Rating: 
Summary: authenticity challenged
Review: Claire Davis is a good writer, but this book is a bit over the top. It's not how we really live on the Great Plains, but a sensational version of it. For a gripping account of these same issues from someone who's lived it rather than researched it, try Linda Hasselstrom's "Feels like Far."
Rating: 
Summary: A Stay Up and Read and Never Want it to End Book
Review: Claire Davis writes so incredibly well that you'll find yourself just stopping every now and then so savor a phrase, to run a particular descriptive passage back over your tongue a few times. And still, those stops notwithstanding, you will find yourself almost unable to put the book down. WINTER RANGE is a wonderful, provocative, endlessly delighting work of genuine literary significance. Get it now. The film, when it comes, will be fine, no doubt; but no movie maker can duplicate those fabulous phrasings. This one is a gem.
Rating: 
Summary: Far From Empty
Review: Claire Davis' triumphant debut novel, "Winter Range," is a complex and challenging work. Precisely and elegantly crafted, the novel's setting, the fiercely beautiful and forbidding praire of eastern Montana, unrelentingly batters both the characters and the reader. Focusing on the psychological development of its three central characters, "Winter Range" explores the theme of adult responsibility, especially in the face of trauma, discontent and rebellion. A daunting winter brings to the breaking point the taut tensions between an honorable sheriff, Ike Parsons, his proud but haunted wife Pattiann, and a truly malicious misanthrope, Chas, whose unrequited passion for Pattiann complicates an absorbing conflict between the characters, their own pasts and their abilities to survive an environment seemily indifferent to their circumstances. Ms. Davis provides a powerful and compelling response to her own core question: when do we stop blaming others and begin accepting our lives as our own, as flawed as they may be, for what they truly are?Ultimately, the author has each character commit to an answer provided by Pattiann as she sorts out the conflicts engendered by a restrictive upbrining and her love of a man whose calm restores her sense of self. "Isn't there a time when a peson has to say, all right, now this is the rest of my life? And I'm accountable fo that?" "Winter Range" picks up momentum throughout its fast-paced narrative, and the conclusion is both liberating and forbidding. I also feel a need to compliment the author on how hard she worked for the reader. For this is a beautifully crafted piece of literature. She has a marvelous sense of imagery. Take, for example, her description of parents' grief after the death of their child. "And now he was dead and his parents, early in their middle years, would wake the rest of their days and know the relentless taste of grief as sharp and cold on their tongues as metal on a winter's morning." Ms. Davis constantly reinvents the Montana plains, from its fickle abundance to its devastating winters; those who live and work as cattle ranchers receive unspoken, but genuine, homage through her descriptions of their environment. This dark, brooding and intense novel signals the advent of an accomplished author. In tune with the people she describes, Claire Davis offers us unusual and timely insights into the adult mind.
Rating:
Summary: Davis explores idea of responsibility in naturalistic debut
Review: Claire Davis' triumphant debut novel, "Winter Range," is a complex and challenging work. Precisely and elegantly crafted, the novel's setting, the fiercely beautiful and forbidding praire of eastern Montana, unrelentingly batters both the characters and the reader. Focusing on the psychological development of its three central characters, "Winter Range" explores the theme of adult responsibility, especially in the face of trauma, discontent and rebellion. A daunting winter brings to the breaking point the taut tensions between an honorable sheriff, Ike Parsons, his proud but haunted wife Pattiann, and a truly malicious misanthrope, Chas, whose unrequited passion for Pattiann complicates an absorbing conflict between the characters, their own pasts and their abilities to survive an environment seemily indifferent to their circumstances. Ms. Davis provides a powerful and compelling response to her own core question: when do we stop blaming others and begin accepting our lives as our own, as flawed as they may be, for what they truly are? Ultimately, the author has each character commit to an answer provided by Pattiann as she sorts out the conflicts engendered by a restrictive upbrining and her love of a man whose calm restores her sense of self. "Isn't there a time when a peson has to say, all right, now this is the rest of my life? And I'm accountable fo that?" "Winter Range" picks up momentum throughout its fast-paced narrative, and the conclusion is both liberating and forbidding. I also feel a need to compliment the author on how hard she worked for the reader. For this is a beautifully crafted piece of literature. She has a marvelous sense of imagery. Take, for example, her description of parents' grief after the death of their child. "And now he was dead and his parents, early in their middle years, would wake the rest of their days and know the relentless taste of grief as sharp and cold on their tongues as metal on a winter's morning." Ms. Davis constantly reinvents the Montana plains, from its fickle abundance to its devastating winters; those who live and work as cattle ranchers receive unspoken, but genuine, homage through her descriptions of their environment. This dark, brooding and intense novel signals the advent of an accomplished author. In tune with the people she describes, Claire Davis offers us unusual and timely insights into the adult mind.
Rating: 
Summary: Too many false notes
Review: I bought the book because it had good reviews and I was interested in the Montana setting. Unfortunetly, it didn't read very well. Too uneven, too much ho-hum folksy dialogue, too many false and just bad moments. For example the line during the sex scene on page 45, "he laid his hands on the hairs that furled into the ditch between her thighs." Ditch? I think the author tried for too much. I appreciate her ambition, but couldn't buy the characters(especially Pervis), not evn Pattian. What kind of name is that? The characters just seemed too made up and I couldn't forget that I was reading a book.
Rating: 
Summary: Not for the feint of heart
Review: I couldn't stomache the crulety to the animals. Only the worst of our society would treat animals in this fashion.
Rating:
Summary: Memorable characters
Review: I finished Winter Range a week ago and I still find myself thinking about the characters and the landscape. These people are real. I found myself torn between wanting to know what was going to happen (read fast, read faster!) and wanting to enjoy the sentences (read slower, read it again). I finally decided just to read it twice.
Rating:
Summary: Far From Empty
Review: I hope that nobody was deterred from buying this book by the absurd Amazon editorial review which dismissed it as "big and empty, just like the state of Montana". Those of us who live in the state take offense at such comments. I would also like to point out to this reviewer (who notes, with seeming derision, that starving cattle is "apparently a crime in Montana") that animal neglect and cruelty happen to be crimes in all 50 states, not just in the "empty" ones.
That said, let me tell you why Winter Range is worth your time. First of all, it's a very good read --highly compelling. THe plot revolves around the conflict between a small town sheriff and a failed rancher, but Davis peels back layer upon layer to show us that the roots of this conflict run much deeper than these two men. In fact, the conflict strikes at the heart of an entire community, and an entire (dying) way of life. I have spent the past five years working in tiny towns and rural areas of Montana, and the tension between the townspeople and the "outsider" sheriff in this story really struck a chord with me. I think Davis has realistically captured the attitude of small town Westerners towards newcomers, while managing to evoke sympathy for both sides. This book is well-written, original, full of tension, and it leaves you with something to think about after you're finished. WHat more could you ask of a novel? THe only reason I gave it 4 stars instead of 5 is that I think the author fell just short of reaching the full potential of this story. At times, it seemed she wasn't sure what kind of story she wanted to tell. This book has all the elements of a terrific thriller, yet Davis purposefully (I think) detracts from the dramatic tension by digressing into long psychological explorations of her characters. It's almost as if she was embarassed to write a straight-up thriller because she is a talented writer and talented writers are only supposed to write 'literary' novels. Yet I think she could have let this novel be the fast-paced nail-biter it was meant to be, and her top-notch writing and characterization would have still made it stand apart from the rest of that genre. But this was only her first novel, and it is much, much better than most first attempts. Highly recommended, whether you're looking for excellent writing or a good old-fashioned page-turner.
Rating:
Summary: Far From Empty
Review: I hope that nobody was deterred from buying this book by the absurd Amazon editorial review which dismissed it as "big and empty, just like the state of Montana". Those of us who live in the state take offense at such comments. I would also like to point out to this reviewer (who notes, with seeming derision, that starving cattle is "apparently a crime in Montana") that animal neglect and cruelty happen to be crimes in all 50 states, not just in the "empty" ones.
That said, let me tell you why Winter Range is worth your time. First of all, it's a very good read --highly compelling. THe plot revolves around the conflict between a small town sheriff and a failed rancher, but Davis peels back layer upon layer to show us that the roots of this conflict run much deeper than these two men. In fact, the conflict strikes at the heart of an entire community, and an entire (dying) way of life. I have spent the past five years working in tiny towns and rural areas of Montana, and the tension between the townspeople and the "outsider" sheriff in this story really struck a chord with me. I think Davis has realistically captured the attitude of small town Westerners towards newcomers, while managing to evoke sympathy for both sides. This book is well-written, original, full of tension, and it leaves you with something to think about after you're finished. WHat more could you ask of a novel? THe only reason I gave it 4 stars instead of 5 is that I think the author fell just short of reaching the full potential of this story. At times, it seemed she wasn't sure what kind of story she wanted to tell. This book has all the elements of a terrific thriller, yet Davis purposefully (I think) detracts from the dramatic tension by digressing into long psychological explorations of her characters. It's almost as if she was embarassed to write a straight-up thriller because she is a talented writer and talented writers are only supposed to write 'literary' novels. Yet I think she could have let this novel be the fast-paced nail-biter it was meant to be, and her top-notch writing and characterization would have still made it stand apart from the rest of that genre. But this was only her first novel, and it is much, much better than most first attempts. Highly recommended, whether you're looking for excellent writing or a good old-fashioned page-turner.
Rating:
Summary: Too many false notes
Review: I would think that reviewers for Amazon would have a better developed attention span than the typical Nintendo teenager. Would also expect that he/she would be able to tell the difference between a successful literary novel and a genre thriller. Doesn't seem to be the case here. This reviewer should stick to Grisham, Sparks, etc. Winter Range is an accomplishment. The novel succeeds at what John Gardner (The Art of Fiction - look it up) terms a sustained and vivid literary dream that the reader can feel as plausable and complete as a representation of the real world. The characters are complex and rounded, not least because of the background that the author gives the reader that makes sense of their actions and behavior, and without appreciably stalling the forward motion of the plot. Chas would be just another cardboard cutout of a villain ( which the reviewer evidently prefers), but with an understanding of the wellsprings of his early life - dogmatic religion, emotional deprivation, etc; he becomes a believable person who reacts to his circumstances in a believable, destructive way. I was especially impressed with his positive qualities - innocence and charm - that made others doubt their negative reactions to him until he set himself apart from the community in an overt way. I liked the Iago-like sense of release and satisfaction he found in acting out his vengeance fantasies. I also found that the sense of self questioning in Ike to be refreshing and realistic. How many of us can make life and death decisions without reliving that moment again and again? Thats the stuff of "taut thrillers", not life - at least as I know it. I also loved the exploration of the relationhip that a rancher has with his cattle, and the intensity of emotion that corresponds with that relationship. I still occasionally have one of those nightmares that my cattle are starving and I am responsible and can't get to them - even though I haven't owned a cow in thirty years. The language of the novel is appropriate, beautiful and spare, the sense of the impact of the weather on the characters was reminiscent of "Snow Falling on Cedars" - a book that this novel is equal to in almost every way. It is well-paced and plotted, sustains interest and explores the communities of the hi-line very well. I can speak here because I was born and raised next to highway 2 in a typical cow-town such as was represented here. I have a couple of quibbles - Ms Davis, where in the world did you get an elk to that part of the country? The only elk I know of is a half-tame herd in the CMR game range that was planted in the fifties. Wouldn't a yearling steer have done the job? Second - Northeastern Montana is high plains (altitude above 2000 feet), not desert. Read this novel, it is very rewarding, powerful and deserves all the success that it can garner.
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