English Creek (Contemporary American Fiction)

Rating:
Summary: Great Read, highly recommended
Review: I recommended this to eveyrone who would listen.

Rating:
Summary: A Great Coming Of Age Book
Review: 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.

Rating:
Summary: an American classic - great book
Review: One of my favorite books. Would make a great movie. Ivan Doig is as good as Steinbeck, better than Fitzgerald or Hemingway.

Rating:
Summary: Yeah, it's for English class.
Review: The year is 1939, and Jick McCaskill is the most charming fourteen year old man of the land in Montana. At this tender age, he is just beginning to discover who he is and what he wants out of life. Ivan Doig paints a truly heartwarming picture of a young Montana boy's journey through adolescence in this poignant story about life in the country. The colorful characters are certain to remind you of your own friends and family, and Jick's boyish whims will bring you back to the joys and hardships of growing up. The quirky, humorous comparisons and tart cynicsms also contribute to the allure of the novel. However, this book is not for those with short attention spans. Doig uses beautiful , graceful language to describe the Two Medicine Country of Montana over and over and over again, and it begins to seem redundant. The general flow of the story is slow and steady with no real change in pace. This book will be a relaxing read if nothing else, and the recurring motif of the past helps to maintain a nostalgic tone throughout. This tale of turning points will carry you through family strife, natural disasters, and the resolving of age old grudges on the shoulders of Jick McCaskill. You will relive (or experience) the advancement frok grape soda to whiskey, and remember what its like to stand up to a family member for the first time. It will remind you to cherish the past, but live in the present, and make you feel all warm and fuzzy inside, as long as you stay awake long enough to get through it.

Rating:
Summary: Yeah, it's for English class.
Review: The year is 1939, and Jick McCaskill is the most charming fourteen year old man of the land in Montana. At this tender age, he is just beginning to discover who he is and what he wants out of life. Ivan Doig paints a truly heartwarming picture of a young Montana boy's journey through adolescence in this poignant story about life in the country. The colorful characters are certain to remind you of your own friends and family, and Jick's boyish whims will bring you back to the joys and hardships of growing up. The quirky, humorous comparisons and tart cynicsms also contribute to the allure of the novel. However, this book is not for those with short attention spans. Doig uses beautiful , graceful language to describe the Two Medicine Country of Montana over and over and over again, and it begins to seem redundant. The general flow of the story is slow and steady with no real change in pace. This book will be a relaxing read if nothing else, and the recurring motif of the past helps to maintain a nostalgic tone throughout. This tale of turning points will carry you through family strife, natural disasters, and the resolving of age old grudges on the shoulders of Jick McCaskill. You will relive (or experience) the advancement frok grape soda to whiskey, and remember what its like to stand up to a family member for the first time. It will remind you to cherish the past, but live in the present, and make you feel all warm and fuzzy inside, as long as you stay awake long enough to get through it.

Rating:
Summary: Great literature
Review: This is a fabulous book. The writing is not focused on action and plot, but on character and setting. Doig creates a vivid Montana scene while leading his main character, Jick, through a book paced exactly as his summer. If you are looking for good literature, read this book.

Rating:
Summary: A Great Coming Of Age Book
Review: This is a very good coming of age novel - historical novel. Set in rural Montana on the eve of World War II, English Creek describes the summer experiences of an intelligent 15 year old. Written by a Montana native who has done a good deal of historical research, English Creek is not only a Bildungsroman but also a detailed portrait of life in rural Montana. Told with humor and considerable insight, English Creek is a sweet but not saccharine book about a more innocent but not necessarily easier time.

Rating:
Summary: Good Bildungsroman
Review: This is a very good coming of age novel - historical novel. Set in rural Montana on the eve of World War II, English Creek describes the summer experiences of an intelligent 15 year old. Written by a Montana native who has done a good deal of historical research, English Creek is not only a Bildungsroman but also a detailed portrait of life in rural Montana. Told with humor and considerable insight, English Creek is a sweet but not saccharine book about a more innocent but not necessarily easier time.

Rating:
Summary: A fantastic Sunday afternoon book
Review: This is one of my favorite books. I highly recommend it (and the other books in the trilogy). It made me want to run away and raise sheep in Montana.