Bucking the Sun: A Novel

Written by Ivan Doig

Narrated by Will Patton

Bucking the Sun is the story of the Duff family, homesteaders driven from the Montana bottomland to work on one of the New Deal’s most audacious projects—the damming of the Missouri River.

Through the story of each family member—a wrathful father, a mettlesome mother, and three very different sons, and the memorable women they marry—Doig conveys a sense of time and place that is at once epic in scope and rich in detail.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio
• Release date: Jan 1, 1999
• ISBN: 9780743540537

Ivan Doig

Ivan Doig (1939-2015) was born in Montana and grew up along the Rocky Mountain Front, the dramatic landscape that has inspired much of his writing. A recipient of a lifetime Distinguished Achievement Award from the Western Literature Association, he is the author of fifteen novels and four works of nonfiction.

Reviews for Bucking the Sun

[esta1923 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

It is unusual for me to read a book that begins with two dead -- and naked -- bodies in a truck. But I am an Ivan Doig fan and so I have "Bucking the Sun" on my shelf.This is a complicated tale.Doig gives readers clues by putting a character's thoughts in italics: what they say is often different. The book is set in 1938. The Duff family is involved in a major project: construction of the Fort Peck Dam, aiming to dam the Missouri River. There are flashbacks to earlier days (some exciting, some sad) and these, at least for me, made the book more worthwhile.

[michael_lilly-1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This is an historical novel built around some of the events that took place during the Construction of the Fort Peck dam in Montana during the Great Depression. It is also a prequel to The Bartender's tale, one of Doig's more recent novels. Some characters carry over. It's a good active story about interesting characters who have flawed personalities. There is a fair balance of humor and contemplation about life. Don't expect a knight in shining armor to save the day, or you will be disappointed. Be forewarned that the book has some sex scenes that give you a rather explicit picture of what is going on, though without using many explicit words- an interesting writing skill.

[Marion Terry · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

There are too many details of the nuts and bolts of building a damn. It ends solving the mystery at the beginning without enough information to lead to the conclusion. Stir, it is Ivan Doig’s writing making it impossible not to finish.