The Whistling Season by Ivan DoigMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
This story transports the reader to another time (1910) and place (Montana). It’s Ingalls, MacLachlan, and Stegner all rolled into one. The reader is immersed in the world of the homesteader, the one-room schoolhouse, and the life of a family of a widower raising his three sons. He responds to an ad for a woman housekeeper, and gets much, much more. The narrator, the oldest son, is a genius and child prodigy who tells the story in beautiful, almost poetic language. The book is full of wonderful characters and delightful humor. I read it because someone suggested Doig’s writing reminded them of Wallace Stegner’s. The writing style is wonderful and I will definitely want to read more by this author. As an aside, I loved learning more about the Latin language and Halley’s comet. I would give the book five stars, but the ending troubled me a bit. I can’t say more without giving it away.
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1 comment:
I will put this on my list of books to read when I get back to "civilian" life! It sound like a book I would really like!
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