Kent Haruf
Paperback | Pages: 301 pages Rating: 4.02 | 59172 Users | 4900 Reviews
Particularize About Books Plainsong (Plainsong #1)
| Title | : | Plainsong (Plainsong #1) |
| Author | : | Kent Haruf |
| Book Format | : | Paperback |
| Book Edition | : | Special Edition |
| Pages | : | Pages: 301 pages |
| Published | : | August 22nd 2000 by Vintage (first published October 4th 1999) |
| Categories | : | Fiction. Literary Fiction. Contemporary |
Explanation Conducive To Books Plainsong (Plainsong #1)
A heartstrong story of family and romance, tribulation and tenacity, set on the High Plains east of Denver. In the small town of Holt, Colorado, a high school teacher is confronted with raising his two boys alone after their mother retreats first to the bedroom, then altogether. A teenage girl—her father long since disappeared, her mother unwilling to have her in the house—is pregnant, alone herself, with nowhere to go. And out in the country, two brothers, elderly bachelors, work the family homestead, the only world they've ever known. From these unsettled lives emerges a vision of life, and of the town and landscape that bind them together—their fates somehow overcoming the powerful circumstances of place and station, their confusion, curiosity, dignity and humor intact and resonant. As the milieu widens to embrace fully four generations, Kent Haruf displays an emotional and aesthetic authority to rival the past masters of a classic American tradition. Utterly true to the rhythms and patterns of life, Plainsong is a novel to care about, believe in, and learn from.List Books During Plainsong (Plainsong #1)
| Original Title: | Plainsong |
| ISBN: | 0375705856 (ISBN13: 9780375705854) |
| Edition Language: | English |
| Series: | Plainsong #1 |
| Setting: | Denver, Colorado(United States) Holt, Colorado(United States) |
| Literary Awards: | Book Sense Book of the Year Award Nominee for Adult (2000), ALA Alex Award (2000), National Book Award Finalist for Fiction (1999), Society of Midland Authors Award for Adult Fiction (2000), International Dublin Literary Award Nominee (2001) |
Rating About Books Plainsong (Plainsong #1)
Ratings: 4.02 From 59172 Users | 4900 ReviewsAppraise About Books Plainsong (Plainsong #1)
Colorado High Plains, image source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...Absence Peek between the gaps to appreciate the pared-down beauty of this book. At its heart, is absence: the words not used, the thoughts not made explicit, the loved-ones left or lost, the open space in which it is set. The language is plain, utilitarian, and unsentimental, as are the situations described in the short chapters.There is no backstory, there are no inner monologues - indeed, most of the characters sayBeautiful, a beautiful book. Thanks to all the good Goodreads friends who kept recommending this book to me.Especially the relationship and love between the gentle old farmer brothers Harold and Raymond McPheron and the young and pregnant Victoria, who they take into their home after her mother cast her out, is heartfelt. Wonderful writing, beautiful scenery... Great story. I like the description on the back cover: A novel of haunting beauty, Plainsong explores the grace and hope of every human
Plainsong, a simple unadorned melody, is a perfect title for this book, Haruf's style being beautifully spare and yet powerfully moving. This award winning book takes place in a small town on the high plains of Colorado and chronicles the lives of some of it's struggling residents namely a lonely school teacher and his young sons who've been abandoned by their depressed wife and mother, a forgotten inbound widow, a caretaker and her elderly father, two rough on the exterior old bachelor brothers
Haruf's writing is as comforting to me as tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches on a cold winter day. For a reader who has memories of an idilic growing up when I read his stories I feel like I am going home and I am so glad there are stories that can take me there. The sounds, smells, voices and memories all come alive. His prose is simple, yet so beautiful and paints such a vivid picture. His characters are earthy, there is no pretense about them, they are everyday people living ordinary
This is my second Haruf novel - I enjoyed reading Our Souls at Night a couple of years ago. Once again we are in and around the small town of Holt in eastern Colorado. This one has a structure reminiscent of Faulkner's As I Lay Dying, with each chapter headed by the character (or in some cases pair) which is its primary focus.It is a touching story, written in plain language, which has two central plots. In one, two young boys and their teacher father come to terms with the wife/mother's
To think that I almost brought this book back to the library, unread because it was due back! That would have been a colossal mistake on my part for I would have missed out on a delightful book!Kent Haruf writing style leaves a lot to be desired. It drives me crazy when authors don't use quotation marks when characters are talking but Kent Haruf story drew me in immediately, even without the quotation marks! His storytelling is reminiscent of Willa Cather, whom I adore!Great story and lovable
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