Prairie Nocturne: A Novel (Two Medicine Country #6) [L0132]

2005 PB with minor cover wear. Prairie Nocturne, from one of the greatest novelists of the American West, is a surprising and riveting story set during the Harlem Renaissance, drawing together an unlikely set of thwarted performers in one last inspired grasp at life's set of gold rings: love and renown. This epic saga of two former lovers sired in the pages of Ivan Doig's acclaimed Montana Trilogy follows Susan Duff -- the bossy, indomitable schoolgirl with a silver voice from Dancing at the Rascal Fair who has reached middle age alone, teaching voice lessons to the progeny of Helena's high society. Wesley Williamson, young married heir to the Double W cattle empire, has been forced out of a political career as a result of his affair with Susan having become known. Years later, Wes and Susan have reunited to share in an extraordinary goal: launching the singing career of Monty Rathbun--a man on the wrong side of the racial divide. In this triumph of sure-footed storytelling, motives and fates dangerously entangle. From Montana, to France, Scotland, and New York Prairie Nocturne is a deeply longitudinal novel that raises everlasting questions of allegiance, the grip of the past, and the cost of passion.

From recent Amazon/GoodReads reviews: "The texture of Doig's narrative style is richly detailed, like tapestry. His characters and the exchanges between them spring strongly to life. You do not speed read for the plot, but linger over the nuances of behavior, gesture, verbal inflection, thought, and feeling. I recommend this book to anyone interested in the historical West, relationships between strongly independent characters, the African-American experience, singing and voice training, and a richly textured, multi-layered style of storytelling. Doig is a master."; "He can craft a sentence with highly unorthodox structure and convey the feelings, the beauty, and the emotion that is not found in contemporary works. His love for Montana and the Pacific Coast comes through vividly...but it's his feel for people and their personal strengths and weaknesses that make his stories unforgettable."; "As with other Doig stories, this one is beautifully written. The struggle against the rigid societal stereotypes of the '20's speaks to the courage Doig has infused in his characters. I love Doig's work and regret that his untimely death has silenced my favorite Montana writer. "