Doig, Ivan. Dancing at the Rascal Fair. New York: Scribner 1987. Print.
To say the truth, it was not how I expected -- stepping off toward America past a drowned horse.
Description:
I picked this novel up out of desperation during a visit to my sister-in-law's house where I had run out of compelling books to read. Having recently finishing Doig's wonderful English Creek about turn-of-the-century life in isolated Montana, it was delightful for me to come upon Dancing at the Rascal Fair on her shelves just waiting to be read. And it turned out to be my favorite novel of the entire year.
The first book chronologically in Doig's "Montana Trilogy," Dancing depicts the tale of two young boys who immigrate from Neithermuir, Scotland to Gros Ventre, Montana. This tiny town is where Angus McCaskill, one of the boys and the book's narrator, has a distant uncle. The story follows Angus and his best friend, Rob Barclay, on their journey by boat, train, truck, and foot to end up in the mountainous, newly settled "town" (i.e., tents and two log saloons) of Gros Ventre. Here, Angus' uncle Lucas owned one of the two rustic saloons. It was Lucas who encouraged them to settle in the wide open valley nearby despite their lack of homesteading experience. As Lucas put it:
The Scotch are wonderful at living anywhere but in Scotland....At least Montana is the prettiest place in the world to work yourself to death, ay?
From there, we follow the boys as they explore and eventually settle on land worthy of sheep-raising, the livelihood they agreed to undertake as partners, pooling the work and any profits. They slowly become part of the community made up of early settlers who are both quirky and guarded in accepting new homesteaders. Their sheep-raising proves a challenge as well.
Rob and I were having to learn that trying to control a thousand sheep on a new range was like trying to herd water. How were the woollies? Innocently thriving when last seen an hour ago, but who knew what they might have managed to do to themselves since.
Rob and Angus slowly, surely establish a toehold in both their sheep and personal enterprises. They prove to be stubbon, hard-working, resiliant, and at times volitle, the exact combination of traits needed for survival.
Rememberd joy is twice sweet. Rob's face definitely said so, for he had that bright unbeatable look on him, In a mood like this he'd have called out "fire" in a gunshop just to see what might happen.
And that is just the beginning of their story about this wonderous Montana land, the people, the adventures in living, and the dreams they cling to throughout long winters, droughts, isolation, and disasters. And even through love.
You won't find it in the instructions on the thing, but for the first year of a marriage, time bunches itself in a dense way it never quite does again. Everything happens double-quick and twice as strong to a new pair in life -- and not just in the one room of the house you'd expect.
It is not a book about sheep-raising, although that is the background of all endeavours. It is a book about people, relationships, hard living, and dreams. There is plenty of action, loves, excitement, travels, and local wisdom filling every page to make this book my favorite of the year. It's so easy to fall in love with these characters and their lives, to breathlessly await their next adventure with interesting men and women, and the emotions that drive this community of settlers to survive and prosper.
Dancing at the rascal fair,
devils and angels all were there,
heel and toe, pair by pair,
dancing at the rascal fair.
Awarded my "Highest Recommendation."
[P.S. You can read more about the history of Scotch Valley, Montana and the descendents of the McCaskill and Barclay families in Doig's English Creek and Ride With Me, Maria Montana.]
Happy reading.
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If this book interests you, be sure to check out:
If this book interests you, be sure to check out:
Doig, Ivan. The Whistling Season.
A Chicago woman in 1909 answers an advertisement for a housekeeper for a widower and his three young sons living in an isolated Montana town. She writes that she "Can't cook, but doesn't bite," and gets the job sight unseen (by both of them). She brings her brother with her on the train and he reluctantly becomes a unique schoolteacher. Simply wonderful, a great read not to be missed. (previously reviewed here)
