A review by ocurtsinger
English Creek by Ivan Doig

3.0

My only previous reading of Doig being the faster-paced and more harrowing Sea Runners, I was a little slow to warm up to the tempered plot of English Creek and the longer cadence of its narrator, Jick, who seems to fret over anything that casts a shadow. However, through his slow but attentive and detailed descriptions of English Creek, Doig opens up to the reader a Montana that is laden with affection and color. We learn about haying, the workings of the Forest Service, and the art of treading the social scene at a rodeo, and English Creek becomes a place that you feel you could stroll into and begin chatting with the locals, piecing out even more history and lore that Doig scratches the surface of. It's no wonder that in his acknowledgements Doig has so many historical societies to thank for the creation of a fictionalized town. Worth the time, and I look forward to digging deeper into the Montana trilogy.