Work Song (Doig) - Book Reviews

Book Reviews
Not one stitch unravels in this intricately threaded narrative… infectious.
New York Times Book Review


Readers who fell in love with Morrie Morgan in The Whistling Season will welcome him back to Montana in Ivan Doig’s latest adventure… Richly imagined and beautifully paced.
Associated Press


If you were looking for a novel that best expresses the American spirit, you’d have to ride past a lot of fence posts before finding anything as worthy as Work Song.
Chicago Tribune


As enjoyable and subtly thought-provoking a piece of fiction as you’re likely to pick up this summer. A pleasure to read.
Los Angeles Times


A classic tale from they heyday of American capitalism by the king of the Western novel.
Daily Beast


Doig affectionately revisits Morris "Morrie" Morgan from the much-heralded The Whistling Season. Now, 10 years later, in 1919, Morrie lands in Butte, Mont.... Scoring a job is a top priority, as is getting more face time with Grace Faraday, the alluring widow who runs the boardinghouse where he stays. Things, naturally, are complicated.... Charismatic dialogue and charming, homespun characterization make Doig's latest another surefire winner.
Publishers Weekly


Morrie Morgan gets off the train in Butte, MT, "the richest hill on earth," run by Anaconda Copper.... Before long, Morrie discovers he's being shadowed by Anaconda's thugs for being a strike agitator.... Verdict: Doig delivers solid storytelling with a keen respect for the past and gives voice to his characters in a humorous and affectionate light. Recommend this to everyone you know; essential. —Donna Bettencourt, Mesa Cty. P.L., Grand Junction, CO
Library Journal


Every once in a while, critics are so divided on their opinion of a novel as to leave readers scratching their heads in bewilderment. Witness Work Song. Sure, its plot is a little thin, and it's "history lite." Yet most critics praise Doig, a veteran writer of the West, for his ability to weave a story out of the familiar Montana countryside.
Bookmarks Magazine


As usual, Doig incorporates plenty of large-canvas history into his mix of romance and human drama...and, also as usual, he tiptoes ever so carefully on the literary ledge that separates warm, character-driven drama from sentimental melodrama. He nearly loses his footing a time or two here, unlike in the perfectly balanced Whistling Season, but on the whole, this is an engaging, leisurely paced look at labor, libraries, and love in a roughneck mining town. —Bill Ott
Booklist


Returning to Montana in 1919, ten years after he pinch-hit as a rural schoolteacher in The Whistling Season (2006), Morris Morgan finds the city of Butte roiled by labor unrest. The Anaconda Copper Mining Company has just imposed a 22 percent pay cut that has union leader Jared Evans reluctantly planning a strike.... Morrie is sympathetic...but he's more interested in finding a job and getting better acquainted with Grace Faraday, the feisty widowed proprietress of his boardinghouse.... More atmospheric, pleasingly old-fashioned storytelling from Doig, whose ear for the way people spoke and thought in times gone by is as faultless as ever.
Kirkus Reviews