Ivan Doig (1939–2015)

This is the book # 2 in the Medicine Country series. I did not read book one. Morrie travels to Butte, Montana, and takes several jobs: a crier for Irish wakes at a funeral home, a bookkeeper at the Library, and an advisor to the miners. The pace is slow and there just doesn't seem to be a spark to ignite the story. The ending just fizzled. It was a very local piece. It reminded me of Garrison Keillor books, which I do not appreciate. 306 pages

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.

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!