Dancing at the Rascal Fair [Paperback]

Ivan Doig (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 11, 1996

The central volume in Ivan Doig's acclaimed Montana trilogy, Dancing at the Rascal Fair is an authentic saga of the American experience at the turn of this century and a passionate, portrayal of the immigrants who dared to try new lives in the imposing Rocky Mountains.

Ivan Doig's supple tale of landseekers unfolds into a fateful contest of the heart between Anna Ramsay and Angus McCaskill, walled apart by their obligations as they and their stormy kith and kin vie to tame the brutal, beautiful Two Medicine country.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The second volume in Doig's Montana trilogy focuses on two Scottish immigrants around the turn of the century.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

The settlement of Montana between 1890 and 1919 is recounted through the quiet but compelling life of Angus McCaskill, a young Scotsman who travels with his friend Rob Barclay to Montana's Two Medicine Country to homestead. Doig writes fervently of the voyage from Scotland and the lean first years, as the two share the work and hardship of establishing claims and building up flocks of sheep. He tells of their separate marriages, the severing of their friendship, and the final resolution of their conflict through death. Doig successfully recaptures the violence of the Montana elements and the staunch heritage of the Scottish settlers which served so well in his earlier novel English Creek and faithfully represents the struggle for survival on the frontier as he continues the McCaskills' story. Highly recommended. Thomas L. Kilpatrick, Southern Illinois Univ. Lib., Carbondale
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 405 pages
• Publisher: Scribner (September 11, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0684831058
• ISBN-13: 978-0684831053
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.3 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (33 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #43,938 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Ivan Doig is the author of ten previous books. Seven are novels, including English Creek and Dancing at the Rascal Fair, and three are nonfiction, including the highly acclaimed memoir This House of Sky, which was a finalist for the National Book Award. A former ranch hand, newspaperman, and magazine editor, Doig holds a Ph.D. in history from the University of Washington. He lives in Seattle.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

26 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Dancing in Montana, December 3, 2001

By 

John - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dancing At The Rascal Fair (Audio Cassette)

This is a story of two best friends, Angus and Rob, from Scotland immigrating to Montana in the 1880's to become sheep ranchers, teachers, husbands, and fathers. It begins with them as young men with noble dreams and ideals, and follows them as they mature and build lives on the eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountains. The descriptions of the land draw the reader to imagine the surreal beauty of Montana in all its seasons and moods, whether forbidding, forgiving, or formidable. "Where the bevels of the valleys met, the creek ran in ripples and rested in Beaver ponds. A curlew made deft evasive flight across the slope below us as if revealing curlicues in the air." (p. 80)

This book entices the reader with paragraph after paragraph of poetic prose. "I could feel the halt of all she had been setting forth until now, the stop of her thought as this new proposal opened, enormous as the future, before her." (p.156) I could turn to any page, and find exquisite sentences, long and languorous, or reverberating with insight and meaning. "I reached her to me, but there was too much in me to speak straight to what she had just said. Adair herself, myself, Anna, past, future, now." (p. 264)

The plot doesn't go the way I wanted or expected it to, almost to the point of frustration at times, but good stories never go just where you want or expect them to. You build expectations of characters you like and who love each other. You want their love to be fulfilled, but sometimes, just as in real life, it simply doesn't happen. Sometimes friendships go bad. Sometimes in life people disappoint or betray you. Doig presents characters who surprise you. You want to reach into the story and shake some sense into them. That's good stuff.

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This "rascal" is remarkable "fare"!, June 25, 2005

By 

P. J. White (Whittier, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Dancing at the Rascal Fair (Paperback)

I'm amazed I've not encountered Ivan Doig before. His writing is apparently a secret well kept from the greater public, although he seems to have quite a loyal following among those who've managed to discover his work. Maybe it's because his writing has been clumped into the vast "Western" genre--which properly links him with great story tellers like Grey and L'Amour--but calling Dancing At the Rascal Fair a "western" is about as accurate as labeling Gone With the Wind a "war story".
Doig's characterization is extremely insightful and carefully unveils the heights and depths the human soul can reach with searing clarity. His plot line (which some have called "slow to unfold") is in pace with the time he's depicting. And his imagery is unparalleled. His genius in burning a certain picture into his readers' minds reaps a stunning harvest at the climax of this breath taking depiction of life "under the skin". Highly recommended.

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Doig spins a brilliant yarn!, January 8, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: Dancing at the Rascal Fair (Paperback)

Chronologically the first in his Montana trilogy, "Dancing at the Rascal Fair" makes even flatlanders homesick for the Big Sky Country. Doig puts words together in such a manner that they make complete, correct English sentences. This alone makes the book unusual in modern-day fiction. Then, he grabs your attention with a spellbinding story that has all of the elements that make you want to begin reading and never stop. His beloved Montana comes to life such that you can hear the constant wind, feel the biting cold, taste the dust of the dry years, smell the sheep pens at shearing time, and see the vast expanses of prarie fading into the impossibly rugged mountains. This book grabbed me by the throat and wouldn't let go. Even long after my last reading of it, I am still moved by the passion and power of the story. It is certainly among the best fiction I have read.