Reviews

3.5/5

10th grade English class. I love the moral dilemma presented in this book, one without a good solution. However, my biggest qualm was how little "Montana 1948" spent its time on the actual victims: the Native Americans who were molested by a white man in a position of power. I guess t makes sense since we're told the story from David's point of view, but was a little boy, privileged in his race, economic status and heritage, the best narrator to tell this story?

tshrope's review against another edition

Go to review page

5.0

How is it that I have never heard of this author or book until 23 years after it was written? This a hidden gem and should be on every modern literary classic list. Watson writes unpretentious, honest, and evocative prose, and weaves a good page turning narrative with morally complex ideas, a feat few writers can do with aplomb. This novella punches way above it's weight, and accomplishes much more than many books three times its size.

pjgal22's review against another edition

Go to review page

4.0

I really enjoyed this book. I listened to it on audio CD. It was narrated by Beau Bridges, who did a wonderful job. It's a fairly compact story, but a very compelling one. There's a sort of quiet suspense that builds quite effectively as the story progresses. I plan to check out Larry Watson's other works.

tipj's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging dark mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

cosyliterature's review against another edition

Go to review page

I wish I could unread this book, features incredibly harmful and disgusting depictions.

charlesrop's review against another edition

Go to review page

2.0

its definitely a book

EDIT: is the narrator a kid? Or an adult looking back on being a kid? If he's a kid, why does he make weird meta comments about the prose like "my use of the passive voice is intentional"? If he's an adult (which is the case), why is he so averse to poetic language? The vocabulary and poetic qualities are limited in a way that affects a child's POV, yet we find out at the end (barely a spoiler coming up) that he's a history teacher reflecting on his childhood. The style and perspective of this book is flawed on such a basic level. And I'm mad about it. Fuck, I'm so pissed off. I need to be around my candles.

katieem's review against another edition

Go to review page

4.0

“You know what your grandad said it means to be a peace officer in Montana? He said it means knowing when to look and when to look away”. (Pg. 93)

More...