Sweet Thunder

July 15, 2013
Butte, Montana in the 1920s meant Anaconda Copper Mining Company squeezing the town, its residents, and the land for everything they've got. Doig (The Bartender's Tale) brings back the charismatic Morrie Morgan, a walking encyclopedia prone to trouble last seen in 2010's Work Song, in this stirring tale of greed, corruption, and the power of past sins. After a yearlong honeymoon with his wife, Grace, Morgan and his new bride reluctantly return to Butte when they inherit one of the town's mansions, which they'll share with irascible librarian Sam Sandison. Recognizing Morgan's proficiency as a wordsmith, the union men who want to see Anaconda gone start an independent newspaper. Morgan pens the opinion column in the Thunder under the pseudonym Pluvius. But not only is Anaconda not going down without a fightâthe company's own paper, the Butte Daily Post, enlists famed Chicago reporter Cedric "Cutlass" Cartwright to counter PluviusâMorgan's somewhat unsavory past comes back to haunt him, putting great strain on his marriage. Doig's attention to detail, both historical and concerning characters of his own creation, is as sharp as ever. Long-time fans will recognize familiar names from previous novels and readers both seasoned and new will fall under the spell of Doig's Big Sky Country.

July 15, 2013
Morrie Morgan returns (Work Song, 2010, etc.) to again confront the evil Anaconda Copper Mining Company, as well as several unwelcome reminders of his checkered past. Just back in Butte after a yearlong honeymoon with Grace, who's temporarily given up her boardinghouse but not her suspicions that her irrepressible spouse isn't much of a provider, Morrie needs to find a job fast. Not only has he nearly run through his winnings from a savvy bet on the fixed 1919 World Series, but he has an expensive mansion to maintain; wealthy cattleman-turned-librarian Sam Sandison hands over his home in an upper-crust neighborhood sardonically known as Horse Thief Row with the proviso that Morrie has to pay for its upkeep. So Morrie goes to work as the editorial writer for a new newspaper funded by the miners' union to counter Anaconda's propaganda for unfettered capitalism. Many, many complications ensue--this is Doig's most elaborately (and occasionally improbably) plotted novel--but they are less interesting than the marvelously atmospheric portrait of the bygone newspaper trade and an engaging cast of characters sketched with the author's customary vigor. Among the familiar figures are careworn union leader Jared Evans, devising strategy from his new post as state senator; and the semireformed street kid known as Russian Famine who leads Morrie to a gut-clenching climax high atop the mineshafts' towering headframes. Unscrupulous but gifted columnist Cedric "Cutthroat" Cartwright, recruited from Chicago by Anaconda to bandy editorials with Morrie, makes a colorful addition who gets a highly satisfying comeuppance. It's mostly a lighthearted romp, right down to the striking likeness to Montana's "number one bootlegger" that enables Morrie finally to make sure the Chicago mob won't dare come after him. Yet Doig also quietly conveys the injustices and cruelties of American history, particularly in the realistically depressing and temporary resolution of the union's struggle with Anaconda. An enjoyable change-up from The Bartender's Tale (2012) and welcome evidence that Doig, in his 70s, is more prolific and entertaining than ever.

COPYRIGHT(2013) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Starred review from August 1, 2013

Morrie Morgan is back, accompanied by our favorite loopy characters from Doig's acclaimed Whistling Season and Work Song. It's 1920, and after a whirlwind honeymoon, Morrie and wife, Grace, return to Butte, MT, where despotic power resides under one mighty thumb, the Anaconda Copper Mining Company. Morrie and Grace start life in an outsized mansion, thanks to their benefactor and new boarder Samuel Sandison, cattle king, vigilante, and city librarian. To pay for the upkeep, Morrie begins working for a start-up newspaper, Thunder, backed by Jared Evans, leader of the mine workers and now a state senator. Writing salty, hard-nosed editorials, Morrie wages battle on behalf of the miners for fair wages and safe working conditions with the rival Post, Anaconda's mouthpiece. But big trouble follows Morrie. He's mistaken for the local bootlegger, the Chicago gambling mob sends a thug to shoot him, he's up against a muckraking journalist imported from Chicago by the Post, and his beloved Grace leaves him when she discovers his Chicago past. But Morrie remains steadfast in his mission. VERDICT With a master storyteller's instincts and a dollop of wry humor, Doig evokes a perfect landscape of the past with a cast of memorable characters. A treasure of a novel.--Donna Bettencourt, Mesa Cty. P.L., Palisade, CO

Copyright 2013 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

July 1, 2013
Not only does Doig continually sing the praises of libraries and books in personal appearances, he writes about them, too. This is his third historical novel featuring Morrie Morgan, con man turned librarian (How often does one get to use that phrase?) and now crusading journalist. The setting, as in Work Song (2010), is Butte, Montana, and the theme is once more labor strife, with the Anaconda Mining set against the seemingly overmatched miners' unionuntil Morrie, recently returned to Butte with his bride, Grace, enters the fray in the guise of editorial writer for an upstart left-wing paper that strives to expose the chicanery of the mining company. Think Shane but with dueling journalists instead of gunfighters. The rival newspaper, mouthpiece for Anaconda, brings in a hired wordsmith from Chicago (Jack Palance at the typewriter) to trade linotype punches with Morrie. There are plenty of personal stories on the sidelines (Morrie's marriage, doings at the library), but this time the focus is on hot type and the role journalism played in a rowdy western town. A stirring tale given a melancholic edge by the fading influence of print newspapers in our very different modern world. HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: Doig's fiction may not always hit national best-seller lists, but it is perennially popular in libraries. This one will only increase his reputation as a librarian's favorite.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2013, American Library Association.)