The Bartender's Tale (Two Medicine Country)

I grew up on t'other side of Great Falls, out on the flats. Doig's love letter to Montana's little corner of American English, the state's people, and their stories was a joy to read.

With the diverse, complex characters of The Bartenders Tale, slowly and completely. No sugar coating, simply real people with hearts as big and needy as the rest of us. A true pleasure to read.

Ivan Doig is not a bad author, but the most interesting part of the story is when the Bartender is telling stories about what happened in the 30s when the dam was being built. A story of that time period narrated as it happened, as opposed to by a third party numerous years later, would have been more enjoyable. An example of how Doig focuses on the wrong things is when one of the characters get into a mess of ticks. They make a whole ordeal of picking off the ticks, which isn’t even interesting. The history and excitement of working on the Fort Peck Dam, on the other hand, would’ve been a lot more enjoyable. Not to mention the narrator’s summer break seems 6 months long. And then there’s the former one-night-stand showing up at the reunion after everyone except the narrator and his dad and companion have left. How fortuitous that she knew exactly when and where to find a person she hadn’t talked to in 20 years. In another section, the author makes out like it’s a big deal that one of the characters changes her name from Francine to France. I’m not against a novel being about the everyday lives of normal,working-class people. Richard Russo has made his living that way, and I love his books, but this book is one of the most boring I’ve ever read.

This book…. I can’t say enough about it, other than READ IT!!! The ending is perfect….. I cried and smiled …… and raised an eyebrow.

This book was published before Ivan Doig passed away this year on April 9th. The years in which the story takes place is the mid-to-late 1950s and the setting is a familiar one, the fictitious town of Gros Ventre featured in many of Doig’s earlier novels. From my own reckoning, the territory around Gros Ventre is like that of Chouteau, Montana, situated north of Helena and east of the Flathead National Forest, sheepherder country among other uses. The title bartender is Tom Harry who decides to reclaim his son, Rusty, living with an aunt in Phoenix. It’s quite a culture change for Rusty and he seems to live in stages of fear and wonderment; fear of being abandoned by his dad and wondering what prompts adults to act the way they do. He finds an ally in a girl named Zoe, also twelve years old. Their favorite pastime is hiding out in the back room of Tom’s bar called Medicine Lodge and eavesdropping through a vent in the wall. The conversations between these two reveal them wise beyond their years and their schtick as would-be actors is often hilarious. Tom’s and Rusty’s lives are changed when a young man named Del Robertson comes into town. He’s being funded by a grant from the Library of Congress to gather data on the words and dialects spoken by local characters, the "lingua america" as he calls it. The lives of Tom, Rusty, Del and Zoe are upended even more when a woman called Proxy, a nickname related to her hair color, zooms into town driving a red Cadillac with her sulking twenty-one year old daughter named Francine. Turns out Proxy and Tom Harry have a history at another Montana saloon called the Blue Eagle. Doig was a writer who practiced his storytelling craft with elegant simplicity. In this book he gives us a subtle and engaging narrative about his characters who act like real people. Though they have some rough edges and don’t always behave the way you would like them to, you still come to care a lot about them. Overall it’s a story about a part of our country you don’t read much about and the solid folks who live and work there.

Doig’s stories are driven by characters more than by plot. This book follows that tendency. His writing is so charming and characters so life-like. I’ve loved all his books.

When you are a bartender in a small fictional Montana town there are lots of stories to be heard. Tom Harry, who is lauded to be the best bartender in Montana, decides to be the dad and retrieve his 6 year old son from his sister who has raised him. The kid, Rusty, has a lot of questions he needs answered. Answers are a long time coming.Owning a joint comes with its set of interesting and mysterious characters . That's what hanging around a bar is all about. Tom does his best to keep his son in the dark about his dubious other dealings. But a kid hears things and learns them through the vent that carries the sounds in the bar to the back room where he spends most of his time.What Rusty tries to figure out is why his father has a sudden interest in him and then constantly takes on an almost parental role and several others worrying about his father's past and his association with women. In his twelfth year Rusty meets Zoe who is his constant companion and sounding board. As the father and son grow closer Rusty learns much about his secretive father and his missing maternal figure. I gave it four stars because it got a little long. The reader invests in these characters, I want to know the outcome, but Doig takes his own sweet time telling the story in the narrative of Rusty.

This is a well-written and engaging tale. The character development draws you into the story and the character's lives. Lots of surprising twists and turns keep things lively and entertaining. I have read several of Doig's books and have purchased a couple of more for summer reading. I highly recommend this book.

The Bartender's TaleI loved this book and didn't want to put it down. I would recommend not reading the back cover as there is a plot spoiler if you are not reading electronically.The story is mainly set in 1960's Montana and told in the first person by the son Rusty from the age of 6 but most of the action is during the year he turns 12.The main characters are well drawn and likeable flawed and human.The relationship between the father and son is explored well as are Rusty's very real childhood fears and misunderstandings.Rusty's friendship with Zoe is warm and joyful and reminds me of the pleasure of finding a new friend whose company you delight in.I really enjoyed this book because of the warm characterization, the fascinating slowly unfolding plot-lines, the unsentimental nostalgia, the use of vernacular language and the detailed, evocative use of language to describe another time and place.

Delightful story telling. I enjoyed the characters and language used to depict the simple folks of that era.A worthwhile read to make you smile and enjoy the simple things in life....which are never as they seem.This book gave you faith in humanity and goodness. Nice to step back in that time frame and enjoy some surprises.

I have enjoyed all of Doigs books. My first love was Dancing at the Rascal Fair, years ago and now I have become a huge fan. The Bartender's tale is also set geographically in an area I ave been thru several time. Jackson Hole and the surrounding. So, I feel a familiarity with the characters. That just makes it all the more enjoyable, when I connect.

Think of artists palette knife spreading oil goo colour on canvas. That is Ivan’s local colour depth. Thick..real..witty..and very well done. Writes like one thinks..streams some, truncates other thoughts. Creates drama, but not overdone! Will read more of Doig!

Otro estupendo relato por un autor dueño de un don especial para tejar un ambiente totalmente creible y integrar sus personajes en tal ambiente. Recomendable a todos. El problema es que no puedes parar de leerlo, por tanto dura poco.