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Biography & Autobiography. History. Nonfiction. HTML: National Book Award Finalist: A "beautifully written, deeply felt" memoir about growing up in the American West (Los Angeles Times). Ivan Doig grew up in the rugged wilderness of western Montana among the sheepherders and denizens of small-town saloons and valley ranches. What he deciphers from his past with piercing clarity is not only a raw sense of land and how it shapes us, but also of the ties to our mothers and fathers, to those who love us, and our inextricable connection to those who shaped our values in our search for intimacy, independence, love, and family. A powerfully told story, This House of Sky is uniquely Americanâ??yet also universal in its ability to awaken a longing for an explicable past. "Engrossing and moving."â??Time… (more)
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My, oh my! Ivan Doig, always a master of lovely prose, applies his gift to his autobiography. The reader is immersed in the landscape of Montana and it's reflection in the Doig family's life. It is noble, human, gritty, grueling, and full of deep love. A treasure!
Listened to the audiobook, very nicely read.
Young love prevailed and the two were
Unfortunately, one of young Ivan's first memories at six years old was that of his mother dying from asthma.
It was left to Charlie Doig to provide a future for his son from the often meager funds of a cowboy and ranch hand and as a single father.
After a failed marriage trying to provide his son with a mother, he eventually approached his widowed mother-in-law, Bessie Ringer, to live with them. Bessie and Charlie had open suspicion and downright dislike between them, but they were united in their love for Ivan, and their commitment to him.
This is a story of growing up in the 40's and 50's on ranches in Montana; where money was scarce, but family feelings were strong.
As always, Doig's prose is beautiful and compelling. Beautiful word-pictures of the Montana landscape, family life and Doig's realization that he was meant to be a writer.
into Ivan Doig's early challenging ranch work life and his later evolutions as a writer...
and yet, there is never any compassion for the "frenzied bleating...and moaning" of the sheep.
His father, Charlie Doig emerges as the
following the death of his wife, his unfortunate remarriage and eventual unity with his mother-in-law.
Plots slows with tedious McGrathisms and some over-lengthy backstories.
WOW - Full Tuition Scholarship at Northwestern - who wouldn't want that?!
And yet, why didn't they all let their neighbors care for their loyal dog instead of just putting him down...?