This has been sitting on my bookshelf for years and I didn't realize it was a collection of short stories, nor did I realize they were linked and leading up to Montana 1948. I have read two of the seven stories so far. The first entitled "Julian Hayden" tells the story of a very young man who pulls up stakes and moves with his mother to Montana because land is cheap and he is not thriving in Iowa. He leaves his sister behind because he doesn't feel she is up to frontier life. He makes arrangements with a minister that his sister will tutor his daughters but will not do any manual labor. Guess what? The ending is surprising and somewhat violent. The second story, "Enid Garling" tells the story of Julian's marriage.
I like Watson's writing so much. He is direct and seldom uses an unnecessary word. I don 't know why I am so drawn to stories set in the West but I am. Perhaps this is the style of writing I read most as a kid.
