Ivan Doig is celebrated as one of the most accomplished writers of American Western literature. But for me, he has always been far more than that: he is simply a master of literary prose--an accomplished literary author who just happens to set most of his novels in the American West. He uses words, artfully and seemingly without effort, to breathe life into his characters and the world they inhabit. When you come away from one of his novels, you feel like you've just experienced a slice of reality truer than your own existence. His books leave you with a feeling of intense intimacy and wholeness. His characters linger. They take up residence in your life, their tales and values becoming part of your own useful reservoir of knowledge.
Doig's most recent novel, "The Bartender's Tale," does not disappoint. It is another outstanding work of powerful emotional depth.
The novel is set in north central Montana in the same fictional world that grounds a great deal of Doig's previous works. The place is Two Medicine country and its anchoring town Gros Ventre. It is sagebrush country rimmed by snow-capped mountains and crisscrossed by leafy green creeks with ancient towering trees.
The book is set in 1960, a time when this corner of Big Sky country is home to herders, drovers, farmers, and ranchers. It is an odd corner of America that is rapidly changing--a remnant from the past. It is a world of rainbow trout, hay, alfalfa, sheep, and cattle. The people are rugged and self-sufficient. When they want company, they make their way to the town's one reputable watering hole, the legendary Medicine Lodge. There, the saloon's proprietor and bartender is Tom Harry.
Although the book is entitled "The Bartender's Tale," it is really a family saga about a father and a son, and more importantly, the relationship that binds them together. The book is narrated by Tom's son, Rusty, as he reminisces about the fateful summer when he turned 12 years old and his whole universe became unglued by a series of unusual events. It is not important in the overall scheme of things for a reader to know beforehand what events Rusty encounters during this fateful summer. There is considerable charm in discovering these events as they are revealed in the tale. It is enough to say that longstanding mysteries are resolved; legends are discovered to be grounded in fact; history unfolds and casts its net over many human lives; love blossoms and ends abruptly; love blossoms and grows; old heroes are rediscovered; and new heroes appear when we least expect it. It is the stuff of ordinary life. What's crucial in the end are values...the values that characters bring to the little and big challenges that life throws in their paths and that form the basis for how they deal with those situations in the end.
Simply put, it is the story of the summer of Rusty's transformation from childhood to adolescence, and the summer that the son discovers just how heroic is father really is.
Many women don't read Western literature because they believe it is too heavily weighed with male themes. Doig is an exception. As I said in the beginning of this review, I consider him to be more of an author of authentic American literature than a writer of Western literature. Women should not hesitate to read this novel. Doig is a writer of great emotional depth. His works appeal strongly to both men and women.
Frankly, I loved this novel. Doig continues to uplift and inspire me. So far, I've not found one of his novels that I would not highly recommend. Someday, I hope to read them all.
Added Notes For Fans:
In "Bartender's Tale," Doig returns to a number of the themes, settings, and characters from his previous novels and nonfiction works. His fans will recognize these and delight in their discovery. "The Bartender's Tale" is complete in its own and should not be seen in any way as a sequel. As Doig fans know, the author manages a large cast of characters in his fictional Montana world and these characters age, change, and often make reappearances in different novels at varying times in their lives. For his fans, this intensifies the reality of his fiction. For the most part Doig appears to be steadfast about his characters' values. Although his characters change, grow, and age, their inherent values remain intact and true throughout their lifetimes. For Doig, that's what counts.
For those fans who've read Doig's "
BUCKING THE SUN," Tom Harry is the same character who owned the Blue Eagle Tavern next to the Fort Peck Dam project site in 1938 and, of course, Proxy, the sheriff, and a few other minor characters make significant reappearances, too. In "The Bartender's Tale, we get to revisit these characters some 22 years later and see how, and if, they've changed.
I believe I recognize more minor character names from other Doig novels, but I have not taken the time to investigate this further. If other readers see other characters in this tale who make reappearances from yet more of Doig's other novels, please consider sharing that knowledge by writing a note in the comments to this review.
