Eventide

Rating:
Summary: Eventide
Review: Another beautiful, moving book by Kent Haruf. I'm so glad I got an update on the McPherson brothers.

Rating:
Summary: A Sequal with new faces
Review: As the sequal to PLAINSONG, I thought that this book would continue the lives of all of the characters of the earlier work and I had looked forward to finding out more about the young boys, Bobby and Ike. However, they appear only in passing in EVENTIDE. There seems to be a parallel between them and Harold and Raymond McPherson. Will the young boys grow into the old men that we come to know so well in the stories?

Eventide is a good name for the work. It aptly sums up the people and the town of Holt - its even. Live goes on, in spite of tragedy.

There are many tragic figures in the book; children left without parents, both physically and emotionally and people who throw thier lives away. There are people who cause pain and people who try to sow love. But life is not easy for any of the characters in the book. Some survive easier than others. Some realize that you have to move on.

But there is also hope. One believes that Victoria will succeed and although we don't know for sure, I believe that DJ will be a success. Raymond survives and finds friendship and love, even after a rough start. Because he has Tom Guthrie and Maggie Jones, one is sure that he will be taken care of.

The book shows that there are good people that want to hlep and people that seem to have little hope. Some are able to overcome the emotional scars of thier youth and some are not. Some merely cover them up and let them fester and some actually allow those scars to heal. Life goes on as the title suggests and it seems that some of the characters are trapped, but as we see, some survive.

Rating:
Summary: Graceful Beauty
Review: Eventide, the follow-up to the beautiful National Book Award Finalist, Plainsong is a gorgeous tribute to the hard and troublesome life on the high plains of Colorado. Like its predecessor, the understated emotionality of Eventide builds until the grip on your heart is unmistakable. For someone who never has to raise his voice, Kent Haruf is still able to grab the attention of the reader and take them along for a glorious trip to Holt. What a pleasure to read such a well written, simple, yet powerful sequel to Plainsong. Kent Haruf proves he understands the human heart better than just about anybody. You fall in love with Harold, Raymond and Victoria all over again. Look for another National Book Award Nomination for this very fine chapter in the life of normal people in extraordinary circumstances. "There are some things in life you don't get over. This book will be one of them."(Have your Kleenex ready). A must read for 2004!

Rating:
Summary: A Worthy Successor to the Award-Winning Plainsong
Review: For a second time the residents of Holt, Colorado, have been brought to life by the immense talents of author Kent Haruf. Five years ago, Haruf first introduced the denizens of this rural western community to the world. That novel, PLAINSONG, became an award-winning novel, a finalist for the National Book Award, and recently a "Hallmark Hall of Fame" television movie. EVENTIDE is Haruf's return visit to Holt, an opportunity for the reader to follow the lives of many of the characters first introduced in PLAINSONG and to meet other residents of the community as well.

The primary focus of EVENTIDE is on the lives of a unique family unit that found its creation in the pages of PLAINSONG. Her biological family abandoned Victoria Roubideaux when the high school student became pregnant. Through the efforts of one of her teachers, Maggie Jones, Victoria moves to the farm of Harold and Raymond McPheron, bachelor brothers residing on their cattle ranch 17 miles outside of Holt. The development of the relationship between Victoria and the McPherons was a major theme of the PLAINSONG saga.

As EVENTIDE opens, Victoria and her two-year-old daughter Katie, having lived on the McPheron farm since birth, are preparing to face a new challenge. Mother and daughter will be moving to Fort Collins and Victoria will be a freshman in college. The brothers, who two years ago could never contemplate life with a woman and child, must now face the absence of what has become their family. It will be a difficult test.

Shortly after Victoria departs, tragedy visits the McPheron farm. A serious accident kills Harold and severely injures Raymond. In simple and unadorned language Haruf portrays Raymond's struggle to begin a new life. Raymond is a noble and old-fashioned man seeking to survive in a modern and complex society that exists even in rural Colorado. In one particularly touching moment, Raymond, now courting, purchases a car battery for his female friend. In the hands of Kent Haruf, the incident is beautifully portrayed.

Victoria and the McPherons are the main characters of EVENTIDE but certainly not its only characters. Haruf shows a remarkable talent in viewing the world through the eyes of children. IN PLAINSONG it was the sons of Tom Guthrie. In EVENTIDE it is eleven-year old DJ Kephart, an orphan who is taking care of his grandfather. Viewing the world through the eyes of children reminds us all of the fragile nature of hopes and dreams. Often, it can be a bleak world.

Other residents of Holt also appear. Luther and Betty Wallace and their children are kept together as a family unit by social worker Rose Tyler. The lives of many citizens of Holt intertwine, and Haruf keeps the story moving towards a conclusion that, while not complete, brings closure to some of the characters. Perhaps Haruf is contemplating a Holt, Colorado trilogy of novels.

There is an elegant simplicity and beauty in the writing of Kent Haruf. When he describes a subzero Colorado winter evening, the reader reaches for a sweater. When his characters are happy, the reader rejoices; when they face misfortune, the reader shares their angst. Few writers can evoke that response in a novel. EVENTIDE is a worthy successor to the award-winning PLAINSONG. If you have not done so, read PLAINSONG first. More than the words of any review, it will inspire you to read EVENTIDE.

--- Reviewed by Stuart Shiffman

Rating:
Summary: spare and beautiful
Review: Haruf's style aptly fits the setting of this remarkable follow-up to Plainsong. His lack of quotation marks drew me into the interaction between characters without setting the dialogue apart. You get used to it after a couple pages. If you want a plot that hits you over the head rather than speaks to your heart, this isn't for you. The beauty lies in Haruf's amazing ability to say so much in so little, yet paint the setting and characters and plot so vividly. I read this book in one day because I couldn't wait to get back to the characters and the place. Working in a library, I read and see a lot of books. I am always looking for a book that captures me and transports me and this one did just that. I cried. I laughed. And most of all I cared. Incredible and superb writing which even surpasses Plainsong.

Rating:
Summary: Stellar Sequel
Review: Having read and LOVED, "Plainsong" I eagerly purchased "Eventide." Though much grittier and darker than it's predecessor, this book offering is important. As a huge fan of Haruf, this title seemed more in keeping with "Where He Once Belonged" and "The Tides That Bind" in it's less than perfect characterizations. Some of "Eventide's" personalaties border on pathetic, but is it not that way in life? In my 49 years of living in small towns in Montana and Wyoming, I certainly have met them all. Haruf does offer us hope through the "McPheron's" "Victoria and Katie," "Rose Tyler," and others that stumble, rising again from their self-inflicted ashes. That we must reside among the unreedemable is truth. The idiom that "truth hurts" applies here, but truth also educates, affects change, and defuncts one's prejudices and judgements. I cried often thoughtout, but I also questioned, pondered, and meditated. Bravo, to Mr. Haruf for daring to tear we readers from our comfort zones, urging compassion, understanding, and in some instances, action. Bravo, that through these characters we may affect change in our lives and those around us, rather than residing in our complacent ignorance. Bravo, that Mr. Haruf dared to challenge; in challenge, only, can we meet victory.

Bravo, bravo, bravo!

Rating:
Summary: Stellar Sequel
Review: Having read and LOVED, "Plainsong" I eagerly purchased "Eventide." Though much grittier and darker than it's predecessor, this book offering is important. As a huge fan of Haruf, this title seemed more in keeping with "Where He Once Belonged" and "The Tides That Bind" in it's less than perfect characterizations. Some of "Eventide's" personalaties border on pathetic, but is it not that way in life? In my 49 years of living in small towns in Montana and Wyoming, I certainly have met them all. Haruf does offer us hope through the "McPheron's" "Victoria and Katie," "Rose Tyler," and others that stumble, rising again from their self-inflicted ashes. That we must reside among the unreedemable is truth. The idiom that "truth hurts" applies here, but truth also educates, affects change, and defuncts one's prejudices and judgements. I cried often thoughtout, but I also questioned, pondered, and meditated. Bravo, to Mr. Haruf for daring to tear we readers from our comfort zones, urging compassion, understanding, and in some instances, action. Bravo, that through these characters we may affect change in our lives and those around us, rather than residing in our complacent ignorance. Bravo, that Mr. Haruf dared to challenge; in challenge, only, can we meet victory.

Bravo, bravo, bravo!

Rating:
Summary: Real life and real people--
Review: I am seldom moved to write a review of a book. Eventide, however, so grabbed me that I wanted to comment. The characters in this book are so genuine and their situations so true to life that you want the book to go on and on. After I finish a book I usually immediately pick up another. I could not do that after Eventide. I wanted to take some time and reflect on the lives of the characters and the events that shaped them. If you like glamour and glitz this is not the book for you, but if you like to read of real people facing real life you will love Eventide.

Rating:
Summary: Spring calving
Review: I appreciated "Plainsong" so very much that I eagerly anticipated "Eventide". Sadly, it's as awkward as a newborn calf.

What was the point of the Mary Wells vignettes? Will we meet her again in a later novel? And what is the queen of the "Motown sound" doing in Holt? The thead of story started, then broke, as did other story threads.

Perhaps I need to be whacked with the object, the plot of the thing, but if I have too look too closely for theme the writer didn't do his job.

Too many story lines, and unfinished stories made this feel "soap opera-ish" by the end. The purpose of plot isn't in this novel. While I remain grateful for Haruf's ability to tell a story with brevity and power, and will read his future novels, this is his weakest.

Rating:
Summary: Spring calving
Review: I appreciated "Plainsong" so very much that I eagerly anticipated "Eventide". Sadly, it's as awkward as a newborn calf.

What was the point of the Mary Wells vignettes? Will we meet her again in a later novel? And what is the queen of the "Motown sound" doing in Holt? The thead of story started, then broke, as did other story threads.

Perhaps I need to be whacked with the object, the plot of the thing, but if I have too look too closely for theme the writer didn't do his job.

Too many story lines, and unfinished stories made this feel "soap opera-ish" by the end. The purpose of plot isn't in this novel. While I remain grateful for Haruf's ability to tell a story with brevity and power, and will read his future novels, this is his weakest.