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Ivan Doig (1939–2015)

Author of The Whistling Season

28+ Works 9,130 Members 423 Reviews 49 Favorited

About the Author

Ivan Doig was born in White Sulphur Springs, Montana in 1939. He received bachelor's and master's degrees in journalism from Northwestern University and a Ph.D. in history from University of Washington. Before becoming an author, he worked as a ranch hand and a journalist. His non-fiction works show more include This House of Sky, Winter Brothers, and Heart Earth. His fiction titles include English Creek, Dancing at the Rascal Fair, Bucking the Sun, The Whistling Season, The Bartender's Tale, and Last Bus to Wisdom. He received several awards including the Western Literature Association's Lifetime Distinguished Achievement Award and the Wallace Stegner Award in 2007. He died of multiple myeloma on April 8, 2015 at the age of 75. (Bowker Author Biography) show less

Includes the names: Ivan Doig, Ivan Doing, by Ivan Doig

Image credit: photo by René Kirkpatrick

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Works by Ivan Doig

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Reviews

This is a heartwarming, inspiring, uplifting story of courage and optimism as told through the eyes of a seventh-grade boy in Montana in 1909 and the one-room schoolhouse that serves as the center of his community. Doig's writing is superb, drawing the reader ever forward at an even pace with creative uses of language and humorous plays on words. In a way, the book is an ode to great teachers, no matter their credentials, such as the one who leads the Marias Coulee school for most of the story.
 
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eg4209 | 101 other reviews | Feb 24, 2024 |
I wondered if he could possibly maintain the momentum of the previous two books, in terms of pacing, plot, and interest. He did all that and more. By half-way through I could not put this book down. So, so good. Right to the very last page, I was spell-bound.

Thank you Ivan Doig, for some of the most engaging, thoughtful fiction I have read in ages. The three "Morrie" books were a total pleasure!
 
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BethOwl | 31 other reviews | Jan 24, 2024 |
I don't have any idea how I heard about this book. It is certainly NOT the kind of story I'd normally gravitate to. And I regret to say I'd never heard of Mr. Doig.

But wow.

I am so glad I gave it a try. This book is a treasure.

His writing is exquisite, the characters (including the most important one -- the land) are some of the most vivid I've read in ages, and the pacing is a slow build that turns on a dime. Wonderful!

It was one of those books that I honestly hated to finish. I almost never give 5 stars, but this one earned each and every one.… (more)
 
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BethOwl | 101 other reviews | Jan 24, 2024 |
I was shocked that this could top "Whistling Season." But it did. Following the next adventures of Morrie, and in his voice this time, it was a joy from start to finish.

Where have you been all my life, Ivan Doig??? Gorgeous writing, wonderful pacing (notice the bags under my eyes for staying up all hours), and fascinating story-telling about something I knew nothing about.
 
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BethOwl | 47 other reviews | Jan 24, 2024 |

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Works
28
Also by
5
Members
9,130
Popularity
#2,632
Rating
4.0
Reviews
423
ISBNs
205
Languages
5
Favorited
49

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