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26 of 26 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Dancing in Montana, December 3, 2001
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.
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18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
This "rascal" is remarkable "fare"!, June 25, 2005
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.
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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
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.
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