sense of emptiness all around made me ponder the isolation these early people, my father's parents among them, landed themselves into here. Even when the car arrived into this corner of the Two Medicine country, mud and rutted roads made going anywhere no easy task. To say nothing of what winter could do. Some years the snow here drifted up and up until it covered the fenceposts and left you guessing in depth beyond that. No, these homesteaders of Scotch Heaven did not know what they were getting into. But once in, how many cherished this land as their own, whatever its conditions? It is one of these matters hard to balance out. Distance and isolation create a freedom of sorts. The space to move in according to your own whims and bents. From my father's stories and Toussaint Rennie's, I knew of Scotch Heaveners who retreated into the dimness of their homestead cabins, and the worse darkness of their own minds. Others who simply got out, walked away from the years of homestead effort. Still others who carried it with them into successful ranching. Then there were the least lucky who took their dilemma, a freedom of space and a toll of mind and muscle, to the grave with them."
This book makes for long, difficult reading. I found the book an excellent companion for these times of pandemic, being at home alone. Perhaps this situation bears some relationship to the isolation experienced by the homesteaders Doig describes. More importantly, the book reminded me of love of one's home and surroundings and of our country. Americans can always use more of these qualities.
Robin Friedman
jim l
Jun 16, 2011
love scots immigrants
This story of Scots immigrants to Montana covers many of the issues confronting settlers and the state at that time. it is set on the Rocky Mountain Front and contains beautiful descriptions of the landscape.
![English Creek. [Novel of the Summer of 1939 in Montana; It's Sequel is "Dancing at the Rascal Fair"(1987)].](https://www4.alibris-static.com/isbn/9780140084429_t.gif)
