Recommended Reading

As a general rule, I don't like first person POV, but The Whistling Season was positively reviewed by the Chicago Tribune. I was surprised to see the novel on the library shelf so soon after the paper spoke highly of Ivan Doig's newest release, since the top notch books are usually circulating most of the time.

I already knew a little of the plot, based on the review, and it sounded intriguing. The novel is a coming-of-age tale, told from the perspective of a grown man recalling a key moment in his life. Turning to the first page, I discovered that it was also full of 'I', and I was sorely tempted to put it back. However, study the market and all that, so I checked it out.

The prose is absolutely unique, with phrases and metaphors that add to an overall sensation of light-hearted joy. Doig's voice is almost playful, nearly over the top but oddly enjoyable to read. Even though the novel is set in rural Montana at the beginning of the Twentieth Century, it is the sort of book that supersedes its location and the story becomes more universal. In other words, it's not a Western, even though it is set in the American West.

Doig builds up the suspense through suggestion, revealing the backgrounds of his key characters in pieces so that the reader maintains interest. The only bumps in the literary road occur when the reader is jarringly reminded that the narrative is coming from a grown man recalling his past, with a few uncomfortable insertions that serve as reminders that this is all flashback.

All in all, the novel reads less like a memoir than most other first person tomes, which makes it far more pleasant to read. Now that I have finished a well-crafted first person POV novel, I think I might be able to try another one. It is said that first person is hard to pull off without resorting to 'I' this and 'I' that, but Ivan Doig demonstrates how it can be done well.