Synopses & Reviews
The events of that small-town summer forever alter David Hayden's view of his family: his self-effacing father, a sheriff who never wears his badge; his clear sighted mother; his uncle, a charming war hero and respected doctor; and the Hayden's lively, statuesque Sioux housekeeper, Marie Little Soldier, whose revelations are at the heart of the story. It is a tale of love and courage, of power abused, and of the terrible choice between family loyalty and justice.
Review
"A significant and elegant addition to the fiction of the American West." Washington Post Book World
Review
"[A] taut, memorable novel....In crisp, restrained prose, Watson indelibly portrays the moral dilemma of a family torn between justice and loyalty; by implication, he also illuminates some dark corners of our national history." Publishers Weekly
Review
"My favorite novel of 1993....[U]tterly mesmerizing....Fiction at its finest is sometimes hard to find: Montana 1948 amply fits the bill." Chris Faatz, The Nation
Review
"[A] lean, gaunt narrative rich with implication....A literary page-turner, morally complex and satisfying in its careful accumulation of detail and in its use of landscape to reveal character." Kirkus Reviews
Review
"Larry Watson is one of those good writers few people know about, a writer whose work is worthy of prizes....The style of Montana 1948 is as thin, clear and crisp as a North Dakota Wind." Annick Smith, Los Angeles Times Book Review
Review
"Montana 1948 stands out as a work of art." Susan Petro, San Francisco Chronicle
Review
"A beautiful novel about the meaning of place and evolution of courage...a wonderful book." Louise Erdrich, author of The Last Report on the Miracles at Little No Horse
Synopsis
Watson has created a completely new American classic, a remarkable evocation of a time and place a tale of love and courage, of power abused, and of the terrible choice between family loyalty and justice.
About the Author
Born in Rugby, North Dakota, and raised in Bismarck,
Larry Watson received his B.A. and M.A. in English from the University of North Dakota and his Ph.D. in creative writing from the University of Utah. Watson is the author of the novel
In a Dark Time and a chapbook of poetry,
Leaving Dakota. He teaches English at the University of Wisconsin at Stevens Point and lives in Plover, Wisconsin.