Open Book Club Zooms back

SEELEY LAKE – One of the Alpine Artisans'(AAI) programs formerly on COVID-19 hiatus Zoom-ed back to life March 6. The first Zoom Open Book Club event featured critically acclaimed author Russell Rowland with his newest book "Cold Country."

Pre-COVID, Grizzly Claw Trading Company provided the venue for area residents to gather and listen to authors read from their latest works and respond to audience questions. While the Zoom format may have dampened what many author guests have described as the cozy, western, friendly ambiance of the Grizzly Claw, for some viewers it provided an opportunity that would otherwise be unavailable to them. "Snowbird" residents tuned in from Michigan, California and New Jersey as did some Swan Valley and other area locals who find snow, ice and darkness impediments to driving to wintery Seeley Lake events.

AAI Program Coordinator Jenny Rohrer said, "I think the Open Book Club has always been popular because people are just so gratified to hear the author read his own work. When Russell started reading, all that came back to me and it just felt so good-a pleasure that we have been denied for a year. It's such a nice addition to our life for those of us who love authors and who love reading. You could see the smiles on people's faces [in the Zoom gallery]."

AAI member and Rowland's longtime friend Lynn Ingham introduced him to the Zoomers as a writer whose works demonstrate a deep understanding of Montana and its people. She also noted that "Cold Country" is the most autobiographical of his works and also the first of his books to be picked up for film.

"Cold Country" is set in 1968 in the small town of Paradise Valley, which Rowland disclosed was simply a name change for Big Horn Valley where he himself was living in that year. Rowland revealed that Carl Logan, one of the main characters, was based on his father while the 10-year-old boy Carl "may or may not be based on me." The story revolves around a horrendous murder. One of the area's prominent ranchers is beaten to death with a baseball bat.

Rowland divulged to the Zoom audience the murder was added to the book later. The real heart of the novel is an exploration of small-town dynamics. Seemingly, everyone knows everything about everyone else, yet at the same time everyone has secrets they desperately want to keep from everyone else.

After Rowland read a couple of passages from the book, Ingham led the question period by focusing on several critical reviews. The reviewers dispel any thought "Cold Country" is an idealized version of the Old West. According to Kirkus Review, Rowland's book portrays "the hardscrabble life of the livestock rancher of old."

Fellow author Susan Henderson testifies Rowland "places his finger on the pulse of a small Montana ranching community and the outsiders hoping to set up a home there."

And The Wall Street Journal alludes to the book's Agatha Christie-like mystery, yet assures, "But this is Montana, so there's no genteel detective to finger the culprit. Instead, there's a massive brawl and the truth is beaten free."

The story's realism mirrors the feelings of 10-year-old Rowland and his family who found themselves outsiders, disliked and reviled for reasons that had very little to do with them as individual people. The other residents of the town come across as utterly authentic because, as Rowland freely admits, they are modeled on people he knew or knows.

One of the Zoom audience asked if Rowland had received any feedback from the thinly concealed people who became his book characters. Rowland responded he had not received such feedback from "Cold Country" but the negative portrayal of his mother's aunt in Rowland's first book, "In Open Spaces," angered the aunt's daughter. However, after discussing the book, the two cousins-the daughter and Rowland's mother-ultimately healed their long-standing rift.

Discussion of Rowland's other books prompted a question about his "Fifty-Six Counties: A Montana Journey," which he had previously presented at Open Book Club.

Though Rowland is a fourth-generation Montanan on his mother's side, he spent 25 years in other states. He said he always knew he would come back to Montana but by the time he finally did in 2007 he felt he needed to get reacquainted with his state. His way of doing that was to travel to all 56 counties in Montana and interview people about "what it means to be from Montana and how living and growing up here has shaped them as people."

"That journey was absolutely fabulous," Rowland said. I met so many interesting people and really got to know how different the parts of Montana are. First of all, the people were much more interesting than I expected. More intellectually curious than I thought they would be. [Farmers, for instance] aren't just a bunch of people that grow up and work with their hands. They have to be innovative and study what's going on around the country and in agriculture to do their jobs. The best part about that book was discovering how incredible Montanans are."

Aside from being an author, Rowland is also host of the radio show "Fifty-Six Counties." In many ways an extension of his book, each show interviews two people from different counties.

Rowland also co-hosts a literary podcast named "Breakfast in Montana." Each episode examines one contemporary book and one from an earlier period, which, according to the website russellrowland.com, "is an effort to explore what it is about this state that inspires so much incredible literature."

In addition, Rowland has a line of coffees, among them a blend named "Fifty-Six Counties," another named "Breakfast in Montana," and one for sipping while reading his latest book, named, of course, "Cold Country."

Despite the few inevitable technical difficulties, Rohrer declared the Zoom session a success and Alpine Artisans will be presenting more in the future, starting with Gwen Florio who will introduce her mystery series "Best Laid Plans" March 20 at 7 p.m.

The event is open to everyone, though registration is required to obtain a link to the Zoom session.