Dancing at the Rascal Fair by Ivan Doig
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Like Montana winters, this was way too long. I got bogged down a little halfway through, but I continued because the narrator, Robert Ian Mckenzie was terrific. I kept thinking I'd never finish the book if I had to read it, and was almost gleeful when there were only 2 cds (of 17) left and the end was in sight! That ending is not only depressing, but there is no satisfying resolution. Whistling Season is much better, and you'll like the ending, but this not one. I read it first and consider it one of the best books I read this year, so I read this hoping for more of the same but was hugely disappointed. The story drags; I wanted to slap the 2 main characters upside the head; and there is precious little humor in it. I give the author, Doig, credit for ably conveying the homesteaders' exhaustion and defeat to the reader. I was exhausted and relieved when the narrative ended.

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