What is the author's style in Dancing at the Rascal Fair by Ivan Doig?

The overall tone of the story is one of hope against adversity. The story is written in English and is generally straight-forward, though there are a few words and terms that could be unfamiliar to the American reader and there are some that seem might have been used in this time period, such as "achieveful," which is how Angus describes the vast amount of work he and Rob accomplish. These are typically explained, often through the context.