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Summary: Ivan Doig-Zen Master-Mountains Won't Remember Us
Review: A painted silk scroll from China shows a zen poet and calligrapher trying to capture the satori, the spontaneous enlightenment sometimes attained by the immensity of the landscape. The tree-lined mountains, and the winding creeks and brooks overshadow the artist who sits at his bench as incense plumes rise into the landscape.Ivan Doig has written what could be a zen contemplation with the power of a volcano in his newest work. It's not so much the wonderful characterization of the main characters and their innocence and fragility in terms of one another, but it is the way their bodies and minds, abused like much of the landscape, try desperately to connect. Generations must come to terms: a dying one that had survived the depression and had fought through two world wars and an aging one, "the baby boomers" who rebelled against older ideals but feel what it's like to age, and wonder, in a cloud of nostalgia; Are there resolutions? Between Father and Son? Wife and Husband? Daughter and Father? Man vs. Nature? All relationships are represented maginificently in Mountain Time. Nature casts a shadow on all the characters. The forests, the mountains, and the streams age with humanity, but they won't remember us. In short, an apt metaphor is Mt. St. Helens, which figures in the novel and which Doig brings alive as a character. No one can forget the force of power, the gray blast of hot ash, the blanket of destruction marking itself in the mind. And one can see, today, the renenwal and rebirth of the landscape even after such destruction.
Rating: 
Summary: mountain time
Review: another good book by ivan doig. Although it isnt his best it will keep your attention. not as descriptive as others or colorful. However the great story telling is there of how a family copes with the loss of a loved one. It's a keeper steve
Rating:
Summary: mountain time
Review: another good book by ivan doig. Although it isnt his best it will keep your attention. not as descriptive as others or colorful. However the great story telling is there of how a family copes with the loss of a loved one. It's a keeper steve
Rating: 
Summary: Not vintage Doig
Review: As a huge fan of Doig's work, it physically pains me to say this, but I was disappointed with "Mountain Time." The first section is particularly difficult to get through - the unlikely dialogue mentioned in another review is part of it, but another aspect that bothered me as a native of western Washington state is the cliche after cliche assessment of the region. There isn't a stereotypical stone left unturned - coffee, grunge, cyberia, rain, etc. etc. Certainly these are aspects of the region, but they seemed too overt in Doig's writing; more a caricature than the perhaps intended satire. The novel picks up with "The Springs" section. As I settled into this section it was like coming over Snoqualmie Pass, out of the crowded, cluttered, and caricatured western part of the state and into more rewarding territory. Here I encountered more of what I have come to expect from Doig. My purpose for writing these comments is two-fold: First, I would encourage any reader of this novel to stick with it - tough it through the way-too-ultra-hip banter and the somewhat trite characterization of western Washington. Once the characters are back in Montana, things get better. Perhaps the most engaging character, Lyle, is introduced here, and Doig seems to find his prosaic voice in the latter setting. Also, if this is your first taste of Doig's work, please know that it is not indicative of the writing Doig's fans have come to know and love. For vintage Doig, check out the McCaskill trilogy (beginning with "English Creek") or one of the memoirs (ie: Heart Earth).
Rating:
Summary: Not vintage Doig
Review: As a huge fan of Doig's work, it physically pains me to say this, but I was disappointed with "Mountain Time." The first section is particularly difficult to get through - the unlikely dialogue mentioned in another review is part of it, but another aspect that bothered me as a native of western Washington state is the cliche after cliche assessment of the region. There isn't a stereotypical stone left unturned - coffee, grunge, cyberia, rain, etc. etc. Certainly these are aspects of the region, but they seemed too overt in Doig's writing; more a caricature than the perhaps intended satire. The novel picks up with "The Springs" section. As I settled into this section it was like coming over Snoqualmie Pass, out of the crowded, cluttered, and caricatured western part of the state and into more rewarding territory. Here I encountered more of what I have come to expect from Doig. My purpose for writing these comments is two-fold: First, I would encourage any reader of this novel to stick with it - tough it through the way-too-ultra-hip banter and the somewhat trite characterization of western Washington. Once the characters are back in Montana, things get better. Perhaps the most engaging character, Lyle, is introduced here, and Doig seems to find his prosaic voice in the latter setting. Also, if this is your first taste of Doig's work, please know that it is not indicative of the writing Doig's fans have come to know and love. For vintage Doig, check out the McCaskill trilogy (beginning with "English Creek") or one of the memoirs (ie: Heart Earth).
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Summary: The original McCaskill lore is back!
Review: For those who are familiar with Doig's subject family, the McCaskills, Mountain Time brings back the original powerful relationships between family members, as seen in English Creek and Dancing at the Rascal Fair. I feel that Ride with Me, Mariah Montana lacked a great deal of the characterization found in the prior two novels, and now in Mountain Time. Doig also borrows from the mystery element of Bucking the Sun in his newest work. His language and word choice are definitely superior to any of his prior works, as much of Mountain Time read like poetry. I felt let down by Ride with Me, but Doig has given his readers a gift with Mountain Time.
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Summary: Dissapointing Doig
Review: Having read Dancing at the Rascal Fair, I was very dissapointed with this work. Like the comments posted, I found it trite, cliched, and hard to get into at first. The problem with setting anything in a particular place in present time is getting the details right. Doig failed at this. I found the dialogues between Lexa and her sister painful to read, they were so focused on a comedy routine. Nothing about this book made it any more special than any other tenth grade fiction class work. I urge others to give Doig's other works a read; they are worth the time. Mountain Time definitely is not.
Rating: 
Summary: A Disappointment
Review: I wait for Mr. Doig's books and have never been dissapointed until now. Unfortunately I got stuck on someone driving from Seattle to White Sulpher Springs going through Choteau. Didn't make much sense and I kinda of lost it after that. But I will not give up as I re-read many of his books every year.
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Summary: The First Time I've Been Dissapointed by Mr. Doig
Review: I wait for Mr. Doig's books and have never been dissapointed until now. Unfortunately I got stuck on someone driving from Seattle to White Sulpher Springs going through Choteau. Didn't make much sense and I kinda of lost it after that. But I will not give up as I re-read many of his books every year.
Rating:
Summary: Not Stegner
Review: I wanted to like this book. And in places the novel is satisfying, for example when Doig's characters are involved in nature (especially the trek to the fire tower). Especially pervasive throughout is a dialogue that just doesn't work - people don't normally converse the way Doig's characters do - at least not throughout the entire story. The repetitive, "so-hip" banter between characters becomes annoying almost from the start. The characters too were so extreme that I felt each person developed into a caricature, or stereotype that was so hard to become involved with, or develop sympathy for. I would have quit this book mid way but for the hype on Amazon. Especially the comparisons between this author and Wallace Stegner. Compare this book to say Crossing To Safety, and you can see just see what an unbelievable stretch this comparison is. And it may have set up expectations in my mind about Doig that were unfair to him.
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