Customer Reviews

Montana 1948

5 star:		(72)
4 star:		(32)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(8)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

I lived in Bozeman, Montana the summer I was eight and I still have a lot of fond memories of the time my family spent there. I know I must talk about it a lot, because one day my girlfriend brought me this book and said, "I found something you have to read." From the cover and the write-up on the back, "Montana 1948" looked like it might be a nostalgic, bittersweet coming-of-age tale set in the Big Sky state.

It is all of those things, but it's more. Larry Watson spins a poignant, compelling narrative that deals with family, secrecy, innocence and corruption in a very moving way. The book's opening section gives a longish description of the setting. Soon after, drama unfolds and the plot becomes as thick as that of a mystery novel. As I was reading the book, I thought that I would probably give it a four star rating. But the ending was so beautifully moving that it bumped itself up.

The story is interesting and thought-provoking and the writing is lean but never pretentious. What I liked most about this book, though, was the rich characterization and the great pleasure I took in reading a well-told story. You'll enjoy this short, great novel, even if you've never thought twice about Montana.

Twelve-year-old David Hayden is about to watch three generations of his family enter into a maelstrom of events that will rip a family apart, leaving a gapping wound that time will never repair. This is the story of two brothers, one the favored son of a rich landowner, a doctor, and war hero, while the other is a father's disappointment.

Marie Little Soldier reveals a dark secret that sets Sheriff Hayden off on an investigation that turns up much more than is expected. Add murder to the formula, and you have a page turning thriller that will leave you aghast at the direction it takes.

Watson's writing flows along effortlessly as you catapult to an ending of cataclysmic proportion for this family. A family that has not only thrived on the justice of their time, but also has held it like a scepter to which there were no reprisals.

This author writes with a western flare of youth lost to an irrepressible end, quite similar to "All the Pretty Horses". I am looking forward to "Justice" which is a prequel to "Montana 1948". It gives an added glimpse into the lives of the characters before the winds of change turn their world on end. Watson is a keen storyteller that is certainly worth reading. 12/28/00

The title of this book describes the setting of the book. It's a small town out in the middle of the Montana wilderness. The narrator of the story, David Hayden tells about his horrifying times as his learns about a family secret his family is trying to keep from him. David listens in on a conversation about his Native American nanny and finds that she has fallen ill and desperately does not want to see the doctor, David's uncle. In those days Indians had very little respect and rights. And he learns that his uncle has even less respect and does not obey his duties as a doctor. The problem is that David's father is the sheriff of the town. He learns about the trouble with his brother and concludes that he must do what's right and arrest his brother. The problem comes in when David's grandfather gets very upset that his one son is in jail and the other put him there. The grandfather takes matters into his own hands and endangers them all. The author Larry Watson does a superb job at making things appear real. The main character is a pre-teen but he acts much older. The story takes place in 1948 but I think it seems to fit well into the society that we live in today. In the news you often hear about doctors taking advantage of patients and influential people trying to get their family or friends out of trouble to preserve their reputation. If you enjoy hearing stories about people who had to go through misfortunes and overcome them; then you would like this book. The beginning gets you set in the world they are living in at the time and can get slow. But once you get to the problems and the story starts spiraling, you can't put it down. This is one of my favorite books.

This book is more complex than it first appears.

Highly readable, it tells the story of 12yo David Hayden and his family's Sioux housekeeper, Marie Little Soldier.

The relationships between David, his mother, father and the housekeeper are tightly intertwined and David cares for all three of them deeply even though he seems to doubt his father for a short time.

David's feelings for his uncle are very mixed and he seems to be the first person to teach David that people are not always what they seem. Unfortunately David learns this in a tragic way.

Although the book deals with 'heavy' themes it never becomes heavy to read.

With hesitation, I read this book. Upon completion, I found it to be one of the most remarkable books I have read in many years.

Montana 1948 is the story of tragedy of a small-town family. It tells of the fight for family loyalty and/or justice proceeding to the consequences of such decision.

David Hayden, the young protagonist in this novel, observes the struggle of his father who is the sheriff in their small town. His father has to choose whether to arrest his brother who is the local doctor of rape or to overlook it because of the close family ties.

It is told through the boy's eyes, but in telling it shows a simple picture of emotions of all the adults involved in this tragedy--the angst of father in making the decision, the downfall of his uncle who goes to extreme lengths to cover up the crime, and the starting truth finally told by the passive mother who only sees what she should see. I was reminded a lot of the book To Kill a Mockingbird, but this book is a story in its own right.

It is a simple story but it is complex in its own right. I recommend it highly.

This book, with its shocking scenarios and surprising actions, is a good, strong story of a family living in a small town with a very big name trying to make the right decisions and at the same time keep the family name good and pure. This is difficult, though, because of corruption and scandal that surfaces in this small town. the book is based around the Hayden family, which is made up of the grandfather who had been the sheriff for many years, his two sons, one is a veteran and a doctor who is married and the other is the recent sheriff who is married with a son, David. David is the narrator in this book, telling his life story, and what he went through as a 12 year old boy learning dark secrets about his once idolized family. This book is very powerful and I disagree with the Review by The New York Times Book Review, which states the "...coming-of-age novel depends on cliched characters to lug the story to its conclusion." On the contrary, the chararcters in this story make the conclusion as well as the rest of the book, very interesting and moving. For example, when David's mother, learns of their family's scandals and ends up pulling out her husbands gun to protect their house against a bunch of men trying to break in their house. This review also states that "Purple prose is the real culprit in this shallow yet overwrought tale.", which I also disagree with. Although this book may have some explicit language, it goes along with the story-line and only makes it stronger.

A grown-up David Hayden recounts the events during the summer of his twelfth year, the summer that changed his family forever. At his home in Montana with his father the County Sheriff and his mother, they employed a young Sioux woman named Marie Little Soldier to act as a housekeeper and as a nanny for David. She became a member of the family, so much so that when she took ill, they called in their own family doctor -- David's uncle (his father's brother) -- to look in on her. But she refused to be left alone in the room with him, and soon a dark family secret made its way into the open. A few days later, Marie mysteriously died, changing Hayden family relationships forever.

"Montana 1948" is a quiet novel, filled with insight into the 12-year-old mind when dealing with important issues that threaten the family. All the characters -- good and bad -- are presented realistically and believably, and as a reader, I really had a sense of what small town life in 1948 Montana must have been like. Author Larry Watson sets at the heart of his novel the difficulty of having to choose between family and what is right and just, all revealed through the eyes of young David. Gripping and powerful, this is a remarkable piece of writing.

This book caught my attention from the start. Watson introduces the story through dramatic clips from the movie reel of David Hayden's mind; memories from the year he'd rather forget. His father, Wesley, is the sheriff of the small town they live in, but rarely has much work in his town... until Marie gets sick. Marie is a young Sioux girl who lives with the Hayden's to take care of David. When she becomes ill, she refuses to see David's uncle Frank who is a doctor. From that point the story begins to unravel. Marie reveals that Frank has been molesting young Indian women for some time. Being the sheriff of the city, Wesley has an important, and difficult job on his hands. It is his duty to turn in his brother, and bring him before the law, but Frank is family, and well-liked around their small town. When Marie dies suddenly, and David confesses to seeing Frank at the house earlier the same day, Wesley knows he must to do something. Under his father's controlling hand, and his brother's charm, Wesley finds himself in a bind over which should comes first; his job and the law, or loyalty to family? Without much planning, he decides to take his brother into his own home as prisoner, and locks him in the basement, but this does not solve his problems, because his wife won't allow it. Throughout all this, David has managed to pick up the entire story by eavesdropping. His young mind is having a difficult time accepting the news about his uncle Frank, and although he is young, he realizes that his family will never be the same. Already, David is unable to look at his family member the way he used to. Watson describes in vivid and clear detail the war waging between justice and loyalty at the heart of this family. Wesley's father believes that loyalty is far more important in this case, although he used to be the one with the badge. Wesley on the other hand, although torn, believes that the law is the law, and as sheriff, he can't just look the other way even if it is his own brother. This book is as intriguing and exciting as it is thought provoking.

The novel, Montana 1948, written by Larry Watson, was an exceedingly impressive book. It was an inspiring story that stands for justice no matter who it is or what has been done. The novel takes place in a small town called Bentrock located in Mercer County, Montana during 1948. As Watson describes the book he makes me feel as though I am involved in an old western film. "Montana is hard country-the land is dry and sparse and the wind never stops blowing. Mercer County is plains, flat as a tabletop on its western edge and riven with gullies, ravines, and low rocky hills to the east..."
His writing techniques are unique. "The park was jammed that day (I'm sure no event has ever gathered as many of the county's residents in one place)..." Watson adds in little details using parentheses, giving you more of a feel for the character who is telling the story also giving you a different way of description. Watson takes his time in making sure we understand each character, how they act and their personality.
David Hayden is the main character telling us the story of when he was 12 years old. Wes Hayden was David's father who never carried his gun or his badge while replacing his own father's shoes as the sheriff. David had one uncle who was a charismatic war hero and an admired doctor who had it all. David's mom was a clear sharp woman. The house keeper was Marie Little Soldier, a spontaneous, Native American girl whose involvement in the novel is the foremost focal point in the story.
"I carry a series of images more vivid and lasting than any others of my boyhood and indelible beyond all attempts the years make to erase or fade them...". The story is about an event that David had stumbled upon that will never be forgotten in his life, his family's lives, or the lives of the people in the small town. A short and sweet read that I have enjoyed. The book will keep you entertained with its series of surprises that keeping thrilling you throughout the book. I strongly recommend this novel and you will not be disappointed.

This book was awesome. I couldn't put it down once I started reading. The way Larry Watson dives into these great character studies without analyzing everything, but saying just enough--it's beyond words. I am a new, but true fan of Larry Watson's. I've never felt compelled to write a review on here before, but I was so disgusted by the negative reviews I read at the start of this page I just had to say something in this book's defense. There is so much talent in these pages and to not appreciate this seems ludicrous and naive to me. I have read three of his books --Laura, Montana 1948, and Justice--and am looking forward to reading Orchard next. 'Montana' left me completely satisfied and gushing to recommend it.