book data
825 ratings,
3.69
average rating, 205 reviews
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published
1998
(first published 1993)
by Editions 10/18
binding
Paperback, 209 pages
isbn
2264024968
(isbn13: 9782264024961)
description
The events of that small-town summer forever alter David Hayden's view of his family: his self-effacing father, a sheriff who never wears his badge;
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other reviews (showing 1-20 of 1,024)
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5 stars (180)
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3 stars (251)
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2 stars (69)
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1 star (14)
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avg 3.69
editions: all | this edition
editions: all | this edition
Read in August, 2008
I earlier read the novel Montana 1948 by Larry Watson. This novel was very appealing and a good page-turner. Larry Watson has also written the novels White Crosses, Orchard, and Justice. Montana 1948 was a bildungsroman about a 12 year old boy David Hayden whose family slowly becomes torn apart. The family is torn over the murder of a native american Marie Little Soldier and his Uncle Frank who is the possible murderer.
What intrigued me about the novel was how crisp the descriptions of ea...more
What intrigued me about the novel was how crisp the descriptions of ea...more
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Read in February, 2008
I liked this, but didn't love it. Montana, 1948 is well-written, simple and direct. It seems more like a short story than a novel. If you're a fast reader, it'll be over before you know it. My favorite parts were the visual descriptions of a small Montana town sixty years ago. I've driven through Montana a few times and always been amazed by the combination of beauty and emptiness.
I wasn't as crazy about the plot. Montana is both a crime drama and an examination of the young ...more
I wasn't as crazy about the plot. Montana is both a crime drama and an examination of the young ...more
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Read in November, 2007
This was a re-read of another title that I would call a perfect little book. Over the years I have recommended Montana, 1948 so many times to readers that I felt the need to go back and give it another read, just to make sure I still knew what I was talking about. I do. The novella is that perfect example of a suspenseful literary title, and the perfect prescription for literary readers grown bored with navel-gazing, and crime readers grown weary of the formulaic nature that even the best myster...more
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I think the whole "coming of age" novel has been done to death, and so often is done badly. This slim book (more of a novella than a novel) is the exception to my rule. The story of a boy who discovers that his family is not exactly what he thought they were rings so true to me. The 'voice' is just right for a boy on the fine line between childhood and adolescence who is starting to search for the true meaning behind the things adults tell him - and the things they choose not to tell h...more
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Read in December, 2003
A moving novel about family relationships, family loyalty and justice. The story reveals the events that lead a young boy to face new realities about the people he loves. Set in a small town it places brother against brother and son against father, as a sheriff must investigate the rape and murder of his Sioux housekeeper at the hands of his brother. It raises the question, “Do you uphold justice with the price being the downfall of your brother?” The answer in this case is yes, but ther...more
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Read in June, 2009
This is a short book with a 12-year old narrator. But for the subject matter, I would have assumed this was a young adult fiction novel given the ease of the language and narrative. David is the son of the town sheriff and the nephew of the town doctor. They live in Montana in 1948 near an Indian reservation. Early in the book - and without warning from the book flap - David's uncle is accused of molesting Indian women during their medical examinations. Confronted with this information, David's ...more
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Read in December, 2007
recommends it for:
All who love a good book
Here is one of best books ever written about the far west of the U.S. I was so drawn into the story and people of the story I had to read it in one sitting. The geography of northeastern Montana becomes part of the lore and the tale that enflames the simple men of the north. Told from a teenage boy's point of view, we get a new moral insight and the tension between Native Americans and the ranchers of privlege.
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Read in March, 2008
I've read this book before, and was once again struck by the chilling realization much of our history is not contained in the approved texts but held behind closed doors and spoken of only in whispers. It's difficult to learn from the past when the truth is shrouded by a comforting lie.
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One of my favorite books from the 1990s. Understated and a bit more compassionate than McCarthy's works, Montana 1948 evokes similar lonesome western tones with a warmth of solitude.
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Narrator David Hadley tells the story of what happened in the summer of 1948, when he was 12, in his small-town home in Montana. His father must choose between family and justice when some shocking accusations surface after their housekeeper, a Native American woman, falls ill; after everything plays out, their lives will never be the same. (I love how generic I'm making this sound, I apologize but I don't want to give anything away!)
I liked this book. It was a quick read and made you ...more
I liked this book. It was a quick read and made you ...more
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Read in November, 2003
Another book from my Adolescent Literature class. Short, beautiful, poignant, and painful. Definitely not your average coming of age story.
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Read in January, 2000
recommended to Jen by:
Babylon Library Book Club
Melancholy and slow -- two of the many words that could describe this novel. But also breathtakingly beautiful. Taking place in Montana, the land and scenery are described but in a natural way - as if you are seeing it yourself, and for the first time. And not coincidentally, the land and the lives of the people in the book could also be described as melancholy and slow." The book transports you.
Larry Watson is a favorite author of mine - I will read anything that he has written...more
Larry Watson is a favorite author of mine - I will read anything that he has written...more
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Read in June, 2009
At the end, my first thought was "that's it?" Then I thought about how the style really captured the time period and the area; it's muted in a way that works. The narration was authentic (a boy! Who sounds like a boy!) and I loved reading about small town life in the West. Despite the very tragic events that occur, the story isn't sensational in the way that some young adult books are. It's almost stoic, which certainly fits my impression of the West. A good, quick read. Probably...more
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Read in January, 2008
If theres one thing I like in a book, it is that it's realistic. This was the fact in Larry Watson's book. The book not only expressed the daily life during the late 1940's, it gives new meaning to the reactions of people when faced with situations like the ones in Montana 1948. I believe that others, as well as myself were shocked not to see one heroic figure in the book. In the book the characters were out to defend their names and in that way almost gave into peer pressure. This gives new ins...more
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Has a copy to sell/swap
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Read in August, 2008
Montana 1948 is about a 12 year old boy named David finding out his uncle's secret after listening into his parent's conversation of why Marie, the housekeeper, didn't want to see Doctor Frank, David's Uncle.
When Frank was first introduced in the book I had a feeling there was something dark about him...just didn't know what it was till after he comes to the house to see Marie when she's sick. Turns out that Frank molested his indian patients. I wasn't really shocked after readin...more
When Frank was first introduced in the book I had a feeling there was something dark about him...just didn't know what it was till after he comes to the house to see Marie when she's sick. Turns out that Frank molested his indian patients. I wasn't really shocked after readin...more
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In the book Montana 1948, by Larry Watson, there is a well respected family, the Haydens, who manage to get into quite a bit of trouble thanks to one person. This person is Uncle Frank, who does some inappropriate and illegal things with an Indian patient of his, who means a lot to the rest of the family. As the story unfolds, the reader learns many startling things about Uncle Frank and his wrong doings.
In this noel, there were many things I found very interesting. First off, I t...more
In this noel, there were many things I found very interesting. First off, I t...more
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Montana 1948 was a book i read over the summer. It is written by Larry Watson. The book is about a kid(David), his freinds, and his families struggles throughout there life in Monatana. It talks about a girl named Marie, david's families house keeper, and how she gets raped by David's uncle, Frank. The novel discuss how the family reacts to the situation.
I thought that the book was very interesting. I thought that the plot of the novel was rather unique. It had me reading on a...more
I thought that the book was very interesting. I thought that the plot of the novel was rather unique. It had me reading on a...more
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Read in August, 2008
Montana 1948 was written by Larry Watson in the year of 1993. A few of Watson’s other works include Leaving Dakota, In a Dark Time, and White Crosses. He has racked up awards ranging from the Banta Award to the National Bestseller. Montana 1948 earned Watson a Milkweed National Fiction Prize and sent him to the top.
The highlight of the novel that kept the pages turning were the characters. The individual and overlapping series of events kept my interest along the way. Not only were th...more
The highlight of the novel that kept the pages turning were the characters. The individual and overlapping series of events kept my interest along the way. Not only were th...more
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Montana 1948, by Larry Watson, is a fictional story that leads one to believe it is real. This Story revolves around a young boy name David and his family. David lives in a small Montana town. He lives with his mom, dad, and the caretaker Marie. One day Marie falls ill and the David’s Uncle, who is a doctor, goes to check on Marie. David finds out later that his Uncle had been molesting young Indian girls including Marie. David’s Father, who is the sheriff of the town, has to decide to follo...more
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Montana 1948 by Larry Watson is a book with alot of feelings and family issues. This book is about a boy named David who lives with his mother, father, and nanny. Both his father and grandfather are/were sheriffs. When his nanny got very sick is uncle, who is a doctor, came to help, but ends up raping her.
Within the novel there was multiple shocking moments. At the moment when David's grandfather's friends come to get Uncle Frank out I was surprised they did not burst in the house fas...more
Within the novel there was multiple shocking moments. At the moment when David's grandfather's friends come to get Uncle Frank out I was surprised they did not burst in the house fas...more
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