Doig's likeable protagonist, a superintendent of schools in 1950s rural Montana, looks back at his own turn-of-the-century childhood in this richly textured, poignant novel of the Old West. The accomplished tale (Doig's eighth novel) revolves around a housekeeper (can't cook but doesn't bite) and her scholarly, mysterious brother, who takes over as schoolteacher in Marias Coulee. A former ranch hand, journalist and editor (with a Ph.D. in history), Doig has written the memoir This House of Sky and the novels Prairie Nocturne and Dancing at the Rascal Fair.  (RKY94, $14.95)