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Book Review By Billy Pashaie
Dancing at the Rascal Fair by Ivan Doig

This book can be considered historical fiction in that it offers a view into the beginnings of the US national forests, World War I, and the Great Influenza Epidemic. It is, however, generally thought of as a book written in the Western genre.

The story is that of two 19 year-old Scottish boys, Angus McCaskill and Rob Barclay, who emigrate to the US in the late 19th century. They move to Montana and become homesteaders, deciding to raise sheep for a living. When the price of sheep begins to fall in the market Angus becomes a school teacher. He meets a neighboring teacher, Anna, and falls in love with her, but this is to be an unrequited love.

Angus marries Rob's sister instead, but his unrequited love for Anna drives a rift between himself and Rob. Rob attempts to confront Angus about this problem but his attempt bring great changes to Angus's life: Angus's wife leaves him for a time, and his son becomes estranged from him. Anna, Angus's true love, dies in the Influenza Epidemic, but as the novel comes to a close Angus's son marries Anna's daughter; and Rob drowns in an accident, leaving Angus to write his remembrance of his longtime friend and enemy.



Plot & Themes
Tone of book? - thoughtful
Time/era of story - American wild west period
Romance/Romance Problems Yes
Kind of romance:
Poverty, surviving Yes
Kind of living: - farm poverty
Is this an adult or child's book? - Adult or Young Adult Book
Lover is
Unmarried Love Triangle? Yes

Main Character
Gender - Male
Profession/status:

Main Adversary
Identity: - natural phenomena

Setting
How much descriptions of surroundings? - 10 ()
United States Yes
The US: - Midwest
Europe Yes
European country: - England/UK
Prairie? Yes
Farm/Ranch? Yes
Farm/Ranch: - lot of descript of animal care

Writing Style
Sex in book? Yes
What kind of sex: - vague references only - actual description of hetero sex
Amount of dialog - roughly even amounts of descript and dialog
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