| Montana 1948, by Larry Watson, is an interesting,
exciting novel about a boy, David Hayden, who lives in Bentrock, Montana,
and the life-changing events which happen to him one summer. David tells
the story of his uncle Frank murdering his housekeeper, an Indian.
David's dad, the sheriff, has to arrest Frank, his own brother, for the
murder. The crisis of the story occurs when David's uncle commits suicide
by cutting his wrists with broken glass from the canning jars on the shelves
in David's basement.The novel ends with David summarizing the changes which
happen after that incident. David's life is never going to be the same
after that summer, and he comes to realize much more about the world adults
live in.
One thing that David learns is the attitude of people toward the local Native Americans. When Marie, the housekeeper that David loves, gets sick, his parents ask his dad's brother, a doctor, to tend to her. She shouts, “No! No!” and his parents learn that David's Uncle Frank have been molesting and raping Indian women all of his life.The Indians are powerless because the Hayden family is so powerful. Also, David learns that his uncle, who has been much more impressive than David's father because he is a war hero and the doctor of the town, is really rotten and hollow on the inside. David accidentally sees his uncle go to his house when no one was there but Marie and after that Marie was dead. David knows that his uncle has committed murder. Then David learns about the true, admirable character of his father. When he tells about seeing his uncle, David's dad arrests him, but instead of locking him in the jail, he locks him in their basement to save him the embarrassment. David's father also has to stand up against David's grandparents and against the ranch workers who come to free his uncle. After the events of this summer of 1948 in Montana, David has basically grown up and learned that the appearance of people is not always the reality. This story is so good because David is telling it. He hides around the side of his house and eavesdrop on his parents’ conversations or if he got sent out of the room, he goes to the bedroom where the heating vent connected to the living room and listen through it. The book is very interesting and suspenseful because it is hard to tell how the book would turn out, and it was very realistic. It is also easy to read because a whole lot happens in not very many pages. To tell the plot doesn't really give the book away, though, because the book is mostly about David and his thoughts about what all happens and his parents and Marie and everything else going on in the book. Anyone should read this book because it is a very good story and it moves very fast. Larry Watson won the 1993 Milkweed Award for Fiction for this book. |
Montana
1948
Includes a summary of the book, Commentary about the book from readers
of the book, and facts about the author of the book, Larry Watson. This
page also includes links about family relationships, grief, Impaired Physicians,
Medical Ethics, Native American Experience, Power Relations, Professionalism,
Sexual Abuse, and Suicide.
Montana
1948
This site has good information about the book, including many reviews
of the book by people that have read this book. Also, at this site you
can also purchase this book at a reduced price.