This House of Sky

By: Ivan Doig

Narrated by: Tom Stechschulte

Length: 11 hrs and 31 mins

Publisher's Summary

A nominee for the National Book Award, Ivan Doig's brilliant memoir shares the experiences and culture that shaped his early years and made him fall in love with the West. From his childhood in a family of homesteaders through the death of his mother and his move to Montana to herd sheep, Doig shows his intimate connection with the American West.

©1978 Ivan Doig (P)2009 Recorded Books, LLC

Early work by a favorite author

This was my first audio version though I have enjoyed reading the books of Ivan Doig for many years. Most of his books take place in the Montana of early to mid-20th century and are as strange and fascinating for me as the stories of medieval knights. They bring me the kind of pleasure that I felt as a child reading the "Little House" books, but with much more mature themes and very beautiful, often poetic language.

I think Tom Stechschulte does a very good job of reading with a natural but flat drawl that I associate with this region of the country and with an earlier and slower time. This particular book is interesting because it describes Doig's journey in becoming a writer. It is a tribute to his parents and grandparents and to the way of life that his family for generations had known. This way of life had already begun to disappear at the time this book was written and Doig was conscious of chronicling the end of an era in this work. He taped his father's and grandmother's recollections as he progressed, knowing these were memories that held in them a way of life that was disappearing. I was sometimes surprised when modern technology shows its face in a book filled with stories that could not have been much different a hundred years before. The challenges faced, hard weather and stubborn animals, are eternal and help to make the stories timeless and yet there is an aspect of them very bound by time since few Americans today grow up with a childhood like this one that occurred not much before most of us were children.

I think the emotion in the stories, the connection between the family members who spend a lot of time struggling with one another as well as with nature is another reason I enjoyed the memoir. It demonstrates an intense but unsentimental bond I found very appealing. The stories recount Doig's memories of his life with his father after his mother died, from the age of 6 or 7 until college and Doig's burgeoning conscience of his rejection of this life.

When his father becomes ill his maternal grandmother joins the journey and the three of end up together -more or less- and the stories of their isolated, hard working lives driving sheep and repairing fences, working in the shadow of awesome mountains and catastrophes make for fascinating reading most of the time. There are a few stories where the memoir slows down in the middle - where the fact that this is Doig's first full length book becomes evident, but that is a small price to pay for this very engaging memoir and story of Montana. Doig's use of language and investigation of memory also distinguish this memoirs from those of many less talented writers that seem to appear more and more frequently these days. Highly recommended for readers who appreciate beautiful writing and stories of other way of life.

4 of 4 people found this review helpful

Always looked forward to reading the next chapter.

Very well written. I really appreciate getting to know about a time, people and place in our history that I have always been intrigued by. And Doig does the telling so well

Perhaps this is Doig's best!

Ivan Doig writes so beautifully, his sentences are prose. This book is filled with wisdom and insight.

<br />This House of Sky is a Memoir<br />

This is a mnemoiir of Ivan Doig., grown up with his dad on Montana ranches, whose education brought him to expression of words that paint a reality of Montana Sky country.

Love this book!

I read this book when I was a teenager, and loved it. In the years since then I've read it many more times. I purchased the audio version, and enjoyed it SO much.

The heart of the West

If you have a desire to experience the heartbeat of Western culture - particularly that of early Montana, it can be felt here. this is a story that will have you hitting the "pause" button again and again in an attempt to buy yourself time to absorb all the feelings that are woven into it. incredible. Narrator is excellent

6 stars

This is the most beautiful book ever written. I read it over and over. Now listen to it. Beautiful performance by Tom Stechschulte.

Montana: Before California & Texas Arrived

Ivan Doig paints a scene with an economy of words that is wondrous. This work sweeps along the east slope of the Montana Rockies with a wistfullness that must be experienced. Family, place and adventure are all found in this autobiography in rich abundance.

Great listening

Couldn't stop listening. The story was wonderful and so descriptive. The characters were so real. Can't get enough of Ivan Doig's books.

0 of 1 people found this review helpful