Synopses & Reviews
Larry Watson's bestselling novel
Montana 1948 was acclaimed as "a work of art" (Susan Petro,
San Francisco Chronicle), a prize-winning evocation of a time, a place, and a family. Now Watson returns to
Montana 1948's vast landscape with a stunning prequel that illuminates the Hayden clan's early years and the circumstances that led to the events of
Montana 1948. In Montana, the Hayden name is law. For the Hayden boys, Wesley and Frank, their legacy carries an aura of privilege and power that doesn't stop at the Montana border, even when an ill-fated hunting trip makes them temporary outlaws. But what it means to bear the name is something each generation must discover for itself. From Julian, the hard-bitten and blustery patriarch, to Gail, Sheriff Wesley Hayden's spirited wife and moral compass, Larry Watson gives breath and blood to a remarkable family's struggles and rewards, and opens an evocative window on the very heart of the American West.
Review
"That Mr. Watson is able to capitalize on this myth [of small towns associated with simpler times] and the yearning that attends it even as he gives the lie to it is further evidence of his subtlety and skill." Ellen Akins, The New York Times Book Review
Review
"Watson's stories are unforgettable tales of experience, set in a place as unchanging as any in America; a rare place where we still look for roots and a vanished frontier, and where we still uncover horrors that bring down reminders of what it is to be human no matter where we are." Paul Pintarich, The Oregonian
Review
"[F]inely crafted....Watson writes with ruthless honesty about his characters' stunted dreams, unpredictable emotions and outbursts of senseless violence, showing once again that he understands not only the West but the untamed hearts that have roamed it." Publishers Weekly
Review
"A worthy collection, filled with rapid prose sometimes as biting as a Northern plains wind....Watson writes of people universal in their faults and virtues, a community that cannot be defined or limited to one age or genre." Tim McLaurin, Washington Post Book World
Review
"Demonstrating excellent detail and superbly developed characters, Watson's powerful prose easily re-creates the vivid beauty of Big Sky country, gently evoking a sense of generations long past." Kathleen Hughes, Booklist
Review
"This novel can stand on its own, but reading it in conjunction with [Montana 1948] (which takes place ten years after this one closes) results in an absorbing family saga....Highly recommended." Library Journal
Review
"Stories about men's relationships with their fathers always appeal to YAs, and this Western will be no exception....[A] readable, well-written novel for leisure reading and historical fiction assignments." School Library Journal
Synopsis
The author of the prize-winning national bestseller Montana 1948 returns with a stunning prequel of the memorable Hayden clan's early years.
Synopsis
Rendered outlaws by an ill-fated hunting trip, brothers Wesley and Frank Hayden pursue a legacy shared by each generation of their family, from hard-bitten patriarch Julian through Gail, a sheriff's spirited wife.
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, a chapbook of poetry, Leaving Dakota, and the novel Montana 1948, which won the Milkweed National Fiction Prize, The Mountains & Plains Bookseller Association Regional Book Award, and was named one of the Best Books of 1993 by both Library Journal and Booklist. He teaches English at the University of Wisconsin at Stevens Point and makes his home in Stevens Point, where he is at work on a new novel entitled White Crosses, to be published by Pocket Books.