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Morrie Morgan #2
Work Song
National Book Award finalist and Wallace Stegner Award winner Ivan Doig has garnered critical and popular acclaim for his vibrant, authentic tales of the American West. In Work Song he takes listeners to Butte, Montana, in 1919 for the tale of one charmer’s efforts to elude Chicago gangsters.
Stepping off the train in the world’s copper mining capital, Morris Morgan secures a room at the boarding house of an attractive widow he’d like to know better. As the erudite Morris begins working at the local library, he tries not to take sides in the labor dispute at the Anaconda Mining Company. But when he’s mistaken for an undercover union operative, he’s soon caught up in the seething ferment of an iron-fisted company, radical union agitators, and beleaguered miners.
Stepping off the train in the world’s copper mining capital, Morris Morgan secures a room at the boarding house of an attractive widow he’d like to know better. As the erudite Morris begins working at the local library, he tries not to take sides in the labor dispute at the Anaconda Mining Company. But when he’s mistaken for an undercover union operative, he’s soon caught up in the seething ferment of an iron-fisted company, radical union agitators, and beleaguered miners.
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First published January 1, 2010
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About the author
Ivan Doig
38 books787 followersIvan Doig was born in White Sulphur Springs, Montana to a family of homesteaders and ranch hands. After the death of his mother Berneta, on his sixth birthday, he was raised by his father Charles "Charlie" Doig and his grandmother Elizabeth "Bessie" Ringer. After several stints on ranches, they moved to Dupuyer, Pondera County, Montana in the north to herd sheep close to the Rocky Mountain Front.
After his graduation from Valier high school, Doig attended Northwestern University, where he received a bachelor's degree and a master's degree in journalism. He later earned a Ph.D. in American history at the University of Washington, writing his dissertation about John J. McGilvra (1827-1903). He lived with his wife Carol Doig, née Muller, a university professor of English, in Seattle, Washington.
Before Ivan Doig became a novelist, he wrote for newspapers and magazines as a free-lancer and worked for the United States Forest Service.
Much of his fiction is set in the Montana country of his youth. His major theme is family life in the past, mixing personal memory and regional history. As the western landscape and people play an important role in his fiction, he has been hailed as the new dean of western literature, a worthy successor to Wallace Stegner.
Bibliography
His works includes both fictional and non-fictional writings. They can be divided into four groups:
Early Works
News: A Consumer's Guide (1972) - a media textbook coauthored by Carol Doig
Streets We Have Come Down: Literature of the City (1975) - an anthology edited by Ivan Doig
Utopian America: Dreams and Realities (1976) - an anthology edited by Ivan Doig
Autobiographical Books
This House of Sky: Landscapes of a Western Mind (1979) - memoirs based on the author's life with his father and grandmother (nominated for National Book Award)
Heart Earth (1993) - memoirs based on his mother's letters to her brother Wally
Regional Works
Winter Brothers: A Season at the Edge of America (1980) - an essayistic dialog with James G. Swan
The Sea Runners (1982) - an adventure novel about four Swedes escaping from New Archangel, today's Sitka, Alaska
Historical Novels
English Creek (1984)
Dancing at the Rascal Fair (1987)
Ride with Me, Mariah Montana (1990)
Bucking the Sun: A Novel (1996)
Mountain Time: A Novel (1999)
Prairie Nocturne: A Novel (2003)
The Whistling Season: A Novel (2006)
The Eleventh Man: A Novel (2008)
The first three Montana novels form the so-called McCaskill trilogy, covering the first centennial of Montana's statehood from 1889 to 1989.
from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ivan_Doig"
After his graduation from Valier high school, Doig attended Northwestern University, where he received a bachelor's degree and a master's degree in journalism. He later earned a Ph.D. in American history at the University of Washington, writing his dissertation about John J. McGilvra (1827-1903). He lived with his wife Carol Doig, née Muller, a university professor of English, in Seattle, Washington.
Before Ivan Doig became a novelist, he wrote for newspapers and magazines as a free-lancer and worked for the United States Forest Service.
Much of his fiction is set in the Montana country of his youth. His major theme is family life in the past, mixing personal memory and regional history. As the western landscape and people play an important role in his fiction, he has been hailed as the new dean of western literature, a worthy successor to Wallace Stegner.
Bibliography
His works includes both fictional and non-fictional writings. They can be divided into four groups:
Early Works
News: A Consumer's Guide (1972) - a media textbook coauthored by Carol Doig
Streets We Have Come Down: Literature of the City (1975) - an anthology edited by Ivan Doig
Utopian America: Dreams and Realities (1976) - an anthology edited by Ivan Doig
Autobiographical Books
This House of Sky: Landscapes of a Western Mind (1979) - memoirs based on the author's life with his father and grandmother (nominated for National Book Award)
Heart Earth (1993) - memoirs based on his mother's letters to her brother Wally
Regional Works
Winter Brothers: A Season at the Edge of America (1980) - an essayistic dialog with James G. Swan
The Sea Runners (1982) - an adventure novel about four Swedes escaping from New Archangel, today's Sitka, Alaska
Historical Novels
English Creek (1984)
Dancing at the Rascal Fair (1987)
Ride with Me, Mariah Montana (1990)
Bucking the Sun: A Novel (1996)
Mountain Time: A Novel (1999)
Prairie Nocturne: A Novel (2003)
The Whistling Season: A Novel (2006)
The Eleventh Man: A Novel (2008)
The first three Montana novels form the so-called McCaskill trilogy, covering the first centennial of Montana's statehood from 1889 to 1989.
from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ivan_Doig"
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 690 reviews
September 18, 2016
This book has been my solace for the last 10 days. During a busy and extremely stressful time when I wasn’t able to read nearly as much as I’d like, this book was the hot tea, soft pillow, and warm blanket at the end of each day.
Work Song is the second book featuring Morrie Morgan whom I would describe as an eclectic mix of brilliance, humor, and kindness. In other words, he’s extremely entertaining. Upon his arrival in Butte MT, “The Richest Hill on Earth,” he finds himself caught up in circumstances beyond his control, all of which he handles in typical Morrie fashion. Although you can start with this book, I recommend checking out The Whistling Season for a wonderful story and an introduction to Morrie.
Ivan Doig is an absolute delight. Sadly, he passed only last year and I do wish I’d discovered his work long before that.
Work Song is the second book featuring Morrie Morgan whom I would describe as an eclectic mix of brilliance, humor, and kindness. In other words, he’s extremely entertaining. Upon his arrival in Butte MT, “The Richest Hill on Earth,” he finds himself caught up in circumstances beyond his control, all of which he handles in typical Morrie fashion. Although you can start with this book, I recommend checking out The Whistling Season for a wonderful story and an introduction to Morrie.
Ivan Doig is an absolute delight. Sadly, he passed only last year and I do wish I’d discovered his work long before that.
September 6, 2020
Another late night with Mr. Doig and Morrie Morgan. The time of the book is 1919, ten years or so after the events of The Whistling Season, and Morrie is the narrator now.
He has been away (Tasmania?! Really?!) but something about Montana pulled him back, only this time instead of Marias Coulee he is in Butte, with a vague notion of getting rich from the copper mining going on in the city. His plans don't involve actual mining, he is thinking more along the lines of bookkeeper or accountant or some such. Anything would be welcome, since the railroad lost his trunk during the trip and he has nothing except a satchel of basic items and his brain when he steps off the train.
And then, after a week or so in what could only be called a dead-end job, Morrie goes to the library, planning some career research. But he also asks the woman at the desk his standard question: Do they have a copy of Julius Caesar's Gallic Wars? In the original Latin? Morrie felt a library without this book was not worthy of the name.
He was surprised at the quality of the book the librarian brought him, and it kept him from his planned research.
" Temptation had to vie with distraction, however. Something about the Gallic Wars at my elbow kept diverting me. Even when they are closed, some books do not shut up. Why was this beautifully sewn leather edition, a collector's item if I had ever seen one, spending its existence on a public shelf in a none too fastidious mining town? Once more I peered at those tiers on the mezzanine, and if I was not severely mistaken, many other handsome volumes sat there, beckoning, in bindings of royal reds and greens and blues and buffs. Curiosity got the better of me. Up the stairwell I went.
And found myself in a book lover's paradise."
While in paradise, he meets the head librarian, an ex-rancher, larger than life and quite a character. Morrie gets a job as...well, sort of a combination gofer and Man Friday, and becomes an invaluable part of daily life at the library.
But there are other events shaping themselves into reality in Butte. The miners are restless about pay and working conditions, there have been strikes and might be more, and someone seems to be following Morrie. Who is it and what do they want?
That is about all I can say without spoiling anything. And it is VITAL to read The Whistling Season before you read this book. You will know and appreciate Morrie much better, and when he refers to events that took place in the previous book you will not have that volume spoiled for you.
So now I am off to see what happens to our Morrie after the final pages of this book. Sweet Thunder starts off just about a year later. I had to get started on it last night so I already know what direction Morrie will be taking in the next phase of his life: and it is not at all what I expected from him!
He has been away (Tasmania?! Really?!) but something about Montana pulled him back, only this time instead of Marias Coulee he is in Butte, with a vague notion of getting rich from the copper mining going on in the city. His plans don't involve actual mining, he is thinking more along the lines of bookkeeper or accountant or some such. Anything would be welcome, since the railroad lost his trunk during the trip and he has nothing except a satchel of basic items and his brain when he steps off the train.
And then, after a week or so in what could only be called a dead-end job, Morrie goes to the library, planning some career research. But he also asks the woman at the desk his standard question: Do they have a copy of Julius Caesar's Gallic Wars? In the original Latin? Morrie felt a library without this book was not worthy of the name.
He was surprised at the quality of the book the librarian brought him, and it kept him from his planned research.
" Temptation had to vie with distraction, however. Something about the Gallic Wars at my elbow kept diverting me. Even when they are closed, some books do not shut up. Why was this beautifully sewn leather edition, a collector's item if I had ever seen one, spending its existence on a public shelf in a none too fastidious mining town? Once more I peered at those tiers on the mezzanine, and if I was not severely mistaken, many other handsome volumes sat there, beckoning, in bindings of royal reds and greens and blues and buffs. Curiosity got the better of me. Up the stairwell I went.
And found myself in a book lover's paradise."
While in paradise, he meets the head librarian, an ex-rancher, larger than life and quite a character. Morrie gets a job as...well, sort of a combination gofer and Man Friday, and becomes an invaluable part of daily life at the library.
But there are other events shaping themselves into reality in Butte. The miners are restless about pay and working conditions, there have been strikes and might be more, and someone seems to be following Morrie. Who is it and what do they want?
That is about all I can say without spoiling anything. And it is VITAL to read The Whistling Season before you read this book. You will know and appreciate Morrie much better, and when he refers to events that took place in the previous book you will not have that volume spoiled for you.
So now I am off to see what happens to our Morrie after the final pages of this book. Sweet Thunder starts off just about a year later. I had to get started on it last night so I already know what direction Morrie will be taking in the next phase of his life: and it is not at all what I expected from him!
February 21, 2024
It took me a while to get into the story, but when I did, I loved it. I’ve worked in a library for almost 22 years now and I loved learning about the goings on at the library in Butte, Monatana where the head of the library was chosen simply because of his excellent collection of books, rather than his credentials.
Morrie Morgan is given a tour by Miss Runyon on his first day of work at the library, and then reports to his new boss Sam Sanderson whom he finds "standing at its cathedral-like window trying to peek out at the weather through an eyelet of world clear glass. "Damn stained glass," he grumbled. "What do the nitwits think a window is for?"
Then, Sanderson refers to how long he has been waiting for Morgan by stating, "The downstairs dragon show you every mouse hole did she?" There is no love lost between the “dragon” – Miss Runyon, the 'true' librarian and Sanderson.
I enjoyed the interactions between Morgan and Sanderson who is described as "meaner than the devil's half-brother," and "his old-fashioned black suit was as mussed as if he'd flung it on in the dark and he wore scuffed cowboy boots that added still more inches to his height."
I had to chuckle at Sanderson’s annoyance that people would want to use the library! “People always want to use this damn place, they need a room to hold this meeting or that. You’d think a library was a big beehive.” What an apt description, a library is a place buzzing with people seeking knowledge and connecting with one another.
He goes on to say, “Myself, I don’t see why they can’t just check out a couple of books and go home and read, but, no, they bunch up and want to cram in here and talk the ears off one another half the night.”
Then, he lists some of the groups that meet at the library: “The Shakespeare Society. The Theosophists. The Ladies’ and Gentlemen’s Literary and Social Circle. The League of Nations Advocates. The Jabberwockians. The Gilbert and Sullivan Libretto Study Group. And that’s hardly the half of them wanting some damn night of their own to come in here and take up space. They’ve all got to be juggled.” Sounds like a lively library and the kind I’d like to belong to.
Additionally, Sanderson “was a demon promoter of the library and wanted the list of current favorite books unfailingly in the newspaper by the end of each week. It was not an inspiring task as the most popular book of the past seven days invariably turned out to be Mrs. Mary V. Terhune’s, ‘My Little Love,’ and [Morgan] sometimes had to adjust the arithmetic to get Thomas Hardy and Edith Wharton on the list at all.”
Other phrases I enjoyed:
"He stroked his beard as if petting a cat."
“Peculiar characters are drawn to a library like bees to a flower garden.”
Morrie Morgan is given a tour by Miss Runyon on his first day of work at the library, and then reports to his new boss Sam Sanderson whom he finds "standing at its cathedral-like window trying to peek out at the weather through an eyelet of world clear glass. "Damn stained glass," he grumbled. "What do the nitwits think a window is for?"
Then, Sanderson refers to how long he has been waiting for Morgan by stating, "The downstairs dragon show you every mouse hole did she?" There is no love lost between the “dragon” – Miss Runyon, the 'true' librarian and Sanderson.
I enjoyed the interactions between Morgan and Sanderson who is described as "meaner than the devil's half-brother," and "his old-fashioned black suit was as mussed as if he'd flung it on in the dark and he wore scuffed cowboy boots that added still more inches to his height."
I had to chuckle at Sanderson’s annoyance that people would want to use the library! “People always want to use this damn place, they need a room to hold this meeting or that. You’d think a library was a big beehive.” What an apt description, a library is a place buzzing with people seeking knowledge and connecting with one another.
He goes on to say, “Myself, I don’t see why they can’t just check out a couple of books and go home and read, but, no, they bunch up and want to cram in here and talk the ears off one another half the night.”
Then, he lists some of the groups that meet at the library: “The Shakespeare Society. The Theosophists. The Ladies’ and Gentlemen’s Literary and Social Circle. The League of Nations Advocates. The Jabberwockians. The Gilbert and Sullivan Libretto Study Group. And that’s hardly the half of them wanting some damn night of their own to come in here and take up space. They’ve all got to be juggled.” Sounds like a lively library and the kind I’d like to belong to.
Additionally, Sanderson “was a demon promoter of the library and wanted the list of current favorite books unfailingly in the newspaper by the end of each week. It was not an inspiring task as the most popular book of the past seven days invariably turned out to be Mrs. Mary V. Terhune’s, ‘My Little Love,’ and [Morgan] sometimes had to adjust the arithmetic to get Thomas Hardy and Edith Wharton on the list at all.”
Other phrases I enjoyed:
"He stroked his beard as if petting a cat."
“Peculiar characters are drawn to a library like bees to a flower garden.”
May 17, 2025
A Song Of Butte
There has been increased interest in American westerns the past several years. I have enjoyed exploring the genre and was glad to read for the first time Ivan Doig, (1939 -- 2015) in his 2010 novel "Work Song". Set in Butte, Montana in 1919 this book is sweet and a delight. It has a sure sense of place, well-developed characters, and an engaging story. During our current time of difficulty, "Work Song" offers a sense of the United States and a fresh view of its ideals.
The story's primary character is the mustachioed Morrie Morgan, a wanderer and a scholar who loves both books and gambling. Morrie has a long backstory in boxing and gambling in Chicago and in teaching in a small Montana town ten years before the events of "Work Song". The latter experiences are the subject of an earlier book by Doig, "The Whistling Season". When Morrie arrives on the train in Butte with nothing but his satchel, he secures lodging at a boarding house owned by the widow Grace Faraday. His fellow-boarders are two retired, crotchety Welch miners. Morrie secures a job at the Butte Public Library, which has a surprisingly large collection and which is supervised by one Samuel Sandison, a former wealthy rancher with a sinister past. Other important characters in the book include two goons of the Anaconda Mining Company and a young, ambitious union organizer.
The story captures a raucous, lively Butte, Montana and its diversity with miners from many countries of Europe who form their separate communities while trying to get along in unity together. The Butte of 1919 is shown as a prototypical American melting pot. The plot centers around a labor dispute between the mine workers and the Anaconda Mining Company which is drawing enormous profits from the mines while cutting the workers' pay. A rival. more radical union, the IWW is competing with the union the workers have organized in their search for a fair wage and safer working conditions.
The most effective scenes in the book show group community activity. Morrie and Grace attend a yearly Miners Day celebration described in detail. There is a harrowing scene of work in a copper mine three thousand feet underground. And there are several scenes of the union men organizing and coming together in the Butte Library to try to create an appropriate song to spearhead their movement in their fight with Anaconda. In reading about this early union activity, I thought of the recent movie "The Irishman" which shows a later, harsher side of the labor movement in its story of Jimmy Hoffa. The treatment of the labor movement in "Work Song" is a good early corrective with its idealism and honesty among the union workers.
The book works on both a community and with its flawed, characters,on a personal level. The Butte Public Library becomes a symbol of the transformation of the American West from a place of wildness to a seat of learning and study. The unabashed romanticism and optimism of this book is a valuable antidote to much contemporary cynicism and social- cultural criticism. The book helped me understand the early mines, labor, and American diversity. I am looking forward to reading additional books by Ivan Doig,
Robin Friedman
There has been increased interest in American westerns the past several years. I have enjoyed exploring the genre and was glad to read for the first time Ivan Doig, (1939 -- 2015) in his 2010 novel "Work Song". Set in Butte, Montana in 1919 this book is sweet and a delight. It has a sure sense of place, well-developed characters, and an engaging story. During our current time of difficulty, "Work Song" offers a sense of the United States and a fresh view of its ideals.
The story's primary character is the mustachioed Morrie Morgan, a wanderer and a scholar who loves both books and gambling. Morrie has a long backstory in boxing and gambling in Chicago and in teaching in a small Montana town ten years before the events of "Work Song". The latter experiences are the subject of an earlier book by Doig, "The Whistling Season". When Morrie arrives on the train in Butte with nothing but his satchel, he secures lodging at a boarding house owned by the widow Grace Faraday. His fellow-boarders are two retired, crotchety Welch miners. Morrie secures a job at the Butte Public Library, which has a surprisingly large collection and which is supervised by one Samuel Sandison, a former wealthy rancher with a sinister past. Other important characters in the book include two goons of the Anaconda Mining Company and a young, ambitious union organizer.
The story captures a raucous, lively Butte, Montana and its diversity with miners from many countries of Europe who form their separate communities while trying to get along in unity together. The Butte of 1919 is shown as a prototypical American melting pot. The plot centers around a labor dispute between the mine workers and the Anaconda Mining Company which is drawing enormous profits from the mines while cutting the workers' pay. A rival. more radical union, the IWW is competing with the union the workers have organized in their search for a fair wage and safer working conditions.
The most effective scenes in the book show group community activity. Morrie and Grace attend a yearly Miners Day celebration described in detail. There is a harrowing scene of work in a copper mine three thousand feet underground. And there are several scenes of the union men organizing and coming together in the Butte Library to try to create an appropriate song to spearhead their movement in their fight with Anaconda. In reading about this early union activity, I thought of the recent movie "The Irishman" which shows a later, harsher side of the labor movement in its story of Jimmy Hoffa. The treatment of the labor movement in "Work Song" is a good early corrective with its idealism and honesty among the union workers.
The book works on both a community and with its flawed, characters,on a personal level. The Butte Public Library becomes a symbol of the transformation of the American West from a place of wildness to a seat of learning and study. The unabashed romanticism and optimism of this book is a valuable antidote to much contemporary cynicism and social- cultural criticism. The book helped me understand the early mines, labor, and American diversity. I am looking forward to reading additional books by Ivan Doig,
Robin Friedman
November 20, 2011
This sequel to Doig's wonderful novel, The Whistling Season, is a tasty morsel, a lagniappe rather than a substantial offering. Incongruously, Doig turns a tumultuous chapter in American history--the struggle between workingmen (miners) and big corporations (a mining company, in this instance) into the foundation for a charming, fanciful, semi-comedic romantic tale. Although the period is a bit earlier and the metal is silver, not copper, I highly recommend Big Trouble by J. Anthony Lukas for a less nostalgic historical account.
The story takes place in Butte, Montana in 1919. Whistling Season's protagonist, Morrie Morgan, returns to Montana after 12 years in hope of making his fortune in this bustling copper mining city. Instead, he finds a roof over his head at Grace Faraday's boarding house, employment at a funeral parlor and subsequently, the public library, and pressure to take sides in a nasty battle between the Anaconda Mining Company and the unionized workers. Not since Pajama Game has a labor-management dispute served as the basis for a confection like this. No doubt, readers' heartbeats will accelerate as they approach the denouement that will answer the question, "Will the union succeed in coming up with a song to rally their members?"
Enough said. Light entertainment about a heavy time by a charming author.
The story takes place in Butte, Montana in 1919. Whistling Season's protagonist, Morrie Morgan, returns to Montana after 12 years in hope of making his fortune in this bustling copper mining city. Instead, he finds a roof over his head at Grace Faraday's boarding house, employment at a funeral parlor and subsequently, the public library, and pressure to take sides in a nasty battle between the Anaconda Mining Company and the unionized workers. Not since Pajama Game has a labor-management dispute served as the basis for a confection like this. No doubt, readers' heartbeats will accelerate as they approach the denouement that will answer the question, "Will the union succeed in coming up with a song to rally their members?"
Enough said. Light entertainment about a heavy time by a charming author.
July 23, 2010
Mr. Doig is a true talent. I love what he does with words.
This little narrative of the "further adventures" of Morrie (The Whistling Season) had me from the second sentence: "The depot agent, an individual so slow I thought I might have to draw a line on the floor to see him move..."
Morrie is such a fun character - as were the other ones populating this book. The pictures remain vivid in my mind. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book - and it is so refreshing to read something so involving, yet simultaneously "squeaky clean". My hat is off, once again, in respect to Mr. Doig. Thanks for a well-spent afternoon.
Some favorite passages:
"I have always felt at home among books, so when the woman from the desk plopped my requested two in front of me, they seemed like old friends dropping by."
"For as long as there are men and women, some things in life will best be done arm in arm, and strolling a flower garden is one."
"No one seemed to pay particular attention to my unmoored state of mind; when that happens, it makes you wonder about your normal mien."
"In the book of life we are chapters in one another's stories..."
This little narrative of the "further adventures" of Morrie (The Whistling Season) had me from the second sentence: "The depot agent, an individual so slow I thought I might have to draw a line on the floor to see him move..."
Morrie is such a fun character - as were the other ones populating this book. The pictures remain vivid in my mind. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book - and it is so refreshing to read something so involving, yet simultaneously "squeaky clean". My hat is off, once again, in respect to Mr. Doig. Thanks for a well-spent afternoon.
Some favorite passages:
"I have always felt at home among books, so when the woman from the desk plopped my requested two in front of me, they seemed like old friends dropping by."
"For as long as there are men and women, some things in life will best be done arm in arm, and strolling a flower garden is one."
"No one seemed to pay particular attention to my unmoored state of mind; when that happens, it makes you wonder about your normal mien."
"In the book of life we are chapters in one another's stories..."
June 30, 2020
Morrie Morgan has arrived in Butte, Montana just after the end of World War I. Morrie is “an itinerant teacher, walking encyclopedia, and inveterate charmer” who’s been attracted by news of “the richest hill on earth” and a need to get as far from Chicago as possible. While he lands a position at the local library, he’s also soon immersed in the miners’ struggles to form a union and fight for better working conditions and fair wages.
What a charming and engaging story! Per the book jacket, Morgan first appeared in Doig’s The Whistling Season ; I have not read that earlier work and didn’t feel I was missing any information to understand Morrie and follow this story.
The pace is somewhat slow. As events unfold we learn about the residents of Butte – Sandison (former cattle baron, and still an acknowledged “big man” in town), Grace (Morrie’s young, pretty, widowed landlady), Griff & Hoop (two old miners who share the boarding house with Morrie), Barbara aka Rabrab (Morrie’s former student, now teaching 6th grade), Jared (a young union organizer, and engaged to Rabrab), and Russian Famine (a waif of a boy who needs guidance). The town, itself, is practically a character with its small café, prolonged Irish wakes, boisterous bar, festival celebration, and church gatherings.
I liked Morrie’s slow, deliberate way of judging the situation. The bookworm in me loved all his literary references, and his ability to cite an appropriate passage, seemingly plucked out of thin air. Make no mistake, he’s no milquetoast librarian; Morrie can (and does) take care of himself, though he’s decidedly uncomfortable with firearms.
Grace is a marvelous strong woman. Principled, kind, compassionate, feisty, courageous and conflicted. Doig’s skill at character building shows in the way her actions reveal her inner struggles.
I need to go back and read The Whistling Season … heck, I need to read ALL of Ivan Doig’s works.
What a charming and engaging story! Per the book jacket, Morgan first appeared in Doig’s The Whistling Season ; I have not read that earlier work and didn’t feel I was missing any information to understand Morrie and follow this story.
The pace is somewhat slow. As events unfold we learn about the residents of Butte – Sandison (former cattle baron, and still an acknowledged “big man” in town), Grace (Morrie’s young, pretty, widowed landlady), Griff & Hoop (two old miners who share the boarding house with Morrie), Barbara aka Rabrab (Morrie’s former student, now teaching 6th grade), Jared (a young union organizer, and engaged to Rabrab), and Russian Famine (a waif of a boy who needs guidance). The town, itself, is practically a character with its small café, prolonged Irish wakes, boisterous bar, festival celebration, and church gatherings.
I liked Morrie’s slow, deliberate way of judging the situation. The bookworm in me loved all his literary references, and his ability to cite an appropriate passage, seemingly plucked out of thin air. Make no mistake, he’s no milquetoast librarian; Morrie can (and does) take care of himself, though he’s decidedly uncomfortable with firearms.
Grace is a marvelous strong woman. Principled, kind, compassionate, feisty, courageous and conflicted. Doig’s skill at character building shows in the way her actions reveal her inner struggles.
I need to go back and read The Whistling Season … heck, I need to read ALL of Ivan Doig’s works.
September 13, 2017
Still in Montana, but this time Ivan Doig characters are copper miners and librarians, with only a lonesome ex cattle rancher. Not as strong as my previous Ivan Doig’s novels, but still very enjoyable and funny. I’ll take one of his novels over many new popular ones any day. 3 ½ stars.
Even when they are closed, some books do not shut up. Why was this beautifully sewn leather edition, a collector’s item if I had ever seen one, spending its existence on a public shelf in a none too fastidious mining town? Once more I peered at those tiers on the mezzanine, and if I was not severely mistaken, many other handsome volumes sat there, beckoning, in bindings of royal reds and greens and blues and buffs. Curiosity got the better of me. Up the stairwell I went.
And found myself in a book lover’s paradise.
Being around him was like having the Grand Inquisitor grading one’s homework.
“I knew you’d be back,” the gust of welcome nearly parted my hair.
Even when they are closed, some books do not shut up. Why was this beautifully sewn leather edition, a collector’s item if I had ever seen one, spending its existence on a public shelf in a none too fastidious mining town? Once more I peered at those tiers on the mezzanine, and if I was not severely mistaken, many other handsome volumes sat there, beckoning, in bindings of royal reds and greens and blues and buffs. Curiosity got the better of me. Up the stairwell I went.
And found myself in a book lover’s paradise.
Being around him was like having the Grand Inquisitor grading one’s homework.
“I knew you’d be back,” the gust of welcome nearly parted my hair.
August 7, 2014
Readers of Doig’s previous novel, The Whistling Season, will immediately recognize Morris Morgan, the quirky, knowledgeable schoolteacher who mentors young Paul until Paul’s father marries Morrie’s “sister,” Rose. After wandering through travels for several years, Morrie finds himself back in Montana, in the small mining town of Butte, Colorado. Morrie’s flamboyant speech carries over into a rich, descriptive narrative, beginning with a lost trunk and the search for lodging and gainful employment. The trunk remains lost, but Morrie finds himself boarding with the Widow Faraday and two retired miners named Griff and Hoop, all three of whom are ardent critics of the mining company, Anaconda, which runs the town. For work, Morrie starts out as a hired cryer for the local funeral home, but once word gets out about his extensive knowledge and book-learning, the crochety old librarian engages him in a literary debate, then hires him to manage the calendar and other assorted duties. And before long, things are astir in the town, with miners’ union meetings held in the basement of the library and Morrie drafted by a former student to help compose a work song for the miners protest.
One of the most amusing parts of this novel is the interaction between Morrie and his boss, the self-appointed librarian, Samuel Sandison, who once owned a massive ranch, and still owns a beautiful collection of books which he has loaned to the library. In one chapter, Sandison gripes about dealing with library trustees — “I thought it was hard to keep track of a few thousand cows — that was nothing compared to this outfit” — and in another enforces the library code of conduct when the miners who are on strike are looking for somewhere to mingle.
Though this is an excellent piece of historical fiction, I think that Doig’s previous novel has more widespread appeal. Morrie’s literature-strewn narrative can become tedious at times, especially when he is trading quotes with various characters. Griff and Hoop add levity and humor, and Morrie and Grace’s awkward courtship lightens the mood. Recommended for those who have read and enjoyed “The Whistling Season,” as well as those who don’t mind wading through the idiosyncrasies of an over-learned narrator.
One of the most amusing parts of this novel is the interaction between Morrie and his boss, the self-appointed librarian, Samuel Sandison, who once owned a massive ranch, and still owns a beautiful collection of books which he has loaned to the library. In one chapter, Sandison gripes about dealing with library trustees — “I thought it was hard to keep track of a few thousand cows — that was nothing compared to this outfit” — and in another enforces the library code of conduct when the miners who are on strike are looking for somewhere to mingle.
Though this is an excellent piece of historical fiction, I think that Doig’s previous novel has more widespread appeal. Morrie’s literature-strewn narrative can become tedious at times, especially when he is trading quotes with various characters. Griff and Hoop add levity and humor, and Morrie and Grace’s awkward courtship lightens the mood. Recommended for those who have read and enjoyed “The Whistling Season,” as well as those who don’t mind wading through the idiosyncrasies of an over-learned narrator.
January 15, 2014
It’s natural to compare Doig’s Work Song to the earlier The Whistling Season just because both feature Morrie Morgan as the bigger-than-life protagonist. OK. I absolutely savored Doig’s The Whistling Season (and I highly recommend it), but I wasn’t as disappointed as some with Work Song. In fact, I found it quite entertaining.
Erudite, wildly clever, with a brain that holds an encyclopedia’s worth of information, Morrie narrates a story reflective of the brilliant mind which serves him so well in his short time in Butte, MT, in 1919. But Morrie is no ivory-tower scholar: he treasures fine literature, but his risky antics, in the pursuit of wealth, keep him on the run from certain unsavory elements.
Lured by the wealthy copper industry in Butte and expecting to make a pretty buck there, Morrie arrives in the city to find tensions between the brutal Anaconda Mining Co. and the unionized workers, exacerbated by the Wobblies who try to lure the miners to their socialist views. Soon dissuaded from offering his services to Anaconda by his landlady and quirky fellow boarders, Morrie serendipitously lands a job at the Butte Public Library. He won’t earn his fortune there, but he will be in the company of the finest collection of classical literature in the West -- and of the cantankerous and unpredictable ex-rancher who serves as librarian. As a library worker myself, I greatly appreciated the descriptions of this fabulous library and its staff and patrons.
Morrie makes his mark soon enough in Butte. Good-hearted and highly creative, he is called upon to help the miners, a skinny and hungry 12-year-old, a schoolteacher, the librarian’s wife, basically all the “good” people he meets. He’s not filling his pockets, as was his intention, and haunted by his past and with his brass knuckles handy, he can scarcely walk the streets without looking over his shoulder, making him more than a little “knuckle”-happy.
But Morrie’s time here is by necessity short-lived and he must move on. We might say he leaves Butte in better shape than he found it, though just as the catchy work song created by the miners to inspire them during tough times won’t solve all their problems, Morrie’s generosity won’t be a permanent solution to those he helps either. Well, maybe with one exception.
Erudite, wildly clever, with a brain that holds an encyclopedia’s worth of information, Morrie narrates a story reflective of the brilliant mind which serves him so well in his short time in Butte, MT, in 1919. But Morrie is no ivory-tower scholar: he treasures fine literature, but his risky antics, in the pursuit of wealth, keep him on the run from certain unsavory elements.
Lured by the wealthy copper industry in Butte and expecting to make a pretty buck there, Morrie arrives in the city to find tensions between the brutal Anaconda Mining Co. and the unionized workers, exacerbated by the Wobblies who try to lure the miners to their socialist views. Soon dissuaded from offering his services to Anaconda by his landlady and quirky fellow boarders, Morrie serendipitously lands a job at the Butte Public Library. He won’t earn his fortune there, but he will be in the company of the finest collection of classical literature in the West -- and of the cantankerous and unpredictable ex-rancher who serves as librarian. As a library worker myself, I greatly appreciated the descriptions of this fabulous library and its staff and patrons.
Morrie makes his mark soon enough in Butte. Good-hearted and highly creative, he is called upon to help the miners, a skinny and hungry 12-year-old, a schoolteacher, the librarian’s wife, basically all the “good” people he meets. He’s not filling his pockets, as was his intention, and haunted by his past and with his brass knuckles handy, he can scarcely walk the streets without looking over his shoulder, making him more than a little “knuckle”-happy.
But Morrie’s time here is by necessity short-lived and he must move on. We might say he leaves Butte in better shape than he found it, though just as the catchy work song created by the miners to inspire them during tough times won’t solve all their problems, Morrie’s generosity won’t be a permanent solution to those he helps either. Well, maybe with one exception.
March 1, 2012
The setting is Butte, Montana, 1919, and the copper mining industry is in full swing; the rising labor union and the struggles to improve working conditions for the miners provides the plot for this sequel to The Whistling Season. However, even in this time of harsh conditions, this book is a light and pleasant read. Morrie Morrison is such a delightful character, and Doig's use of language is so eloquent, I love reading his books, meeting his characters, entering their world.
January 30, 2023
Doig does a great job of presenting Butte as it was 100 years ago. There was no end to distrust between miners, Anaconda, Wobblies and numerous nationalities. Even 50 years later it was still evident when I lived there. The details of life in the city were so accurate that I could almost smell the various restaurants as I retraced their steps in my mind. There was still a definite underground hint to things unseen. Starting the 3rd in the series as soon as it is available.
May 22, 2020
Wish there were more stars to bestow on this beautiful book. This is a must read for anyone who loves books, libraries and history! The enchanting characters and the rich language made me want to move to Butte, Montana circa 1919 and live among them. Needless to say, I didn’t want this book to end!
February 28, 2015
Have you read The Great Brain series, John Dennis Fitzgerald's collection of Western Americana, set in Utah in the late 1800s? The based-loosely-on-the author's-childhood stories are told by young John Fitzgerald and recount the adventures, mishaps, misdemeanors, and rebellions of his precocious older brother, Tom. If you haven't, you are in for a whale of a treat. Although meant for adolescents, adults will appreciate the sophisticated themes Fitzgerald offers up: an Irish Catholic family at cultural odds in a Mormon-dominant community; inherent racism against Jews, Greeks, Native Americans; corporal punishment; ecclesiastical cruelty; creative financial management; and a bit of gentle sleuthing for fans of historical crime fiction.
Why I am waxing on about a series I read more than thirty years ago and what does the Great Brain have to do with Ivan Doig and his post-WWI Montana? Well, here's the thing: These great authors tell stories of the American West, of towns bursting to life by bursting forth the mineral riches that lay beneath their shale and clay crust. They tell stories of communities dependent upon the strength of its law-abiding, God-fearing families. And with only twenty years separating their settings, turn-of-the-century Utah and 1919 Montana are cousins a scant generation apart.
The Great Brain entertains with rollicking stories that have deeper, sharper, darker themes. Work Song has the potential for the same, as the community of Butte, MT faces post-war weariness, the flu epidemic, Bolshevik revolution, and copper mining disasters, but Doig never reaches past simple entertainment. It is a story with rounded edges and fluffernutter filling. After the beauty and power of The Whistling Season, set ten years prior and during which we are introduced to Morrie, Work Song is a let-down. It is a darling and endearing novel, but I venture to guess that thirty years on I'll still remember The Great Brain series and I'll struggle to recall Work Song
Why I am waxing on about a series I read more than thirty years ago and what does the Great Brain have to do with Ivan Doig and his post-WWI Montana? Well, here's the thing: These great authors tell stories of the American West, of towns bursting to life by bursting forth the mineral riches that lay beneath their shale and clay crust. They tell stories of communities dependent upon the strength of its law-abiding, God-fearing families. And with only twenty years separating their settings, turn-of-the-century Utah and 1919 Montana are cousins a scant generation apart.
The Great Brain entertains with rollicking stories that have deeper, sharper, darker themes. Work Song has the potential for the same, as the community of Butte, MT faces post-war weariness, the flu epidemic, Bolshevik revolution, and copper mining disasters, but Doig never reaches past simple entertainment. It is a story with rounded edges and fluffernutter filling. After the beauty and power of The Whistling Season, set ten years prior and during which we are introduced to Morrie, Work Song is a let-down. It is a darling and endearing novel, but I venture to guess that thirty years on I'll still remember The Great Brain series and I'll struggle to recall Work Song
July 25, 2010
I was so sad to come to the end of this! I really do love Doig's characters. Something about this one didn't grab me up quite as much as The Whistling Season, but I still enjoyed it very much. I will definitely read any other books Doig writes in the future with any of these same characters. I'll also have to check out some of Doig's other twelve books.
While this book didn't grab me up quite as much, something to do with all the mining details, I think, there were many parts I really loved. Morrie becomes a librarian! I loved all of the library bits, and had to laugh when a librarian is described as a "bartender of information."
Morrie is the narrator of this one, and I really enjoyed being in his head. I would be very interested in reading a book that told the story of The Whistling Season from Morrie's point of view. Morrie reminded me quite a lot of a Dick Francis hero in the way he solves problems. Also, people see something special in him that he doesn't really recognize in himself but that is clearly there.
I highly recommend this for those who enjoy very well-written historical fiction, although I would suggest reading The Whistling Season first. It isn't strictly necessary, but gives a detailed understanding of Morrie's past and his character.
Thanks so much to the GR giveaway program for introducing me to this wonderful author!
Another quote that made me laugh: "Grade six somehow transforms obedient schoolchildren into creatures with the bravado of bandits and the restlessness of overage Sunday schoolers."
While this book didn't grab me up quite as much, something to do with all the mining details, I think, there were many parts I really loved. Morrie becomes a librarian! I loved all of the library bits, and had to laugh when a librarian is described as a "bartender of information."
Morrie is the narrator of this one, and I really enjoyed being in his head. I would be very interested in reading a book that told the story of The Whistling Season from Morrie's point of view. Morrie reminded me quite a lot of a Dick Francis hero in the way he solves problems. Also, people see something special in him that he doesn't really recognize in himself but that is clearly there.
I highly recommend this for those who enjoy very well-written historical fiction, although I would suggest reading The Whistling Season first. It isn't strictly necessary, but gives a detailed understanding of Morrie's past and his character.
Thanks so much to the GR giveaway program for introducing me to this wonderful author!
Another quote that made me laugh: "Grade six somehow transforms obedient schoolchildren into creatures with the bravado of bandits and the restlessness of overage Sunday schoolers."
December 12, 2013
If you loved The Whistling Season, then you'll enjoy Work Song. Set ten years later in 1919, we are once again treated to that delightful, charming, witty, and oh so intelligent Morrie Morgan, who has turned up in the mining town of Butte, Montana with nothing more than a leather satchel and the clothes on his back. Where The Whistling Season was an ode to public education, Work Song sings the praises of the public library system. Doig's descriptions of the fussy librarians, the stately and somber reading room, the pure joy felt upon opening a prized book, the myriad of groups who use the public meeting rooms, will delight any library lover. Along with learning the ropes of the library, Morrie is drawn into the drama unfolding in the town between the thousands of miners who toil in a dangerous, underpaid job and the Anaconda Mining Company, as they try to unionize and at the same time evade the machinations of the International Workers of the World, better known as the Wobblies. Throw in a hint of romance and you have an enjoyable, entertaining read.
September 3, 2021
After having read several other Ivan Doig novels, including the wonderful novel: Dancing at the Rascal Fair, I was disappointed with Work Song. The book was a follow-up to Doig's: The Whistling Season. Set in the copper mining town of Butte, Montana in 1919, the novel was populated with a cast of "paint by number" characters. There were two gruff, yet lovable retired miners, a widowed love interest who ran the boarding house, and the hapless, clueless hero, Morrie. Character development was weak and story development was very predictable.
On the bright side, the book was a light and somewhat enjoyable summer read. It didn't involve any deep thought or heavy "lifting" on my part. As a plot spoiler: all was well in the end and our hero managed to hold back the evil intentions of the Anaconda Mining Company. I really wanted this to be a great book but it was just too predictable and not all that engaging...
On the bright side, the book was a light and somewhat enjoyable summer read. It didn't involve any deep thought or heavy "lifting" on my part. As a plot spoiler: all was well in the end and our hero managed to hold back the evil intentions of the Anaconda Mining Company. I really wanted this to be a great book but it was just too predictable and not all that engaging...
March 2, 2014
As a long-time fan of Ivan Doig's books, I was rather disappointed in this tome, and honestly don't even recall whether I finished it. His earlier books--even as recent as the beautifully written Prairie Nocturne and The Whistling Season--are works of a master, with wonderful characters, believable dialogue, and a story line that keeps you wanting to read more after the book is done. But in Work Song his characters have devolved into people who love to hear themselves talk, and whose dialogue exists merely for the sake of making them sound clever. I even tried to give him another chance by reading his 2013 release, A Sweet Thunder, but found only the same, insufferable characters going through the same silly motions. Couldn't finish that one, either.
February 11, 2011
I've liked Doig since Dancing at the Rascal Fair, mostly for his research and ability to weave regional history with personal tales. So I guess it's ironic that the historic details in some of his later books are what bug me. It's not that I don't want them -- especially in the case of this book about boomtown-days Butte, they're why I chose to read -- but they're kinda clunky, slipped into the storyline with not a great deal of subtlety. I want Doig to do the library work for me, but I don't want to think about him doing it. Still, it did advance my understanding of one of the West's most curious and complex places. As usual, I'm thinking of going to Butte for St. Patrick's Day.
December 29, 2014
IF you love cozy mysteries, read this. It is extremely cute. You will love it.
I have realized that I should stop trying to like what so many others like and just accept who I am. My two star rating ONLY reflects my personal reaction and is in no way a criticism of the book. The book is very, very good for those who want a cozy mystery with fun characters, a bit of erudition and some love thrown in too.
I have realized that I should stop trying to like what so many others like and just accept who I am. My two star rating ONLY reflects my personal reaction and is in no way a criticism of the book. The book is very, very good for those who want a cozy mystery with fun characters, a bit of erudition and some love thrown in too.
June 6, 2015
This was a toss up between a 3 and a 4. It was a little slower paced and the character seem to show a lack of emotion for all that he had been through and was experiencing. I did like it though. My dad grew up in Anaconda and he Father was a machinist for the mine so I really enjoyed listening about the area and what it might have been like to live in the town and be a part of that mining life.
July 3, 2021
4.5 stars.
I can’t stop smiling now that I have finished this novel about Morrie Morgan, a character who first appeared and delighted in Doig’s The Whistling Season. While I suppose one wouldn’t have to read The Whistling Season first, I highly recommend it as it informs the reader so much about this character’s wit, intelligence and breadth of knowledge.
This book takes place in 1919, ten years after the first book, where Morrie arrives by train in Butte, Montana, the American Mecca for copper mining, in order to cash in on the riches he thinks will await him. Doig reveals the way big mining took over in Butte forever jackbooting the miners who unionized to fight for better wages and working conditions. We also learn about how the mining operations destroyed cattle ranching in the area.
Against this hardscrabble backdrop, the nearly broke Morrie, the first person narrator this time, navigates through town politics and lands a job in the town library with a storied book collection beyond anything he could imagine in this small town. His response to working in this environment is rapturous - he’s in a book lover’s version of heaven. Of course Doig has surrounded him with a wide array of distinctive characters and troubling circumstances. Doig has a wonderful gift of droll humor and perfectly drawn characters moving through a tightly drawn plot. A sheer pleasure to read.
And now I’ve discovered that Sweet Thunder is the 3rd in the series of Morrie Morgan - centric novels and I can’t wait to find out where he lands next!
I can’t stop smiling now that I have finished this novel about Morrie Morgan, a character who first appeared and delighted in Doig’s The Whistling Season. While I suppose one wouldn’t have to read The Whistling Season first, I highly recommend it as it informs the reader so much about this character’s wit, intelligence and breadth of knowledge.
This book takes place in 1919, ten years after the first book, where Morrie arrives by train in Butte, Montana, the American Mecca for copper mining, in order to cash in on the riches he thinks will await him. Doig reveals the way big mining took over in Butte forever jackbooting the miners who unionized to fight for better wages and working conditions. We also learn about how the mining operations destroyed cattle ranching in the area.
Against this hardscrabble backdrop, the nearly broke Morrie, the first person narrator this time, navigates through town politics and lands a job in the town library with a storied book collection beyond anything he could imagine in this small town. His response to working in this environment is rapturous - he’s in a book lover’s version of heaven. Of course Doig has surrounded him with a wide array of distinctive characters and troubling circumstances. Doig has a wonderful gift of droll humor and perfectly drawn characters moving through a tightly drawn plot. A sheer pleasure to read.
And now I’ve discovered that Sweet Thunder is the 3rd in the series of Morrie Morgan - centric novels and I can’t wait to find out where he lands next!
July 16, 2022
Roared through this book. I listened to it in 2019, but for me, the reading is punchier. Having the story in mind I was more appreciative of Doig's distinctive voice -- a unique taste of Montana with some Seattle sauce on top? "In Montana, it is a good idea to keep your hat on your head so the wind doesn't blow your hair off." [p247] We met our hero before, a well-educated fugitive from Chicago who was disappointed in love, still on the run from the mob, still vulnerable to love. Plenty of insight into the hard edges of western profiteering and the union attempts to civilize. Only three more books in the oeuvre . . . then I guess I'll have to start over! Wish I could write like this.
January 13, 2022
I can't give a Doig book a 2-star, it-was-okay rating, but I really leaned that way with Work Song. Not sure why, maybe it was because I listened to the audio, and an audiobook doesn't always have my attention like a print book does. Morrie from The Whistling Season is the protagonist, assuring an interesting time. On to Sweet Thunder now, and with Morrie again.
April 28, 2021
Fascinating characters, complicated story, chicanery abounding, loyalty in the face of brutality and exploitation, an American story set in post-WW1 Butte, Montana, where the copper mine is the source of riches and abject poverty. Beautifully written, literate, compelling. I was exhausted at the end! I liked it very much.
October 8, 2024
un uomo dalle mille risorse, capace di farsi rispettare nelle difficoltà fisiche e politiche di una città mineraria del montana...che arriva a compiere il doppio capolavoro, per i minatori e quello personale
Buon proposito: coltiva mille passioni, stai attento e sii te stesso
Buon proposito: coltiva mille passioni, stai attento e sii te stesso
March 15, 2017
Lots of fun to find old friends in books, and this was another chance to become better acquainted with Morris. Glad I read it. Not as rich as Doig's others, but a good read. Always love Doig's language and characters.
February 4, 2018
Another book with Morrie from The Whistling Season as a main character. I enjoy him and really enjoy Ivan Doig's writing.
August 2, 2019
I LOVE IVAN DIOG, May he Rest In Peace!
December 31, 2022
I enjoyed the character development. The story was historical and Western, with a setting in Montana.
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