Donal is an eleven year old boy who lives with his grandmother in Montana. When she needs a surgery with a long recovered period she sends him to Wisconsin on the train to stay with her sister and her supposed husband, Herman, the German. The bus trip is the thing though and set in 1951 it was a time when kids were collecting autographs, which gives Doig a nice way of introducing a lot of characters.
This book is filled with incidents on the road, coming and going. Donal is a smart boy but he is also very much an eleven-year old and should not really be on his own. Luckily Herman, the German decides to accompany him back and see the country. A bit too long but a very nice book by a very talented writer.
11 comments:
I read some early Doig novels but he fell off my reading radar somewhere along the way. I'm not sure why since I remember liking his work.
Yet another writer I've meant to read but never got around to.
I'm reading THE QUEEN'S GAMBIT by Walter Tevis, which so far proves that they did a very faithful job in adapting it on Netflix. If you've seen the series, the book will be familiar, but that is not to say that you shouldn't bother reading it. You should.
I just read his Wikipedia entry. What struck me was, he died eight days before what would have been his 50th Anniversary.
I read the Tevis book some years ago and loved it.
I think I read Doig's book about a Rascal Fair and one or two others.
50th anniversary of his wedding? his writing? I'll check.
This is one I'm not familiar with, Patti. But there is something about a good book set in the West...
Doig got married Aoril 17, 1965, died April 9, 2015.
Doig isn't as good a Tevis, but I enjoyed reading the one book of his of several I've picked up at library sales and the like. It doesn't feel too much like a YA book, after all?
I have a couple Doig books on my shelves but haven't read them yet. Your review motivates me to start one soon!
No, it doesn't although I think there were too many incidents and characters when it came down to it. I wonder if knowing it would be his last book led him to overwrite it. Still, everyone in my book group liked or loved it. Not usually the case.
I like the sound of this book, although the length does bother me for that kind of book. I am not really familiar with this author, maybe because I concentrated on mystery fiction for much of my reading? But I should try one or two of his books.
I like the title. Hadn't known of Doig, but as I'm from Wisconsin it might be a fun read. I was same age as Donal in '51.
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