Dancing at the Rascal Fair

By: Ivan Doig

Narrated by: Robert Ian MacKenzie

Length: 19 hrs and 55 mins

Publisher's summary

Dancing at the Rascal Fair by National Book Award nominee Ivan Doig, captures the passion and tenacity of turn-of-the-century immigrants struggling to build new lives amidst Montana’s windswept Rockies. The tale unfolds into a contest of the heart between Anna Ramsay and Angus McCaskill—kept apart by obligations—as they and their stormy kin vie to tame the brutal land.

©1987 Ivan Doig (P)2010 Recorded Books, LLC

Critic reviews

“Magnificent… Dancing at the Rascal Fair establishes its author in the front ranks of contemporary American writers.” ( Seattle Times)

"The settlement of Montana between 1890 and 1919 is recounted through the quiet but compelling life of Angus McCaskill, a young Scotsman who travels with his friend Rob Barclay to Montana's Two Medicine Country to homestead. Doig writes fervently of the voyage from Scotland and the lean first years, as the two share the work and hardship of establishing claims and building up flocks of sheep. He tells of their separate marriages, the severing of their friendship, and the final resolution of their conflict through death. Doig successfully recaptures the violence of the Montana elements and the staunch heritage of the Scottish settlers." ( Library Journal)

Part 1 of a great trilogy

A realistic portrait of the experience of 1890’s immigrant settlers of Montana . . . No silly ‘Yellowstone gun slinging” but a touching and heartbreaking tale of overcoming hardships

Curiously unsatisfying

The book is well-written and held my interest. I'm afraid I got impatient after a while with the protagonist's unrequited/unfulfilled passion, and the ending was rather unsatisfactory. The character got hung up when he was a young man, and never got unstuck, it seems to me. The lack of character arc left the whole story rather flat in the end. However, the depiction of Montana in the days of the settlers was evocative and beautiful, and the book seemed well-researched with regard to how people scraped a living in that harsh environment.

Slow paced but worth it

This slow paced tale of the life two Scottish immigrants homesteading in the Montana mountains from 1890 to 1919 is beautifully written and elegantly read and worth listening to.

Loved every minute of this book

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

I would highly recommend this book.

What a treat to read a book that you can hardly put down -from the first page to the last page - there is always something going on to hold your attention.

Have you listened to any of Robert Ian MacKenzie’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

No this is the first one: but it definitely will not be the last one

Oh, Angus!

Would you consider the audio edition of Dancing at the Rascal Fair to be better than the print version?

Don't know as I have not read the print version.

What did you like best about this story?

The descriptions of the landscape, the poetic prose, and the characters.

What about Robert Ian MacKenzie’s performance did you like?

His voice quality is remarkable.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

The plot did not go the way I wanted it to go; just like real life. Friendships go bad. lPeople disappoint and betray you. Doig's characters surprise. I wanted to reach into the story and shake some sense into the characters every now and then..

Great

Great on all levels,enjoyed throughly,highly recommend Ana and on and on and mores

beautiful story and beautifully told

Historical, poetic, extraordinary character development. Told with passion and understanding of his topic. will certainly read all others by Doig.

Great writer!

I've read most of Doig's work and I find them all to be of the highest quality I have read, this trilogy is enjoyable & informative of the formation of Montana. A place I greatly enjoy myself.

Can't wait for the next one!

It took a while to get engaged in this story-with the narrators accent, the slow speech...in fact I had to listen to many of the first parts over. Not entirely due to the book, since I like to listen at bedtime. I came to really enjoy the story, the sense of place and the interconnections of the people, livelihoods, traditions and the natural world around them.

Scotland, Montana & Homesteaders

I enjoyed this book loving history as I do as well as any story written by Ivan Doug. His words put you right into the scenes he describes so that you feel the emotions of the characters, their lives and the times. Robert Ian MacKenzie is the best of the best narrators!