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Arbuckle: A novel
When Catherine Boland meets a shy young ranch hand at the bank where she works, she has no idea that he just took part in a recent vigilante hanging that she has been very outspoken about. And although George Arbuckle was not a willing participant in that hanging, he worries that once Catherine learns about his participation, he will lose her for good. This is just the first of the challenges facing this young couple in late 19th century Montana. Arbuckle, the third book in a trilogy about a ranch family in southeastern Montana, also takes on issues of rape, abortion, and the difficulty of developing a happy life in the early homesteader days.
360 pages, Paperback
Published February 28, 2018
16 people are currently reading
29 people want to read
About the author
Russell Rowland
17 books97 followersI'm a Montana native, and I returned home in 2007. My first novel, In Open Spaces, made the San Francisco Chronicle's bestseller list. I got my MA in Creative Writing from Boston University in 1991, and have been a MacDowell fellow and a fortune cookie writer. The Watershed Years, the sequel to number one, was published in 2007 and was a finalist for the High Plains Book Award. In 2012, WEST OF 98, an anthology I edited with Lynn Stegner, was released by the University of Texas Press. And in 2012r, my third novel, High and Inside, was released by Bangtail Press and was also named a finalist for the High Plains Book Award. In April 2016, Fifty-Six Counties: A Montana Journey came out. This is my first non-fiction effort, about my travels to every county in Montana and what I learned from this journey.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
March 12, 2019
Arbuckle is the third book in a series Rowland set in the southeastern corner of Montana. Actually, it is the first book if you look at the action across the series chronologically. It is a beautifully told story of a family working to make a go of it in a hard country. The characters are likable people who are drawn in exceptional depth. The presentation of their relationships and the conflicts among characters is particularly insightful.
Reading Arbuckle took me about the amount of time many of my friends spent watching the Super Bowl. Although it is 348 pages, this book is a page-turner and I found I did not want to put it down.
If you have read either of the other books in the series (In Open Spaces, and The Watershed Years) I recommend you pick up this one.
I recall reading the first book in the series, In Open Spaces, with good interest. I had lived and worked near where the novel was set. I worked in several small school districts in the northern part of Carter County and even took a hand in raising a little livestock in the area. I know from experience that the sense Rowland gives of the geography is absolutely authentic. Furthermore, The Arbuckle ranch was a little south of where I worked. The main characters in Arbuckle, Catherine Boland and George Arbuckle, were Rowland’s great-grandparents. The story Rowland tells, though, is a work of fiction.
Reading Arbuckle took me about the amount of time many of my friends spent watching the Super Bowl. Although it is 348 pages, this book is a page-turner and I found I did not want to put it down.
If you have read either of the other books in the series (In Open Spaces, and The Watershed Years) I recommend you pick up this one.
I recall reading the first book in the series, In Open Spaces, with good interest. I had lived and worked near where the novel was set. I worked in several small school districts in the northern part of Carter County and even took a hand in raising a little livestock in the area. I know from experience that the sense Rowland gives of the geography is absolutely authentic. Furthermore, The Arbuckle ranch was a little south of where I worked. The main characters in Arbuckle, Catherine Boland and George Arbuckle, were Rowland’s great-grandparents. The story Rowland tells, though, is a work of fiction.
October 4, 2022
The third in a trilogy, this one got lost in the weeds. Too many underdeveloped characters, a clunky switch-back between first and third person, and a complete loss of steam by the middle.
I’m sad, because I loved the first book in the series. It had a quiet, steady pace. This one lost that feel in a reach for action over tension.
I’m sad, because I loved the first book in the series. It had a quiet, steady pace. This one lost that feel in a reach for action over tension.
November 17, 2021
I would have given this book 5 stars but it seems that it was not proof read. I was annoyed by the all the errors. I also think this should have been book 1 of the series.
July 13, 2018
Enjoyed this final book in the trilogy. I had so many questions about Jack from the beginning of In Open Spaces and this book answered most of them. Love this writer as he can really put you in beautiful Montana!
July 17, 2025
Addicting! The saga of the Arbuckle family is an absolute beautiful drama that you do not want to finish, but cannot help getting to the last page
September 12, 2019
I have been wanting to read this book for several months as I have met the author and liked his first two in this trilogy. This is a great backstory to the original two books.'
When Catherine Boland meets a shy young ranch hand at the bank where she works, she has no idea that he just took part in a recent vigilante hanging that she has been very outspoken about. And although George Arbuckle was not a willing participant in that hanging, he worries that once Catherine learns about his participation, he will lose her for good. This is just the first of the challenges facing this young couple in late 19th century Montana. Arbuckle, the third book in a trilogy about a ranch family in southeastern Montana, also takes on issues of rape, abortion, and the difficulty of developing a happy life in the early homesteader days.
When Catherine Boland meets a shy young ranch hand at the bank where she works, she has no idea that he just took part in a recent vigilante hanging that she has been very outspoken about. And although George Arbuckle was not a willing participant in that hanging, he worries that once Catherine learns about his participation, he will lose her for good. This is just the first of the challenges facing this young couple in late 19th century Montana. Arbuckle, the third book in a trilogy about a ranch family in southeastern Montana, also takes on issues of rape, abortion, and the difficulty of developing a happy life in the early homesteader days.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews