Fiction. Literature. Western. HTML: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.

"From the summer of my twelfth year I carry a series of images more vivid and lasting than any others of my boyhood and indelible beyond all attempts the years make to erase or fade them ..." So begins David Hayden' s story of what happened in Montana in 1948. The events of that cataclysmic summer permanently alter twelve-year-old David' s understanding of his family: his father, a small-town sheriff; his remarkably strong mother; David' s uncle Frank, a war hero and respected doctor; and the Haydens' Sioux housekeeper, Marie Little Soldier, whose revelations turn the family' s life upside down as she relates how Frank has been molesting his female Indian patients. As their story 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 family loyalty and justice.

David 12, comes of age during 1948 when his uncle is accused of molesting and murdering Native Americans in his small Montana town.

Fiction. Literature. HTML:

Filled with sharply drawn characters and set in an archetypal western town, this remarkable coming-of-age story is also a gripping mystery. Both Library Journal and Booklist named Montana 1948 one of the Best Books of 1993.

To 12-year-old David Hayden, his family is comfortable and familiar. David admires his father, the modest town sheriff, and his charming uncle, the local doctor. He loves his gentle, perceptive mother. But when their Sioux housekeeper whispers her darkest fears in the heat of a fever, these statements, and the investigation they spark, will change David and his family forever. As he is pulled by both the physical landscape and the web of relationships that surround him, young David is caught in a struggle between courage and love, loyalty and justice.

Written in the tradition of an American classic, Montana 1948 also won the Milkweed National Fiction Prize and the Mountains & Plains Bookseller Association Regional Book Award.

.

A series of events in a small western town changes the lives of David Hayden, his sheriff father, his mother, and their Sioux housekeeper, as they discover the truth about family loyalty.

David's life is profoundly affected by the events of the summer of 1948 when his father, the town sheriff, is forced to choose between loyalty to his family, or seeking justice for young Sioux women who claim to have been molested by David's uncle, a doctor and war hero.

The events of that small-town summer forever alter David Hayden's view of his family: his self-effacing father, a sheriff who never wears his badge; his clear sighted mother; his uncle, a charming war hero and respected doctor; and the Hayden's lively, statuesque Sioux housekeeper, Marie Little Soldier, whose revelations are at the heart of the story. It is a tale of love and courage, of power abused, and of the terrible choice between family loyalty and justice.

Montana, 1948; and the events of one cataclysmic summer will for ever alter twelve-year-old David Hayden's view of his family. His father, a small-town sheriff; his remarkably strong-willed mother; his uncle, a war hero and respected doctor; and the family's Sioux housekeeper, Marie Little Soldier, whose shocking revelations form the heart of the story.As their memories unravel before David's eyes, he comes to learn that the truth is not what you believe it to be. That power is abused. And that sometimes you have to choose between loyalty and justice...Brilliantly evoking both time and place, Larry Watson recounts David's age-old tale of childhood lost and adulthood gained.

David's life is changed forever when his Uncle Frank is accused of sexual abuse and possibly murder, and his father, the sheriff, must deal with the consequences.

To twelve-year-old David Hayden, his family is comfortable and familiar. But when their Sioux housekeeper whispers her darkest fears in the heat of a fever, these statements, and the investigation they spark, will change David and his family forever.

Brilliantly evoking both time and place, Larry Watson recounts David's age-old tale of childhood lost and adulthood gained. Montana 1948 is a new classic to stand alongside To Kill a Mocking Bird and The Go-Between.

Story of the events of the summer of the author's 12th year, which altered his view of his family and the world forever.

Portrays the moral dilemma of a family in Montana torn between justice and loyalty.

"From the summer of my twelfth year I carry a series of images more vivid and lasting than any others of my boyhood and indelible beyond all attempts the years make to erase or fade them ..." So begins David Hayden's story of what happened in Montana in 1948. The events of that cataclysmic summer permanently alter twelve-year-old David's understanding of his family: his father, a small-town sheriff; his remarkably strong mother; the Hayden's Sioux housekeeper, Marie Little Soldier, whose revelations are at the heart of the story; David's uncle, a war hero and respected doctor. As their story unravels around David, he learns that truth is not what you believe it to be, that power is abused, and that sometimes you have to choose between family loyalty and justice. In a voice as brilliantly clear as the eastern Montana sky, Larry Watson has created a completely new American classic. With nearly perfect pitch, Watson evokes a time, a place, and more: a story whose pages will not stop, turning, because its characters will not let them.

When Minnesota farmboy Billy picks up a stray baseball and fires it back to the pitcher, his baseball career begins, but his family isn't enthusiastic.

Recounts the life-altering events of the summer in twelve-year-old David Hayden's small town in Montana.

Watson has created a completely new American classic, a remarkable evocation of a time and place--a tale of love and courage, of power abused, and of the terrible choice between family loyalty and justice. A significant and elegant addition to the fiction of the American West.--Washington Post Book World.

This tale of lost innocence and adulthood gained has its roots in the events of summer, 1948. It is at that time in Montana, childhood home of David Hayden, that the memories of those closest to the then 12-year-old David are revealed, showing him that truth is not what he had believed it to be.

In the tradition of Wallace Stegner and Norman Maclean, Larry Watson has created a completely new American classic, a remarkable evocation of a time, a place, and more: a story whose pages will not stop turning because its characters will not let them. "From the summer of my twelfth year I carry a series of images more vivid and lasting than any others of my boyhood and indelible beyond all attempts the years make to erase or fade them". The events of that small-town summer forever alter David Hayden's view of his family: his self-effacing father, a sheriff who never wears his badge; his clear-sighted mother; his uncle, a charming war hero and respected doctor; and the Hayden's lively, statuesque Sioux housekeeper, Marie Little Soldier, whose revelations are at the heart of the story. It is a tale of love and courage, of power abused, and of the terrible choice between family loyalty and justice. - Cover.

David 12, comes of age during 1948 when his uncle is accused of molesting and murdering Native Americans in his small Montana town. David's life is profoundly affected during the summer of 1948 when his father, the town sheriff, must choose between loyalty to his family, or seeking justice for Sioux women who claim to have been molested by David's uncle, a doctor and war hero.

Family loyalty vs. justice. David is growing up in 1948 and things are not as simple as they once were.

Montana 1948