Wolf Willow: A History, a Story, and a Memory of the Last Plains Frontier…

What an amazing book. The region itself is the main character. The writing is mixed between Stegner's autobiographical musings, plain history, and a novella about on characters' experience. Stegner is at once mesmerized and loving about the country, while also deploring the complete waste and human failure that occurred when an essentially unlivable land was settled. I can't say it is uplifting, but it is beautiful! ( )

I enjoy Stegner's writing. It is almost lilting when describing forsaken landscapes or tawdry town scenes. Here he describes the dry prairie land of Canada in the Saskatchewan province near the Montana border. This book creeps forward, building his thesis step by step, until he has a foundation for his conclusions about the small town and community he grew up in. Not really for those who like to have tension, drama, action and a storyline. More of a meander with the author as he revisits his memories and his town.
One insertion, a very valuable one in my opinion, is a cowboy story which could almost be a novelette. That has drama and tension, character building and pathos. It reveals the kind of men who staked their lives on hardship and usually lost in the end, as well as a glimpse of the sort of woman who supported them.
I would not read this again, unless it were the cowboy story in the middle, but I did enjoy the reading of it. I must admit, I began to tire of Whitemud, and I skimmed a bit at the end just to get out of the town, but then, I left a town very similar to it in my youth and have never wanted to return to live there. It is nice to visit now and then though, especially with someone who understands. ( )

A grounding, nostalgic (in the best way), quiet and wonderful book. ( )