Winter Brothers: A Season at the Edge of America

by Ivan Doig

The author of This House of Sky provides a magnificent evocation of the Pacific Northwest through the diaries of James Gilchrist Swan, a settler of the region. Doig fuses parts of the Swan diaries with his own journal.

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Biography, Memoir, American History, Native American, Westerns

264 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1980

About the author

Ivan 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"

Reviews

[Schuyler Wallace · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Winter Brothers” is Ivan Doig’s second published book, a work that Doig has trouble classifying. He has settled on calling it a journal of a journal. It’s a study of the prolific writings of a Pacific Northwest pioneer of the 1850s and of Doig’s present day effort at spending a winter retracing the diarist’s steps while reading through a forty year collection of at least 2,500,000 handwritten words.

Doig begins by trying to classify James Gilchrist Swan’s life as an oysterman, schoolteacher, railroad speculator, ethnologist, lawyer, judge, homesteader, linguist, outfitter, explorer, customs agent, author, bureaucrat, artist, and clerk, finally calling him a diarist because of the mounds of writings carefully scribed in tiny, immaculate handwriting. Although Swan struggled at keeping all his roles in order, never gaining a sense of security in any of them, he always kept immaculate records of his endeavors in the Puget Sound and Pacific Northwest coast regions.

Swan originally came to the area in 1848. From 1859 to until 1898 he kept a day-to-day diary describing his frontier life, filling notebooks, sketch pads, diaries, school exercise books, and ledgers of all colors and shapes with small, compact script of both inked stylus and pencil. He meticulously recorded letters written and received, books borrowed and lent, and the details of his haphazard financial condition. He tucked addresses, Indian words and their definitions, and sketches of animals, Indian life, and the surrounding grandeur of the northwest into every available space, and tucking clippings of all sorts among the bindings.

Doig was obsessed with reading every line and spent a winter’s season tracking Swan’s steps as they were recorded. He not only writes about passages salient to his shadowing, he comments on aspects of Swan’s life related to his periodic illnesses, his infatuation, at aged fifty six, with 16-year old Dolly Roberts, his constant need for alcohol, his constant finagling, and his mostly desperate financial condition. It’s an incredible record of the life and times of a brilliant and bewildering frontiersman.

Ivan Doig is considered a leading writer of western literature although he would prefer that readers think of him as a chronicler of life regardless of the locale. He intends that the prose in every book he writes be charged with poetry. Most writers aim for that but Doig is one of the few who can pull it off. This book is a devotional to the beauty of the Pacific Northwest, the integrity and resourcefulness of its natives, and to the dedication of Swan and Doig, two talented writers of different centuries.

[Conner · Rating 4 out of 5]

Winter Brothers has sat on my shelf for the last few years. Since it covers Washington history, mainly of western Washington, it has been on my list to read. Ivan Doig documents the life of James Gilchrist Swan, an early settler of the territory. To complete the biography, Doig analyzed numerous copies of Swan's diaries, which he kept over four decades of his life in the West. The two writers, although they lived in different eras, ended up crossing paths as Doig travels to various areas that Swan had been. From various trails along the Olympic Peninsula to Whidbey Island and other coastal towns, Doig himself became a resident of the area when he came over from his native Montana to start his writing career.

It was a different style of biography compared to others I've read, but I learned a lot. Swan himself was an interesting guy. He lived from 1818-1900, beginning with James Monroe's presidency and finishing at the end of McKinley's. The contributions to the world Swan provided were many: he collected various specimens and artifacts for the Smithsonian, attended an expedition to the Queen Charlottes Archipelago, travelled the Northwest coast, and built a knowledge of Indian ways and language that would have otherwise been lost to future generations.

As with all of Doig's books, he does a phenomenal job of documenting the surrounding areas, landscapes, sights, and sounds. It's now on my list to venture over to the west side of the state and come across some of the settings from the book, especially Swan's gravesite in Port Townsend.

[Shelley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ivan Doig’s writing is sublime. Although this book is very different from others I’ve read of his, it is very much a masterpiece. His ability to capture moments of time and history is nothing short of genius. Very glad I read this one and highly recommend it.

[Alan]

James Gilchrist Swan left four decades of diaries totalling 2,500,000 words about his life. What interested Doig was Swan's time at the Westernmost tip of the lower 48 states, the Olympic Peninsula around the Straits of Juan de Fuca and Admiralty Inlet to Puget Sound. Swan lived with the Makah Indians near Neah Bay and in Port Townsend from the 1860's to 1900. He was a Boston emigrant who spent his life at the Western edge of America and this book narrates his life as Doig is reading it from his diaries. It offers unique insight into the times and peoples of the area. Very interesting non-fiction.

[Robert · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this book particularly interesting because it centers around the journals of James Swan, an early pioneer in the Pacific Northwest who spent much of his life living along the Strait of Juan de Fuca spending significant time among the Makah Nation in Neah Bay and in Port Townsend during the period 1850 to 1900. Swan was a dedicated journalist for most of his life and the book is a summary of much of his life during this period derived from these journals by the book's author, Ivan Doig. Doig spent one whole fall and winter reading through 100s of Swan's journals which are kept at the Burke Museum on the University of Washington. As he relates the events in Swan's journal, with the liberal use of direct quotes, he also describes his own connection to the PNW and events occurring there as he writes this book. Swan's description of life among the Makah Tribe is particularly interesting. For the era he lived in, Swan had a relatively unbiased view of the Makah and generally admired them and the lives they led at the remote and wild corner of the continental U.S. that is Neah Bay.

[Jerre Mcquinn · Rating 4 out of 5]

A charming book about some geography and history with which I am well acquainted. I enjoy Ivan Doig's writing, and especially his non-fiction, because I enjoy his animated descriptions of what he encounters. He is very nearly a poet in his descriptions, for instance: "...as I looked out wishing for birds, a cloud of bushtits and chickadees imploded into the backyard firs. I ... watched them become fast flecks among the branches." I rarely find a description that captures an action in motion so well.

[Alison Fulmer · Rating 4 out of 5]

An examination of the life of NW pioneer James Swan by Doig over a winter in the area where he lived with native Americans and in Port Townsend. Not sure how this book came to my attention but was enjoyable many years after I read the Montana Trilogy

[Edward A Blanford · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was a hard start for me, but once several chapters in I was hooked. It is a great read about the Puget Sound area that our great grandparents would have experienced, although not always in the same locations or exact times. It is steeped in the lore, traditions and art of the Native Americans of the Northern Olympic Peninsula and the Western side of Vancouver Island, to a lesser extent. In short, cultures and places you will be very or somewhat familiar with, which adds to its value.

It is a Biography of James G. Swan, a Northwest pioneer, from the Boston area, of the mid to late 1800’s, with the majority focus on the Pacific side and North side of the Olympic Peninsula. It is based on Doig’s research of Swan’s nearly daily and quite detailed diaries over a period of some 40 years.

The first unconventional piece is the it is organized by the days of Doig’s research/writings over one winter. Chapters start with “Day One” and progress in that manner, often encompassing multiple days.

The second is that it is Autobiographical in places as well, and parallels are often drawn between Swan’s actions/feelings/philosophy expressed in his writings and those of Doig, in his life to date (he turns 40 over the winter it is written), separated by some 120 years in time.

I offer a quote from the book, which I feel is significant in many ways. “Some men and women are never a part of the time they were born into, and walk the streets or highways of their generation as strangers”. In the book, Doig applies this to Swan, and then admits that in reality, it is a quote from a New York Times Book review of his previous book, “This House of Sky” and was written of him (while he was writing this book).

I now have that book inline to read. In the scheme of Doig’s writing career, these two books and 3 previous are non-fiction. After these he went on to write numerous fiction novels, the last of which, “Last Bus to Wisdom”, got us started down this winding dusty road!

[Diane · Rating 5 out of 5]

Winter Brothers

This book was wonderful at many levels. I was introduced to the story of James Swan, a significant figure in Washington State, especially on the Olympic Peninsula, He seems to be one of very few European who liked learning the Indian perspective, learned the Makah language, and liked and studied Indian art. He kept diaries – something like 60 books with very detailed notes about his life.

I loved the way Doig wrote about Swan and have never seen a biography or study done in this way. Doig was fascinated by the diaries, but did not know where to begin, so he took three months to simply read and reflect on Swan’s diaries - often visiting places that Swan had lived - and writing about the experience in a diary manner. Sometimes Doig is writing about Swan, but then mid-sentence, he quotes Swan, sometimes at length or sometimes just a sentence. Swan’s words are in italics, but are not indented or otherwise set apart. I loved this approach and had the sense that Doig and Swan were in sync with each other even though 100 years apart.

I also loved the way I was forced to read Doig. I had to give up my normal way of reading and just let the book carry me. Reading this way is something like meditation (something I am normally not good at doing). The only other time I have ever had to do this was when reading Mink River. I found myself living in the 19th century or walking with Doig to find the swan that Swan had carved in the cave on the peninsula. An amazing feeling.

[Benjamin Harris · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked it well enough and it is clear that Doig is a talented writer, but I would have enjoyed more of Swan's entries and less of Doig's musings about somewhat unrelated subjects (his cat, picking his wife up from the airport, overheard conversations at a local diner, etc), to be honest. Further, I get that his periodic reflections on his childhood in Montana was an effort to make the connection that the "west" is not just a geographic territory, it is also representative of our own frontiers, but his connection didn't quite work for me because I found much of his stuff to be more or less abstract. I do think he provided great context to much of Swan's writing's and did a great job of presenting those entries to us.
I found most of Swan's entries to be fascinating. The best parts for me were when Swan was in Neah Bay. I wish there had been more of Swell, but that is obviously not the fault of Swan or Doig. Overall, a good book that gives us a glimpse into a largely overlooked era of the western frontier from a unique perspective.

[Michael Phillips · Rating 3 out of 5]

I look forward to reviewing this book when I am done because so many of the other reviews are filled with inaccuracies ...

Update 2020 .... couldn't finish it....

I respected this book more than I enjoyed reading it. Important historical figure, acclaimed writer, but just couldn't get into it....

[Dorothy · Rating 4 out of 5]

My third book of Ivan Doig's, and by far the most introspective. He has found an 1800's diary of a man who lived in the Pacific NW, where Doig was living, and Doig feels a connection to him. Doig presents excerpts from the diary, and expounds upon them, often following the routes that James G. Swan himself was taking. Incredibly, Swan wrote a daily diary for years, despite writing many letters and making detailed tabulations of extensive collections he amassed for the Smithsonian Institution. He aways hoped to get paid by that institution, but despite his friendship with the curator, he rarely was. Swan became well-known and respected by the Native people of the Northwest, and he felt he knew "everybody" in that sparsely populated region. He was especially interested in the Haida people, and the Smithsonian did pay him for the even-now definitive work on the tribe that was practically decimated by smallpox. The joy of this book is Swan's connections with the people, and his incredible urge to go ever Westward--which Doig shares, and wonders where our present "Westward" is. Having read Doig's memoir of his childhood days, *This House of Sky* was a plus during the reading of this book, as he alludes to his childhood in Montana, and compares his life to Swan's. Swan quotes the Indians and gives us a taste of their sense of humor. He appreciates their amazing art, and describes what they eat. Swan describes what he cooks also, making up culinary concoctions with tubers, spices, and seafood which amaze and delight his friends. Doig concludes his book with the discovery he and his wife make of a carving of a swan, with Swan's initials, that was described in the book, and found, faint, but still intact in the rockface where Swan described making it. It's a moving book, and Doig succeeds in letting us know why he had this obsession with a "winter friend" of a different century.

[Josh Carter · Rating 2 out of 5]

The good: James Swan is an interesting historical figure, being a white man who genuinely seems to prefer the company of Native Americans to other white people, yet still pervy enough to crush on a 16 year-old when he's in his 50's. Doig's consolidation of his many journal entries paints a picture of a flawed man who suffered from bouts of depression and alcoholism and was terrible at handling money, who nonetheless contributed to anthropological scholarship in the Pacific Northwest and would, by today's standards, be considered less racist than your average MAGA-hat (which is pretty startling given that he lived through the Civil War).

The bad: Doig's prose is purpler than grape juice. It comes off as pretentious, and maybe his descriptions of the Olympic Peninsula were appropriate in the late 70s and early 80s before the PNW became The Place To Be in the Western U.S., but today it sounds overwrought.

The interposition of Doig's own autobiographical flourishes also seem out of place. They're sparse enough that it doesn't make reading about Swan too much of a slog, but the sparseness also prevents me from caring. I don't care about your hike in the Hoh rainforest, Doig!

Read it for the interesting distillation of Swan's millions of words of journals, not for Doig's vanity autobiographical comparison between himself and a real pioneer.

[Mike Little · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an unusual book. Doig reads the extensive journals of James Swan, a pioneer and explorer of the Pacific Northwest starting in 1850. As he reads the journals, Doig partially retraces Swan's paths all around the far NW edge of the nation and up into coastal British Columbia. Doig weaves his travels and observations in with Swan's though much of what Swan encountered is long gone, especially the many tribal villages and canoes that existed in the 1800s. But the weather, the seasons, the headlands, spits, islands, and some of the spirit are all still there.

I love Doig's earlier novels, especially English Creek and Dancing at the Rascal Fair . This book is a departure and I'd not recommend it without some cautions. It's very wordy and at times it felt tedious, but life in the 1800s moved at a slower pace so I accepted that. It felt right to me, but might not to others. If you've not read his early novels do try one. The two I mention are to be read in the order listed as they are part of a trilogy. (I didn't care much for the third.)

Finally, there's an anonymous quote in Winter Brothers that made me nod and smile although the implications are a bit grim. "Every Man For Himself, Said The Elephant Among The Chickens." I'll just leave that here.

[Terri · Rating 3 out of 5]

At times Doig does a good job of filling in gaps in the history of James Swan or giving a firsthand account of the land, weather and people in Pacific Northwest, especially around Puget Sound and Olympic Peninsula. But there are also some chapters where the connections he tries to make with this historical figure seem tenuous and detract from the historical gems found in Swan's writings.

The actual entries from Swan's diaries are interesting, offering a white settler's view of the Makah people as well as settler society from mid- to late-1800s. He doesn't come across as racist, though there are times when his background obviously taints his view. He is 63 when he travels with a Haida chief in a canoe around the territory in late 1890s, purchasing artefacts for Smithsonian Institute--something that is contentious today. His descriptions of the place, people and rainy environment are vivid.

[Wendy Feltham · Rating 3 out of 5]

This journal about a journal is kind of slow-going, yet filled with interesting stories and observations from the late 1800's here in the Pacific Northwest, where I live. Ivan Doig has written a personal reflection while analyzing the journals of James G. Swan, a Bostonian who settles in Port Townsend and Neah Bay. Swan worked a variety of jobs from teaching school to the Makah children to purchasing Native Tribes' art for the Smithsonian, and recorded daily temperatures, meals, and social interactions. Mostly I was fascinated by what everyone ate-- unusual stews using every part of the fish, berries, dried salmon and seaweed, and some even ate our enormous banana slugs! I often wished the book contained photos so I could picture the Haida carvings or the scenes of Victorian-era Port Townsend.

[Don Friedman · Rating 4 out of 5]

In short order, I read two memoirs, not a common genre for me (Patti Smith and this one). I love everything by Ivan Doig. Kind of a brilliant conception here: Doig is exploring the Pacific Northwest, particularly around Seattle, Olympic Mountains, Vancouver area. His vehicle for exploring is the meticulous journals maintained for over 50 years any James Swan, a fascinating kind of Renaissance man of the northwest, interested in every aspect of life in this area where white residents are still pioneers in the late 1800s. His particular interest is in the Native Americans, who he lives, travels and works with, even learns some of their language and studies their art meticulously. Doig writes the book going back & forth between his own experiences with excerpts from Swan's journal, tracking Swan's life 100 years later...

[Jillricker · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book is an interesting look at the history of the Olympic Peninsula and the native peoples of that area, as well as the coast of British Columbia.

Ivan Doig is reading the extensive diaries of a pioneer who arrives in western Washington territory in the mid-1800's and finds his way to live among the Makah. While Doig is studying the diaries he is exploring the area himself and senses a kind of kinship with the author. These diaries are at the University of Washington now and are a real treasure.

By reading this book, I rediscovered my native state and now feel another look at the subject coast is in order for me. As the book was published in 1980 - one year after the Hood Canal floating bridge failed and two years before the new one was built - it already feels like ancient history to me.

[Dianna · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a different and more personal book for Doig. I have read most of his later works, and am continually stopped in my tracks, compelled to reread his metaphors and insights. His language did mature in later books, but his honest and thoughtful ruminations while narrating an intellectual pioneer's life and works through the man's - James Swan's - voluminous diaries kept me reading. We have Swan to thank for many artifacts sent to the Smithsonian and knowledge of life for northwestern Native Americans. I want to go there, even though the land cannot have the same wild and rugged vibe. And my outlook on life, as always when I read Doig's perceptive, melodic, and stunning language, was enriched.

[Kathleen (itpdx) · Rating 4 out of 5]

As far as I know, a one of a kind book. Doig spends a winter reading the copious diaries of an early white settler of the Olympic Peninsula, James Swan. Doig finds that he is exploring a “community of time” and of what westerness means. He tells us the story of Swan in much of Swan’s own words and weaves in Doig’s own experiences of the same land.
Swan learns the language of local Indians, the Makah, a fishing and whaling culture. He becomes our insight into several of the indigenous groups including collecting artifacts for the Smithsonian. A fascinating life.
I did have to go back and reread the beginning of the book to realize what Doig has done. And reading this book 40 years after Doig’s winter season has added another community of time to this western dweller.

[Jill · Rating 5 out of 5]

A challenging read but ultimately rewarding. Ivan Doig takes you back in time to relive Swan's journeys and experiences with the Native Americans and many early settlers in Washington Territory/State from the 1850's until his death in 1900. My visits years ago to the Makah Museum, Cape Flattery and Port Townsend have much more significance after reading this book. Doig visited the Ozette Indian Village Archaeological site while he was writing this book during the excavation - the artifacts are now on display in the Museum. I also enjoyed the descriptions of Swam's canoe trip and exploration of the Queen Charlotte Islands, off the Coast of British Columbia.

[Fran Burdsall · Rating 3 out of 5]

I will always recommend this book to anyone with history or interest in the Pacific northwestern corner of Washington. Beautifully written with the stories of the early explorer James Swan, the prolific journal writer of the late 1800's, juxtaposed with the author's own observations of this lush rain forest. But, it was slow going because the author's style had me reading and re-reading many paragraphs to understand his descriptions fully. His ability to weave the exploits of Swan into today's landscape was so very well done, but in my 21st century mindset, not an easy read.

[Margaret · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have read two other books by this regional author, and bogged down and quit a third.
This book lies somewhere between the two.
Alternating passages from the 2 1/2 million words left by a long-ago diarist in what became coastal Washington, with his own ornate turn of phrase, Doig managed to keep me slogging onward. Impressed by his skill of phrase even as it slowed my reading, and loving some of the details left by diarist Swan. For example that the local first peoples found a wheelbarrow, hilarious.
Four stars, not that I Really liked it, but that I thought it extremely well done.

[Jo M. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Winter Brothers was another delightful read from Ivan Doig. His affinity for the pioneer Swan, known through his diaries, brings the Olympic Peninsula to life from the 19th century to today. I kept shifting from the book to a map so I could track their travels. I learned so much about the native culture and enjoyed the descriptions of the endless rain. Having traveled in the area over the past decade, I wish I had read this book first. I want to go back. To Washington and in time. Doig always transports me to a wonderful place.

[Ted Ryan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I looked forward to returning to this book every night. As the author spends time with the voluminous writings of James Gilchrist Swan he does so while living in and visiting the locales Swan spent much of his life. Doig’s capturing of Swan’s relationship with the tribes of coastal Washington and British Columbia shed new light, for me at least, on the early interactions between the Indians and pioneers.

[Jim · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hard to say what I liked most about this "journal of a journal" by Ivan Doig. His "winter brother" of a century earlier is Washington territory pioneer, naturalist, friend and chronicler of the Northwest tribes, James Swan. Doig, destined to be a great Western writer in his own right, spends a winter digesting Swan's extensive diaries and fills in his own experiences in the same places. Great reading.

[Darrell Robinson · Rating 5 out of 5]

"A basic division begins at the Columbia River; south of it, in Oregon, they have been the sounder citizens, we in Washington the sharper strivers. Transport fifty from each state as a colony on Mars and by nightfall the Oregonians will put up a school and a city hall, the Washingtonians will establish a bank and a union."

"These Peninsula rivers, their names a tumbled poem of several tongues - Quinault, Quillayute, Hoh, Bogashiel, Soleduck, Elwha, Dungeness, Gray Wolf - are as holy to me as anything I know."

[Mary Mosley]

I was surprised that this was a really enjoyable book. It's not a novel, but a reflection on the journals of a man named Swan who lived in the northwestern corner of the US in the mid-19th century. He wrote every day in his journals, so provided a view of what life was like there among the Macah Indians. He was Indian agent for awhile among other jobs. I've read a lot of Doig. Sometimes I think he strives too hard for metaphor, but this was a good one.

[Patrick Nielson · Rating 5 out of 5]

The West

Words chosen and used are inspiring, a lovely craftsman of English, sharing the words of an original observer who wrote, inspired to share his thoughts about encounters and life among the Pacific Northwest's original people and his pioneer experience. Two Westerners sharing our Western space, both physically and imaginatively.

[Barbara · Rating 4 out of 5]

I did not care for the author's writing style, but I was fascinated by the story of James Gilchrist Swan. Swan was one of the first white men to live among the Makah indians. The Makah lived and still live at the most northwest corner of Washington state. Doig's book is an abbreviated version of Swan's observations based upon Swan's many journals.
A good read.