English Creek (Contemporary American Fiction)

I uncovered Doig's "Dancing at the Rascal Fair" at a small bookstore in Oregon many years ago. Since then, his books have earned a "do not loan" status on my bookshelf. I'll tell friends how much I love his books, but they have to buy their own copies. English Creek is one of my favorites. It immersed me in Montana, in a young boy's summer, in the fold of time between childhood and adulthood. While some of Doig's books have a darker, gritty, edge, English Creek made me laugh outloud. I've just ordered three more copies to give as gifts to friends who I know will love the premise, the prose and the portrait of life on the edge of growing up.

Ivan Doig is one of the great American writers. This book is, chronologically, in the middle of what started out as a trilogy (Dancing At The Rascal Fair and Ride With Me Mariah Montana being the bracketing books) that expanded with Mountain Time. This book is also the most accessible to people who are not familiar with Doig but who might enjoy books about boys coming of age. Doig is a brilliant writer, better than Stegner. I recommend all of the books in the series.

ENGLISH CREEK is about a boy's awakening into maturity. It's the summer of his 15th birthday and Jick McCaskill experiences new awareness -- of his history as well as of his relationships with and among family and friends. His sense of security is threatened when his older brother defies their parents to take up with a local beauty and become a cowboy instead of going to college. Jick is challenged by unexpected changes in new grown-up ways and as he meets those challenges he sees himself and his world through a dying innocence.To say Doig's prose is rich and powerful is like describing a tornado as breezy. A master of the English language, story-teller par excellence and character builder supreme, funny, intelligent, witty, sad is to understate. Superlatives fall short of accuracy. Ivan Doig's books are as real as life itself. To contemplate his words is to rethink reality and to embrace new insights.

Doig's characters are just incredible. His sense of humor is immense. His description of the depression years in Montana is fascinating. And of course, the landscapes inspired by his acquaintance with the countryside depicted in ENGLISH CREEK are breathtaking. This is the best book I have read in ages! I am going to find a way to work it into my American literature course, because it is not only a great book, it's a priceless piece of Americana.

Doig details the life of the 14-year-old Jick in Two Medicine Country. This is a subtle, slice of life book that in the end will split your heart like a close knit family suddenly breaking apart. The images of the people of Two Medicine Country, the dance scene, and the relationship of Jick with his older brother fall into your mind like your own memories. This is the masterpiece by one of this century's best.