Montana+1948-+Collin+Gibbs

Montana 1948



Larry Watson

 Larry Watson was born in 1947 in Rugby, North Dakota (Biography). When he was young he moved to Bismarck, North Dakota (Biography). He attended school in the public school system (Biography). In high school he met a young lady named Susan Gibbons and then married her in 1967 (Biography).  He received his BA and MA from the University of North Dakota (Biography). He received Ph.D. from the creative writing program at the University of Utah (Biography). He also received an honorary Doctor of Letters degree from Ripon College (Biography). Also, Watson has received grants and fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts (1987, 2004) and the Wisconsin Arts Board (Biography).

This book tells the tales of the horrific events that consumed the summer of 1948 in Bentrock, Montana. The story is told by 52 year man, David, who experienced these events as a 12 year old boy.  He is peering into the past 40 years to try to figure out his life. After describing the setting, the story starts off with a case of pneumonia. A young Indian lady from the near by reservation catches it. She is the house keeper for David’s family, but her main job is to care for and baby sit young David. The doctor that is called on to care for her is David’s uncle. The doctor’s name is Frank. For some reason, Marie, the Indian girl, fears Frank. The sheriff in that small town goes by the first name of Wesley. Wesley is David’s father and Frank’s brother. Marie is very scared and fears for her life and goes to David’s family, explaining that Frank uses his doctoral power to sexually molest many of the ladies on her reservation. This goes into deeper (WARNING: deeper and graphic) detail here, where David's mother explains everything:

//"//What things? I'll tell you what things. Your brother makes his patients //some// of his patientsundress completely and get indecent positions. He makes them jump up and down while he watches. He fondles their breasts. Heno, don't you turn away. //Don't!// You asked and I'm going to tell you. All of it. He puts things into these girls. Inside them, //there.// His instruments. His fingers. He has...your brother, I believe has inserted his, his penis into some of these girls. Wesley, your brother is raping these girls. These //girls.// These Indian girls. He offers his services to the reservation, the BIA school. To the high school for athletic physicals. Then when he gets these girls where he wants them he... //Oh!// I don't even want to say it again. //He does what he wants to do."// (Watson, 47).

Wesley, being the town sheriff has to decide how to go about this ordeal. Wesley discovers that Frank's privilege within the community has protected him from the consequences of such a crime. He also realizes that even tough his family and many others do not approve of these actions and that many people have chosen to just move on and hope it stops soon. Then one night David sees his uncle sneak out of the house and the next day Marie is found dead. If not for David, it would have been a perfect murder. He then confides this information to his father. Wesley then takes his brother and locks him in the basement like a jail. Soon David’s grandfather gets involved, trying to free Frank. First he tries to do it in person, but then resorts to sending hired hands to do it. Realizing that his plans aren’t working, Wesley makes plans to send Frank to somewhere away from Bentrock so everyone can move on. Over the course of these events, David’s family has become outcasts in the town. What makes this book so great is the end. You must read it to discover the shocking twist! Of all of the characters, David would have to be my favorite. The reasoning behind that is simple. he is mature. He is very informed but yet subtle at a young age. At the age of twelve I was completely immature. His maturity is proven in this quote:

"This was my chance. I could ride along with my father and tell him everything I knew. But my mother still had her arm around me, and until she let go it didn't feel right to leave. Besides, he was going to face more grief and this room held all that I could handle" (Watson, 90).

This book was...

Good because: Bad because: Other books I would recommend include:
 * The author was very descriptive and made you feel like you're in the story.
 * His writing is so raw and uncensored it just makes plot better.
 * The plot is actually believable, unlike some other "realistic" fiction books.
 * I can honestly think of nothing for this book. I loved it.

Aaron-A Farewell to Arms Mitch-Heart of Darkness e.c.

There are many good dramatic, realistic books out there!! You just have to look for them!!

Works Cited

"Biography - Larry Watson". Larry Watson. March 26, 2009. 

Watson, Larry. __Montana, 1948__. New York: Washington Square Press. 1993.