Distinctly Montana Magazine

44 D I S T I N C T LY M O N TA N A M A G A Z I N E • FA L L 2 0 2 6 Last Best Books Presents ISLE OF BOOKS 511 W. MENDENHALL BOZEMAN 406.219.3581 ISLE OF BOOKS & BOOKS 43 E BROADWAY ST. BUTTE 406.782.9520 THESE AND OTHER BOOKS AVAILABLE AT EITHER LOCATION WWW.ISLEOFBOOKSSHOP.COM A KIND OF MAN BY ALLEN MORRIS JONES Montana's esteemed poet lau- reate and author of novels like Last Year's River, Sweeney on the Rocks, and A Bloom of Bones as well as the classic A Quiet Place of Violence, which explores the ethics of hunting, is adept in a variety of modes. In his latest work, he returns with a collec- tion of short stories including the eponymous never-before-pub- lished novella. The moving and literary stories included therein explore Montana life in all its grit and complexity, including the titular piece, set during the 1917 Speculator mine disaster. Morris is particularly good at bal- ancing a light step with weighty subject matter, and A Kind of Man is entertaining even as it explores the human dimensions of a tragedy that still fascinates and horrifies us more than a hun- dred years on. THE DEAD RINGER BY DANE BAHR This dark as pitch and hard as nails literary Western noir is a must read, shaping up to the year's best Montana-set novel. Set during the Great Depression in the fictional town of Black Elk, Montana, The Dead Ringer begins with protagonist Benja- min Kilt being bludgeoned and buried alive by his half-brother, a bank robber. Kilt, improbably, survives. In fact, you might al- most say he was brought back from the dead. As you might ex- pect, he sets out for revenge. Along the way, he reluctantly picks up a traveling companion, Bonnie, a 13-year-old Indigenous girl he rescues from abuse. It is Bonnie's own memories, decades later, that form the narration of the novel. Grim but humane, pierced through with violence but elevated by love and the poignancy of unexpected tenderness, The Dead Ringer recalls the best of Charles Portis in its characterization, while its prose cuts like the sharp edge of a rock. "THE WHOLE COUNTRY WAS ...'ONE ROBE'": THE LITTLE SHELL TRIBE'S AMERICA BY NICHOLAS C. P. VROOMAN WITH ADDITIONAL CONTRIBUTORS: PAMELA BUNTE, ANNE COYNER, SANDRA F. KENNEDY, JOELLEN SHIVELY, BRENDA SNIDER, JACKIE TROTCHIE EDITED BY RICK NEWBY In 2005 the state of Mon- tana allocated money for each tribal nation to record and publish the history of their people. "The Whole Country was... 'One Robe'": The Little Shell Tribe's America was first released in 2012, the book not only sold out and became a collector's item, but helped to secure offi- cial federal recognition of the tribe. Now it is being rereleased, funded partially by the beneficence of donors, in a weighty 504- page edition featuring over 400 illustrations and photos. As we

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