The Whistling Season

By: Ivan Doig

Narrated by: Jonathan Hogan

Length: 11 hrs and 50 mins

Publisher's summary

When a widowed rancher hires a housekeeper to help with his three young sons, he finds her to be cheerful and competent. Yet she is concealing a colorful and infamous past. Filled with humor and hardship, this novel sings with what the author calls "a poetry of the vernacular".

A finalist for the National Book award, Ivan Doig, who has published 11 books, has been hailed as the "West's preeminent literary novelist" by the Denver Post.

©2006 Ivan Doig (P)2006 Recorded Books

Critic reviews

"The Whistling Season is a book to pass on to your favorite readers: a story of lives of active choice, lived actively." (Publishers Weekly)

a delightful story!

Would you listen to The Whistling Season again? Why?

I would listen to this book again, as I enjoyed the narrator greatly and the story was delightful.

Which scene was your favorite?

The horse race!

If you could take any character from The Whistling Season out to dinner, who would it be and why?

If I could take any character from this book out to dinner, it would be the main character. He is a precocious and extremely candid child and I'd enjoy spending time with him.

Any additional comments?

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, from start to finish. It reminded me of stories told by my immigrant Swedish relatives who settled and farmed in South Dakota in the early 1900's. What a delight!

Mesmerizing

I needed a good story badly, my dear father recently passing on. This was it. I was glued to the well written, spellbinding story. It is about a family and a one room school house, but really the story is about so much more.

Wow!

Oh my, this has been a remarkable journey. I'd take it again, and then again, so many more times.... in a heart beat.

great story. narration good not great

editing a bit choppy at times. not enough to skip the listen though. Doig has a way of brining you back to the place. You can get lost in 1910 with this one

A lovely tale, warm without being saccharine

A paean to boyhood on a Montana homestead, the one-room schoolhouse and Rose, the housekeeper whose ad read "Can't cook, doesn't bite."

Brings education alive.

I wish all teacher's could/should read this. I've never listened to any other books from Mr. Doing, but I be in the future. It was not what I had anticipated, but better. A plot that kept you guessing and story that was very heart warming. This was a very surprising book. Share it with a teacher. Janet

Narrator

At first I didn’t care for the narrator, it was almost like he had cotton balls in his mouth. But as the story took hold I appreciated his diction more. The story is set in turn of the century (1900) very rural Montana and centered in the one room school. Classic Doig, he takes your emotions on a roller coaster ride that never fails to entertain.

All 5s

This was the best book I’ve read and listened to in many years. Great characters and a twist. I’m looking forward to the rest of the series.

such unique characters and beautifully written

I just discovered this author and he is great. I love the settings and the characters are unforgettable. I just found out that 19 books are a series and there are some smaller groupings that go together; however, they are stand alone as well. Thank you audible for the plus catalogue. I would not have found this author without that. He is a master writer.

Whistling Season

This was a wonderful book to listen to because it gave a view of homestead life 100 years ago. The speaker sounded like he really lived there. I would recommend this book for many reasons. Don't miss it!