We are left uncertain of whether he has found what he sought, as he himself is probably uncertain of whether or not he has found it, but the journey itself has taught him a few things. He has bizarre encounters with characters that are possibly imagined. In the process, he fills his days drinking with friends old and new in a variety of seedy bars and hotels in small towns in north-central Montana. He goes on a half-hearted quest to find the woman who may or may not be his wife, who absconded with his father’s rifle and his electric razor. He recalls the tragic deaths of his father and brother. Virgil First Raise is a young man in search of something, but he’s not sure what. The world he describes on and around the Fort Belknap Reservation is dream-like, fantastic in the surreal sense. James Welch was perhaps the James Joyce of the American prairie. Welch said that he began writing Winter in the Blood with the intention of writing a poem about the Montana landscape. He had previously published a collection of poetry, Riding the Earthboy 40.

Winter in the Blood, first published in 1975, was Welch’s first novel. James Welch passed away in Missoula, Montana, in 2003, after publishing several novels and poetry collections. He taught at the University of Washington and Cornell University. He attended the University of Montana, and attained an MFA in creative writing and poetry. James Welch was a son of the Blackfeet and Gros Ventre tribes, and spent time on both the Blackfeet and Fort Belknap reservations in Montana while growing up.

But when I saw Winter in the Blood (2013, Kitefliers Studios), and subsequently read the book of the same name, I finally found a film that does justice to the writer’s intent. I am as guilty as the next book nerd of holding this snobbish view about film versions of novels. “ How dare they cast Brad Pitt in that role? He’s completely wrong for it.” Or, “ How dare they not include the scene at the refinery, that’s the key detail that explains the ending.“ Avid literati often take offence at this. Characters are often cast for their star appeal rather than their authenticity to the role. Film interpretations of novels often have to be ruthless in cutting details, lest each film run hours or days in length. We visualize the characters in our own way. There are good reasons for this, as each book reading experience is very subjective.

As book nerds, we commonly hold the rather snobbish opinion that movies based on novels are never as good as the book.

Winter in the blood book