Work Song

Description

“[A] novel that best expresses the American spirit.” –The Chicago Tribune

“If America was a melting pot, Butte seemed to be its boiling point,” observes Morrie Morgan, the itinerant teacher and inveterate charmer who stole readers’ hearts in The Whistling Season. A decade later, he steps off the train and into the copper mining capital of the world in its jittery 1919 heyday. While the riches of “the Richest Hill on Earth” may elude him, once again a colorful cast of local characters seek him out. Before long, Morrie is caught up in the clash between the ironfisted Anaconda Mining Company, radical “outside agitators,” and the beleaguered miners. As tensions build aboveground and below, Morrie finds a unique way to give a voice to those who truly need one, and Ivan Doig proves yet again why he’s reigning king of Western fiction.”A genuinely sweet book by a writer who is generous to his characters and readers alike…start to finish Morrie proves a character in the best sense of the word…He’s awfully good company…a character with whom it’s a pleasure to pass the time no matter the scenery.”
–Missoula Independent

“Entertaining for its rich historical take on the town of Butte…and for its evocative descriptions.”
-Bookpage E-Newsletter

“A classic tale from the heyday of American capitalism by the king of the Western novel.”
–The Daily Beast (Hot Reads)

“As enjoyable and subtly thought-provoking a piece of fiction as you’re likely to pick up this summer. It’s a book that can be appreciated just for the quality of the prose and the author’s adherence to the sturdy conventions of old- fashioned narrative or for Doig’s sly gloss on Western genre fiction and unforced evocation of our current condition – or, better yet, for all those things…One of this novel’s pleasures is the rich cast of secondary characters Doig effortlessly sketches into his narrative…a pleasure to read.”
–The Los Angeles Times

“Relax and allow yourself to be re-absorbed into a way of life that is, day by day, being lost to strip malls and strip mining…As in his previous novels, Doig excels at his descriptions of both characters and the land. ..It’s hard to keep a smile off your face as you’re working your way through this book. Nostalgia has found a happy home here.”
–New West (starred review)

“If you were looking for a novel that best expresses the American spirit, you’d have to ride past a lot of fence posts before finding anything as worthy as Work Song.
–Chicago Tribune

“Not one stictch unravels in this intricately threaded narrative … infectious.”
–The New York Times Book Review

“Readers who fell in love with Morrie Morgan in The Whistling Season will welcome him back to Montana in Ivan Doig’s latest adventure. The pages turn quickly … Doig’s love of language – more specifically, storytelling – is apparent throughout. … Richly imagined and beautifully paced.”
–Associated Press

“With deft strokes of storytelling, Doig paints a vivid scene. [He] introduces … the most unforgettable librarian in all of American fiction [among] a reach of characters worthy of Dostoevsky. … Doig has delivered another compelling tale about America, epic as an Old West saga but as fresh and contemporary as the news.”
–The Seattle Times

“Another insightful, highly readable look at the landscape of the land and the soul…[Doig’s] masterful hand takes readers skillfully into the past with a human story that echoes today … a true treasure.”
–The Billings Gazette

“Magical … you’ll be enjoying every bit of [Doig’s] breathtaking storytelling prowess.”
–Bookpage.com

“More atmospheric, pleasingly old-fashioned storytelling from Doig…whose ear for the way people spoke and thought in times gone by is as faultless as ever.”
–Kirkus Reviews

“The most tumultous, quirky, and fascinating city in the American West of the last century has finally found a storyteller equal to its stories. … Ivan Doig brings to life the core of humanity, and a hell of cast, amidst the shadows and sorrows of Butte, Montana — a city that could say it never slept well before New York made a similar claim.”
-Tim Egan, author of The Last Hard Time and The Big Burn

“Butte is by far the most colorful town in Montana, a kaleidoscope of culture, commerce and copper mines, the perfect palette for an artist like Ivan Doig. Work Song doesn’t just hum along-its rich authenticity echoes and resonates.”
-Jamie Ford, author of The Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and SweetOften called the dean of writers about the American West, Ivan Doig is the author of such national bestsellers as The Whistling Season and The Bartender’s Tale. His work has been translated into Spanish, Japanese, German, and Finnish, and his honors include seven regional booksellers awards, the Evans Biography Prize, and the Wallace Stegner Award, among others. He lives in Seattle.

INTRODUCTION

A decade after he left Montana at the end of Ivan Doig’s bestselling The Whistling Season, Morrie Morgan is back—this time in post-WWI Butte, the copper-mining capital of the world. When Morrie gets caught up in the mounting clash between the mining company, outside agitators, and the beleaguered miners, he finds a unique way to give a voice to those who truly need one.

ABOUT IVAN DOIG

Ivan Doig was born in Montana and grew up along the Rocky Mountain Front. A former ranch hand, newspaperman, and magazine editor, with a Ph.D. in history, Doig is the author of ten novels and three works of nonfiction, including the classic memoir This House of Sky.

ISCUSSION QUESTIONS

What are the promises and challenges of the less settled frontier life? What kind of personalities do you think make out best under these conditions? Which have a hard time flourishing?

“Copper is the blood of Butte” (126). Copper pulses through the veins of the town, and holds the key to Butte’s identity. How do the Anaconda Mining Company, and the tensions with the union and the IWW, shape Butte and the lives and destinies of the residents?

Ivan Doig is as careful in planning and plotting his novels as he is in the writing. Why, then, might he have made Morrie a “cryer” as his first job in Butte?

In Work Song, the town library serves a vital role not only as a home for precious literary volumes, but it also stands as a community center for a wide variety of groups and ideas. Has the role of the public library changed?

What is it about Morrie’s temperament and skills that make him such an adaptable leader? He seems uniquely suited for each position put in front of him—from promoter to cryer to librarian—until another calling presents itself…

Describe the women in Morrie’s life (Rose, Grace, Rab). What does he gain from and share with each?

From the miners at Anaconda to Dora Sandison’s Gilbert and Sullivan appreciation group, discuss the place of song in the lives of the townspeople. What gives these songs—from the hymns to the protest calls—their power and passion? What is the significance of the miner’s new work song?

Were you surprised by Sandison’s involvement with the winning work song—especially after learning the truth behind some of his mythologies and misdeeds? Do you find this a plot device by the author or a moral of redemption in the story?

Why does Morrie feel so protective of Russian Famine, going so far as to set him up with a steady position and a financial future? Before departing he also provides for the miners, Rab and Jared, and Hoop and Griff. Discuss his motivation.

What adventures do you think lie in store for the Morgans as they depart for a new life?

US

Additional information

Dimensions	0.7500 × 5.1500 × 8.0000 in
Series	Two Medicine Country
Imprint	Riverhead Books
ISBN-13	09781594485206
ISBN-10	1594485208
Author	Ivan Doig
Audience	General / adult
BISAC	FIC019000, FIC066000
Subjects	historical fiction books, Montana, Rockies, world war i, prairie, Rocky Mountains, gambling, Gilded Age, unions, widow, fiction books, books fiction, WWI, realistic fiction books, american west, postwar, mining, ivan doig books, Welsh, trade unions, Robber barons, copper mining, red scare, library, marriage, Communism, relationships, FIC066000, fiction, FIC019000, novels, chicago, wall street, immigrant stories, librarian, historical, labor, Irish, historical fiction, Immigrants, government, literary fiction, industrial, alternate history, veterans, libraries