The Tie That Binds

Rating:
Summary: A new fan
Review: THE TIE THAT BINDS by Kent Haruf was a novel to break my heart, tear at my senses; it was a profound emotional exprience. Haruf immersed my sensibilities into a hard and unloving environment, he drowned me in the vivid unlucky details of the several lives presented; further, he demonstrated beyond doubt that in this world the victimization of each character by "life" is a tawdry result of simply being born. When Sandy, the tough narrator, and his father, Roscoe, have their first father-son, man-to-man encounter over Sandy's first beer, Sandy responds to his father's story concerning Edith, with whom he shares an unrequited love, "But it's not fair." Roscoe launches Sandy into adulthood with his finest wisdom: "Course it's not fair. There ain't none of it that's fair. Life ain't. And all our thinking it should be don't seem to make one single damn. You might as well know that now as later." Always, are the warnings, the clues, the foretaste of tragedies to come. The reader first learns of impending disasters then smothers for details until much later when the pathetic event emerges in its fullness. One tragedy is not enough. Tragedy follows tragedy. Life is a urinal here. I was soiled. I was overwhelmed. I was touched.

The environment Haruf created is philosophically a deterministic naturalistic setting from whose grasp, the characters and the reader cannot escape. We are all "stuck!" Never mind that the details of life in rural America are so graphic at times that I was repulsed as I read of it; never mind that the narrator, Sandy, is a pessimistic observer, and he is the one from whom I was handed the lurid, sickening details. And never mind that Haruf plopped my busy behind in a chair across the table from Sandy, behind a cup of coffee and that Sandy made direct address to me throughout the accounting of the story within a story. Edith, the old woman around whom the story evolves remained suspended with an IV in the back of her hand, in the hospital, (the story)while Sandy and I drank coffee and he told me the truth (the story within). Because despite Sandy's negative
views, despite his railing against "outrageous fortune" and his fellow man, I came to know him as a good and loving man, fallible, human (sometimes weak), and vulnerable. From his view, the story unfolded, the characters became round and full, and their lives endured; thus, I, the reader, suffered the tragedies and as Haruf dunked my head in the stench of it until my "self" that demanded justice above all other values, could hardly breathe. All my senses were engaged, saturated until I could see, smell, taste, feel, and touch the unyielding, undeserved pain of the lives of the characters with my sensibility and sympathy, but I seldom "enjoyed" the experience though I could not "...put the book down". I knew the characters and the setting intimately. I came to love their world and to love them, especially to understand them, often to admire them. And so, I suffered heartbreak on their behalf.

I highly recommend this book. Why should one read a book that
delivers a painful experience? The idea that we should bear the burden of others is not new in literature. Edna St. Vincent Millay said it beautifully in RENASCENCE as did Emerson in his concept of the "oversoul." Surely, an author who emerses us vicariously into uncomfortable circumstances suffered by others serves us well and saves us from complacency, helps us to examine our interactions with others...wonder about their personal stories. I was well served in that regard by Haruf and his vivid characters.

Rating:
Summary: Painful Encounter
Review: THE TIE THAT BINDS by Kent Haruf was a novel to break my heart, tear at my senses; it was a profound emotional exprience. Haruf immersed my sensibilities into a hard and unloving environment, he drowned me in the vivid unlucky details of the several lives presented; further, he demonstrated beyond doubt that in this world the victimization of each character by "life" is a tawdry result of simply being born. When Sandy, the tough narrator, and his father, Roscoe, have their first father-son, man-to-man encounter over Sandy's first beer, Sandy responds to his father's story concerning Edith, with whom he shares an unrequited love, "But it's not fair." Roscoe launches Sandy into adulthood with his finest wisdom: "Course it's not fair. There ain't none of it that's fair. Life ain't. And all our thinking it should be don't seem to make one single damn. You might as well know that now as later." Always, are the warnings, the clues, the foretaste of tragedies to come. The reader first learns of impending disasters then smothers for details until much later when the pathetic event emerges in its fullness. One tragedy is not enough. Tragedy follows tragedy. Life is a urinal here. I was soiled. I was overwhelmed. I was touched.

The environment Haruf created is philosophically a deterministic naturalistic setting from whose grasp, the characters and the reader cannot escape. We are all "stuck!" Never mind that the details of life in rural America are so graphic at times that I was repulsed as I read of it; never mind that the narrator, Sandy, is a pessimistic observer, and he is the one from whom I was handed the lurid, sickening details. And never mind that Haruf plopped my busy behind in a chair across the table from Sandy, behind a cup of coffee and that Sandy made direct address to me throughout the accounting of the story within a story. Edith, the old woman around whom the story evolves remained suspended with an IV in the back of her hand, in the hospital, (the story)while Sandy and I drank coffee and he told me the truth (the story within). Because despite Sandy's negative
views, despite his railing against "outrageous fortune" and his fellow man, I came to know him as a good and loving man, fallible, human (sometimes weak), and vulnerable. From his view, the story unfolded, the characters became round and full, and their lives endured; thus, I, the reader, suffered the tragedies and as Haruf dunked my head in the stench of it until my "self" that demanded justice above all other values, could hardly breathe. All my senses were engaged, saturated until I could see, smell, taste, feel, and touch the unyielding, undeserved pain of the lives of the characters with my sensibility and sympathy, but I seldom "enjoyed" the experience though I could not "...put the book down". I knew the characters and the setting intimately. I came to love their world and to love them, especially to understand them, often to admire them. And so, I suffered heartbreak on their behalf.

I highly recommend this book. Why should one read a book that
delivers a painful experience? The idea that we should bear the burden of others is not new in literature. Edna St. Vincent Millay said it beautifully in RENASCENCE as did Emerson in his concept of the "oversoul." Surely, an author who emerses us vicariously into uncomfortable circumstances suffered by others serves us well and saves us from complacency, helps us to examine our interactions with others...wonder about their personal stories. I was well served in that regard by Haruf and his vivid characters.

Rating:
Summary: Hard to let go
Review: This book brought me to a world completely unfamiliar to me and yet so believable. It was a bleak story that made me care about and admire the characters who are somehow able to retain their goodness despite the hardness of their lives. You wish at the end of the novel you could have actually met Edith and Sanders.

Rating:
Summary: Enjoyable and forgetable
Review: This book is one I enjoyed reading but not enough to seek out other books by the author although I'm apt to read more at some time. However, when I was lent a copy to read, I was several pages in before I realized I already had read it - something very unusual for me.

However, the book is an interesting read on how a person (in this case the father) can be controlling using a combination of sense of duty and fear to ensure control. It illustrates the two major ways of adjusting to the control - flight by the son and obedience by the daughter. It builds to an interesting climax where the daughter (now 80) acts for herself. All in all the novel has reasonable plot and character development - definately worth reading but ...

Rating:
Summary: Superb writing
Review: This book reads beautifully, it creates an interesting picture, a history of two families growing up on the plains. Same setting as "High, Wide and Lonesome", but fictional. My wife and I loved every page.

Rating:
Summary: Not his best work
Review: This book was a struggle to complete. One must remain committed to the task. I could readily relate to characters and the region, having been raised on the high plains. While it is flattering to see the home country show up in print, it disappoints when compared to Haruf's "Plainsong" or Tom McNeal's "Goodnight, Nebraska". I will read other Haruf's works, but this is not one that I would consider a keeper.

Rating:
Summary: One of the best books I have ever read
Review: This is a beautiful story of a woman's very difficult life and her survival.

Rating:
Summary: Couldn't Put It Down
Review: This is an excellent book-compelling from start to finish. I could clearly imagine the characters and events as I read. As you read, you will feel angry and sad. I highly recommend this book.

Rating:
Summary: Couldn't Put It Down
Review: This is an excellent book-compelling from start to finish. I could clearly imagine the characters and events as I read. As you read, you will feel angry and sad. I highly recommend this book.

Rating:
Summary: Packs a wallop
Review: This is the 3rd Haruf book I've read. Started with PLAINSONG which was a complete masterpiece, then moved onto WHERE YOU ONCE BELONGED which was a haunting story about small town love. Now, THE TIE THAT BINDS explores the life of one central character, a woman who forsakes a deep and true lover to care for her physically maimed and emotionally abusive father. Haruf's writing is absorbing, engrossing and totally spellbinding. The reader comes to understand the motives behind the sometimes desperate actions of these people. I love the spare, bleak descriptions of life in this town of Holt. The novel builds to an inevitable, heartbreaking conclusion. I'd give more than a nickel to read more from this author...I thoroughly enjoy his work. This is a quick, compelling read that will stay with you for a long time.