[.ca] Ride with Me, Mariah Montana (ISBN 0743271262)

Wonderful Conclusion to the Story of the McCaskills:
The two earlier books in this trilogy introduced me to the wonderful, fascinating McCaskills and to the rugged, hard and dangerous beauty of Montana. This final book brings closure to the family story and describes modern Montana. Ivan Doig brings the characters to life and makes you feel the country as a character in itself. This trilogy is highly readable and very enjoyable. It describes an important part of our American culture.

Utterly charming...read the whole series if you can!:
As a young American Studies major, I read _English Creek_ , the second book about the McCaskill family, for a class about the American West. I was enchanted. Then I read the first, _Dancing at the Rascal Fair_ (the first in the series) which enchanted me again. Close to ten years after I read my first Doig book, _Ride with Me, Mariah Montana_ yet again entertained and beguiled me. Doig is a gift to us readers. There is not a single dud in this series. Even if you don't like "western" novels (and I usually do not), these are great reads with excellant characters.

The last installment in the Montana trilogy,:
"Ride With Me, Mariah Montana" fits perfectly with "Dancing at the Rascal Fair" and "English Creek". The emphasis on well-developed characters and beautiful landscape descriptions continue to be foremeost. Beyond those, there is a story here, a complete story of a family. There are issues of grief, of loss, of love, and of reconciliation that are as real as day-to-day living. Fans of Wallace Stegner and Norman Maclean will find these works every bit as rewarding.

Nothing but a travelogue:
This book was a great disappointment after Dancing at the Rascal Fair. Ride with Me was nothing but an excuse for Doig to make a little money from all he knows about Montana, a state whose geography holds no interest for me. The characters were unpleasant, and the plot was thin. The old man is nasty and cantankerous without justification. The lovers end up exactly where they began, so all that happens between them during the novel cancels out. The hours the characters spent driving around in that truck brought back many painful memories of the boring vacations my sister and I were forced to take with our parents to see the country. Dull, dull, dull! I'd have given this a minus score if that were a possibility. Zero is too good for it.