Montana 1948

The tragic tale of a Montana family ripped apart by scandal and murder: “a significant and elegant addition to the fiction of the American West” (Washington Post). In the summer of 1948, twelve-year-old David Hayden witnessed and experienced a series of cataclysmic events that would forever change the way he saw his family. The Haydens had been pillars of their small Montana town: David’s father was the town sheriff; his uncle Frank was a war hero and respected doctor. But the family’s solid foundation was suddenly shattered by a bombshell revelation. The Hayden’s Sioux housekeeper, Marie Little Soldier, tells them that Frank has been sexually assaulting his female Indian patients for years—and that she herself was his latest victim. As the tragic fallout unravels around David, he learns that truth is not what one believes it to be, that power is abused, and that sometimes one has to choose between loyalty and justice. Winner of the Milkweed National Fiction Prize

A study guide on the disturbing novel by Larry Watson is written by a specialist in American literature, Dr Sue Sciortino.

The author of Montana 1948 explores the early years of a powerful Western family in these “beautifully written” linked stories (USA Today). Larry Watson’s bestselling novel Montana 1948 was acclaimed as a “work of art,” a prize-winning evocation of a time, a place, and a family (San Francisco Chronicle). Justice is the stunning prequel that illuminates the Hayden clan’s early years, and the circumstances that led to the events of Montana 1948. With the precision of a master storyteller, Watson moves seamlessly through the decades and among the strong and hard-bitten characters that make up the Hayden family, and in the process opens an evocative window on the very heart of the American West. “An engrossing story of love, familial relationships, and secrets . . . re-creates the vivid beauty of Big Sky country.” —Booklist “Filled with rugged prose sometimes as biting as a northern plains wind.” —The Washington Post “Surprises and scenes of dramatic power punctuate the narrative . . . Throughout, Watson writes with ruthless honesty about his characters’ stunted dreams, unpredictable emotions and outbursts of senseless violence, showing once again that he understands not only the West but the untamed hearts that have roamed it.” —Publishers Weekly (starred review)

A retired sheriff and his wife go after their young grandson in “a fast-paced story of marital love, family violence and small-town justice” (Pioneer Press). It’s been years since George and Margaret Blackledge lost their son James, and months since his widow, Lorna, took off with their only grandson and married Donnie Weboy. Margaret is resolved to find and retrieve the boy—while George is none too eager to stir up trouble. Soon, the Blackledges find themselves entangled with the entire Weboy clan, who are determined not to give up the boy without a fight. The author of Montana 1948 returns to big sky country in midcentury America with a riveting novel pervaded with a sense of menace that “traces the desperate lengths families will go to in order to protect their own” (Publishers Weekly, starred review). “Watson evokes the deepest kind of suspense: that based upon the fact that humans are unpredictable and perhaps ultimately unknowable—even to their most intimate associates. This fierce, tense book is beautifully written, with spare and economical prose . . . A brilliant achievement.” —Alice LaPlante, New York Times–bestselling author of Turn of Mind “An outstanding work that is sure to expand Watson’s audience of devoted readers. Not to be missed.” —Library Journal (starred review)

A Study Guide for Larry Watson's "Montana 1948," excerpted from Gale's acclaimed Novels for Students. This concise study guide includes plot summary; character analysis; author biography; study questions; historical context; suggestions for further reading; and much more. For any literature project, trust Novels for Students for all of your research needs.

“Honest, warm, humane, and at times shocking, As Good as Gone is an achievement of empathy and dignity.” —Smith Henderson, author of Fourth of July Creek Calvin Sidey is always ready to run, and it doesn’t take much to set him in motion. As a young man, he ran from this block, from Gladstone, from Montana, from this country. From his family and the family business. He ran from sadness, and he ran from responsibility. If the gossip was true, he ran from the law. It’s 1963, and Calvin Sidey, one of the last of the old cowboys, has long ago left his family to live a life of self-reliance out on the prairie. He’s been a mostly absentee father and grandfather until his estranged son asks him to stay with his grandchildren, Ann and Will, for a week while he and his wife are away. So Calvin agrees to return to the small town where he once was a mythic figure, to the very home he once abandoned. But trouble soon comes to the door when a boy’s attentions to seventeen-year-old Ann become increasingly aggressive and a group of reckless kids portend danger for eleven-year-old Will. Calvin knows only one way to solve problems: the Old West way, in which scores are settled and ultimatums are issued and your gun is always loaded. And though he has a powerful effect on those around him--from the widowed neighbor who has fallen under his spell to Ann and Will, who see him as the man who brings a sudden and violent order to their lives--in the changing culture of the 1960s, Calvin isn’t just a relic; he’s a wild card, a danger to himself and those who love him. In As Good as Gone, Larry Watson captures our longing for the Old West and its heroes, and he challenges our understanding of loyalty and justice. Both tough and tender, it is a stunning achievement.

Mercer County Sheriff Jack Nevelsen has sworn to serve and protect his corner of Montana, which includes his lifelong home, the small tidy town of Bentrock.