( 9 reviews )
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Posted: Apr 11 2009
Ivan Doig's book Heart Earth is a book all Moms, Dads, Grandparents should read . . . and every child who cares for his/her parents and grandparents should read. (In other words ~ everyone!) In an almost lyrical style, Mr. Doig's story unfolds as he retraces his families' beginings. He is a master story teller. Have cherished all his books.
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( 1 of 1 found this review helpful ) Posted: Jul 25 2008
HEART EARTH (published 1993) is an autobiographical coda to Ivan Doig's 1978 memoir of growing up in Montana, "This House of Sky". Presumably Doig wrote "This House of Sky" to be an integral, whole work, but years after publishing it he recovered a stash of letters his mother wrote to her brother, at sea in the Pacific, during the last year of WWII. Doig uses those letters as the springboard for fleshing out more of his memoir of his early years and his parents, as well as a few others who were significant presences in and influences on his life. Like "This House of Sky", HEART EARTH is an affectionate tale of decent, hard-working folks, ekeing out an existence in a grand yet fiercely challenging pocket of this country, and even though a coda of sorts, HEART EARTH can stand alone. Through one of the serendipities of life, I read HEART EARTH first, years ago in fact. Recently I read "This House of Sky" for the first time, which prompted me to re-read HEART EARTH. Based on that experience, I strongly advise readers who have not yet read either book to read HEART EARTH first. It is the better-written book, and reading it before "This House of Sky" will generate more of an emotional wallop.
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Posted: Dec 29 2007
This is a very nice addition to Doig's early book, "This House of Sky," which relates the story of his family (esp., his father and maternal grandmother) from the time of his mother's death, on Doig's sixth birthday. This is an account of his mother over approximately a year before her death, as the Doig's moved around the West trying to find a place suitable for her health. The writing is a good example of Ivan Doig's style and fits well with his other works.
