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)

What a charmer!

I don't generally read "coming of age" or family sagas, in fact actively dislike them, had never heard of Ivan Doig, and only got the book a couple of years ago because I was going on a road trip to Montana and wanted something "suitable for general audiences." The road trip happened but the listening didn't until this spring. The first good thing I realized was that it appears to be great contemporary history, which I do like; the second was that the characters who had been dealt a very poor hand in life didn't appear to know it and were moving on through life doing the best they could and not brooding about their problems. ( I had just finished "The Old Maid" and "McTeague" (yes, in spite of my bad review I finished it), and spent both books being annoyed at the protagonists because of how poorly they dealt with serious but possibly manageable problems). But the most impressive thing is how Mr. Doig uses words in a way more like sketching than molding to create three dimensional characters who you are still thinking about after the book ends. It is slow, it is quiet, if you feel you need a little peace between the thrillers and the classics, and/or a good family road trip book, go for it.

Liked the beginning and the ending.

Is there anything you would change about this book?

I did not find the book to be very captivating. I did enjoy the beginning and the end, but there was a lot in between that I found myself not totally into.

What was your reaction to the ending? (No spoilers please!)

Enjoyed the ending and was somewhat surprised.

What three words best describe Jonathan Hogan’s voice?

Not so great.

Did The Whistling Season inspire you to do anything?

No

Well-written "year in the life" type story

I really loved last bus to wisdom. now I suspect that was his masterpiece because this one is disappointing in comparison. It's well-written, the language the author uses is Pleasant, and the storyline moves you along at a reasonable pace. Still, it's not the kind of story I am usually drawn to and I doubt that I'll continue with this authors additional stories.

Great Story

Would you listen to The Whistling Season again? Why?

I plan to listen to this again....very sweet and entertaining story.

What did you like best about this story?

Characters were all so genuine.

What does Jonathan Hogan bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

His taking on of each of the characters personality quirks helped me to just get lost in the story.

Who was the most memorable character of The Whistling Season and why?

The narrator since most of the story was told from his perspective.

Entertaining Humor.

What did you love best about The Whistling Season?

It is told from a 12 year old's perspective.

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Whistling Season?

Maury was great to listen to in many different instances.

What about Jonathan Hogan’s performance did you like?

His homeiness - he helped capture the essence of a rural town in Montana in 1909.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

My wife and I listen when we can, always in the car.

Any additional comments?

We'll be listening to another of the author's books in the not to distant future.

would make a great movie or mini series

An often laugh out loud story of a homesteader family in early 20th century Montana. If you like Willa Cather or Laura Ingalls Wilder, you will like Ivan Doug's novels.

Slightly disappointed

This book is worth listening to. The writing was excellent and we live a slice of time most of us never experienced. This was almost worthy of five stars but the ending disappointed. Rose's secret and how it resolved made me dislike her and distrust her. Especially the secret she expected young boys to keep. What a selfish self-centered person she turned out to be, with never a thought of remorse.

Wonderful read

His masterful use of words paint a wonderfully told story. He is now one of my favorite authors.

Another great by a master storyteller

The Whistling Season by Ivan Doig was just what I was looking for. A good old-fashioned fictional story with lively characters and interesting story lines. Wholesome, educational, well written and fun. I would recommend it to anyone that I know who enjoys reading fiction. The reader on this audible production does an excellent job. Reads at the right pace tells the story very well and has the perfect voice representing the narrator.

A masterpiece in The English language.

A masterpiece of vernacular. Truly amazing writing. Loved every minute and the ending was superb.