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Summary
Summary
In Montana, the Hayden name is law. It carries an aura of privilege and power that doesn't stop at the Montana border. When the Hayden boys, Wesley and Frank, take an ill-fated hunting trip, they learn the implications of the Hayden name, even outside the jurisdiction and on the wrong side of the law. In a series of episodes dating from 1899, Watson invites us to get to know the Hayden family intimately. From the story of patriarch Julian Hayden as he carves a new life out of the Montana wilderness, to the struggles of Gail Hayden, Sheriff Wesley Hayden's spirited wife and moral compass, we learn the stories behind the story of Montana 1948.
Author Notes
Born in Rugby, North Dakota, & raised in Bismark, Larry Watson received his B.A., & M.A. in English from the University of North Dakota & his Ph.D. in creative writing from the University of Utah. Watson is the author of the novel "In a Dark Time" & a book of poetry, "Leaving Dakota". He taught English at the University of Wisconsin at Stevens Point & lives in Plover, Wisconsin.
(Bowker Author Biography)
Reviews (5)
Publisher's Weekly Review
In a prequel to his previous novel, Montana 1948, Watson continues his saga of a Western family in the early part of the century. (Apr.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Booklist Review
Watson's latest novel is a prequel to the earlier Montana 1948 (1993). This one takes a closer look at the characters populating both books. Although the Hayden family members are the chief players in both novels, this story reveals much about some of the other citizens of Bentrock, Montana. Justice begins when the Hayden sons, Frank and Wesley, take a disastrous camping trip that ultimately reveals the power their surname can yield. This sets the stage for an exploration of the family history, which is slowly revealed through a series of flashbacks dating from 1899. These are seen through the eyes of various family members and inhabitants of Bentrock and illuminate much about the larger story in Montana, 1948 and about the Hayden family. From the early, isolated homesteaders to 1930s Bentrock, the individual tales are woven together to create an engrossing story of love, familial relationships, and secrets. Demonstrating excellent detail and superbly developed characters, Watson's powerful prose easily re-creates the vivid beauty of Big Sky country, gently evoking a sense of generations long past. --Kathleen Hughes
School Library Journal Review
YAStories about men's relationships with their fathers always appeal to YAs, and this Western will be no exception. It opens in 1924 with Sheriff Julian Hayden's two teenage sons going on a hunting trip to North Dakota with their friends. Their father's word is law at home and in their hometown of Bentrock, Montana, and when they get in trouble, they learn that his influence extends into neighboring states as well. Next, readers are taken back to 1899 for the story of Julian Hayden as he moves west, makes a new life homesteading on the frontier, and begins a family. The book ends in the 1930s with a section told through the eyes of Len McAuley, Julian's deputy. Major and minor characters are well developed through dramatic scenes; believable dialogue; and layers of telling detail about their dreams, emotions, and violent outbursts. The sense of both place and timethe beauty and power of the climate and wide-open spacesis very strong. Teens will like the episodic structurethe stories are very closely connected and they all examine different aspects of the family's relationships. This prequel to Montana 1948 (Milkweed, 1993) is a readable, well-written novel for leisure reading and historical fiction assignments.Patricia Q. Noonan, Prince William Public Library, Manassas, VA (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
A prequel to Montana 1948 (1993), once again centered on the Hayden family of Montana, though this time the focus broadens beyond a small-town sheriff and his bad brother to explore the theme of justice in a series of intimate short stories. The collection is notable for its unrelenting tension, the result of texture and detail more than plot or conflict. The striking novella that opens the volume, ``Outside the Jurisdiction,'' shows brothers Wesley and Frank Hayden, sons of sheriff Julian, setting off with two no-accounts in 1924 for a town outside their father's jurisdiction. At a local cafe the boys--or at least the no-accounts--harass two Indian girls; the local sheriff humiliates them with ad hoc justice before sending them home. The next story, ``Julian Hayden,'' moves the action back to 1899, when their father arrived in Montana and began homesteading with his widowed mother and sisters; when one sister is overworked by a minister in another town, Julian takes justice into his own hands. Moving ahead seven years to 1906, ``Enid Garling'' tells the story of Julian's wife; she thwarts her possessive father by marrying Julian. ``Thanksgiving'' captures the family in 1927, when the sons return from college for the holidays and Wesley begins to understand that brother Frank is not to be trusted (a major theme in Montana 1948). Of the remaining episodes, ``Len McAuley'' profiles a deputy who develops a crush on Wesley's wife, Gail, in 1935; ``Sheriff's Wife'' and ``The Visit,'' both set in 1937, chronicle Gail's disillusionment with her husband's brand of frontier justice and the birth of their son, David. Episodic, but also an intense, vivid portrait of braided lives.
Library Journal Review
In this prequel to the best-selling Montana 1948 (Audio Reviews, LJ 6/1/95), author Watson chronicles the early years of the Hayden clan, from patriarch Julian's early years to his son Wesley's term as sheriff of Mercer County. This program is a classic example of a poor abridgment. The subject of life in Montana during the first half of the century is rare enough to make us greedy for juicy details. But these are stripped away in the present recording, leaving us with a series of rather violent extended anecdotes, bare of context and substance. The examples of rough, extemporized justice, Wesley's relentless mediocrity in comparison to his father, and the poignant outlines of Native American personalities provoke some interest but are too sketchy to be truly engaging. This work will gain immeasurably from knowledge of the earlier book but is too weak for recommendation on its own. Beau Bridges reads with a grizzled storyteller persona that is appropriate to the tone of the book but is limiting in scenes with more dialog. Recommended for large public libraries owning Montana 1948.-John Owen, Advanced Micro Devices Lib., Sunnyvale, Cal. (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
