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Title: Not Stegner
Review: I wanted to like this book. And in places the novel is satisfying, for example when Doig's characters are involved in nature (especially the trek to the fire tower). Especially pervasive throughout is a dialogue that just doesn't work - people don't normally converse the way Doig's characters do - at least not throughout the entire story. The repetitive, "so-hip" banter between characters becomes annoying almost from the start. The characters too were so extreme that I felt each person developed into a caricature, or stereotype that was so hard to become involved with, or develop sympathy for.I would have quit this book mid way but for the hype on Amazon. Especially the comparisons between this author and Wallace Stegner. Compare this book to say Crossing To Safety, and you can see just see what an unbelievable stretch this comparison is. And it may have set up expectations in my mind about Doig that were unfair to him.
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