Review: Plainsong by Kent Haruf

in a sentence: life in holt, CO may be simple, but that doesn't mean it's boring.

plainsong is a weaving of 4 intertwined story lines - a pregger teen, 2 boys who are dealing with the complicated and unfortunate circumstances of their parents divorce, the father of the boys, and finally two old farmers. seemingly unrelated stories beautifully connect and combine into the power of relationships and the need for humans to feel and experience love.

reading this book put me at ease - which is weird because almost all the characters are in a state of turmoil in the book. cool how that feels like life, huh? we coast through life doing okay most of the time, but the reality is there is always drama going on between people in our lives or within ourselves beneath the surface. i was really impressed with how haruf was able to weave these stories together in a non-hokey way. i was even more impressed that the ending didn't tie everything up into a neat little package, but rather left it where it was. that being said, i don't feel like i wasted my time reading this book because the journey was very rewarding in itself.

plainsong is simple, but deep. don't mistake the lackluster language and format for boring, because this is anything but. he is great at exploring the intricacies of relationships without the reader even being aware of it - tricky and rewarding.

fave quote: "i tell you, it seems like you get one thing fixed and something else pops up" (175)

fix er' up: okay, i admit it - i crave resolution. i'm glad it wasn't tied up in a neat little package, but i guess i still wanted SOMETHING more at the end...

title: Plainsong
author: Kent Haruf
genre: Fiction, Drama, Realistic