Rating: 
Summary: Enjoyed It - Would Recommend It!
Review: I really enjoyed the book and liked the author's style of writing. I found the characters believable and likeable and wished I could know them for real and that life was really like the way it was in the book.
Rating: 
Summary: Not all it's cracked up to be
Review: This was the first full length novel I listened to in audio format, and while I enjoyed listening to Plainsong better than the morning weather and traffic reports, I must say I expected a little more. The story seems heartwarming enough, including the story of how the lives of a couple of old bachelor brothers were warmed up by young, pregnant Victoria, who comes to live with them at their cattle farm when she quite literally has nowhere else to go. I just thought there were so many gaps in the plot, I kept wondering if my copy was missing an audio cassette. For example, the Guthrie family goes through some changes, as the mother (I don't know if we ever get her name) starts out the novel upstairs in isolation, and later leaves her husband and their 9 and 10 year old boys Ike and Bobby altogether. We're not told why she leaves, although I assume she had some form of clinical depression. There is a completely illogical, unexplained scene in which the young Guthrie boys saddle up a horse and ride at least 17 miles outside of town to visit the old bachelor cattle farmers, although Haruf never tells us what motivated the boys to do so. (In fact one of the kids asks his brother "why are we here?" - good question, I couldn't figure it out). There was another scene, which is given away by another Amazon reviewer here, in which a baby is dropped and noone seems to care - the old guys are more worried about whether the mom is okay, since her arm was yanked, than about the newborn on the floor. Come on, as a finalist for the National Book Award I expected a little more. At times Haruf's prose is lean and poetic, and I enjoyed many of the subplots. But I have to agree with some of my fellow reviewers, Plainsong is interesting but very uneven.
Rating:
Summary: Something to know before reading "Plainsong"
Review: There are no quotation marks in this entire book. Haruf handles this style very skillfully, creating dialogue that is not confusing to the reader, but it's a device that isn't necessarily a welcome innovation. (You be the judge.) This is one stripped-down style book. I thought it was interesting enough to read in its entirety, but I wasn't moved by it.
Rating:
Summary: plain indeed, ah reckon
Review: There was this man named Haruf and he wrote in a terse style that reminded you of Hemingway or of Carver but then again not like Hemingway and Carver but with a long run-on style to reiterate the fact that this was a plain novel with a plain theme and plain people living out on the plain. And there were little epiphanies where people reckon this and that and that like a dead horse havin' its belly cut up and the profound feeling the kids have watching this dead horse with its belly cut up and some of the other scenes were touching and made you smile but never mind that you could skip whole pages of dialogue because quite frankly you know nothing happened but a this sparse, dry style with sentences that reminded you of Hemingway or Carver but then again not really Hemingway or Carver and oh well this was an OK book but if you're sick of this style then skip this book.
Rating:
Summary: Beautifully Written
Review: I found Plainsong to be a wonderfully evocative, beautiful view of a community, its people, and the lives they try and lead. By the end of the story, you are sure to appreciate the simple goodness of both the characters and the writing. The book is told from the perspective many different characters -Ike and Bobby, two young boys in Holt; Victoria Robideaux, a pregnant teenager, and the McPheron brothers, who take her in. Most central, however, is Maggie Jones, a teacher at the local high school. Through her words and deeds, she links together the various characters, and helps to make their county into a true community. The stories is perhaps well-known: a town, a child in trouble, a marriage failing. The writing is what makes this book worth reading, and makes these often-told tales come alive again.
Rating: 
Summary: Plainsong - It doesn't come close
Review: I found plainsong quite unsatisfying. There is no way that it should have received four stars. I felt as though I were observing a community from the distant perch of a computer screen. Haruf keeps his readers secluded from the feelings and possible depth of these characters. The ending left me yearning for something more. (Possibly a better book.)
Rating: 
Summary: Deserves more than 5 stars.
Review: This novel was just simply amazing. The past few books that I have read were extremely dissapointing. Plainsong has been on my list of books to read for months, but until now I put other stories in front of it. I should have picked this novel first. The novel is not simply based on one character but a handful. Maggies Jones is a teacher in the small town of Holt, CO. She is close to and the sometimes girlfriend of fellow teacher and single parent Guthrie. Guthrie is raising two boys by himself because his wife leaves him and moves to Denver. Throughout the novel we gain the perspective of Guthrie's kids Bobby & Ike. The last characters that grace the reader is a 17 yr old pregnant girl named Victoria Roubideaux. Her mother leaves her with no where to go, and she turns to Maggie Jones to help her. Maggie asks two elderly farmers to take Victoria in. This is a compelling novel, and I am greatful that I read it. I found myself laughing throughout the book because of the extremely comical situtations. A 17 yr old pregnant girl living with 2 elderly brothers can make for an interesting story. Kent Haruf brings an amazing story to light, and his characters are simply beautiful. They are all well rounded, and don't always make the decisions they should. This story is a true test of how one person can grow up without a close family, and in the end find the family they always needed through other people. The ending of this book brings all the characters together, and the reader will be able to see how their stories are linked. This is a feel good novel that helps the reader to understand that sometimes what we lack in life can be filled through people we least expected. Simply put, every day is a building block to something better. I couldn't put this down because I continually had a smile on my face when reading it. I would read this novel again.
Rating:
Summary: Interesting up to a point but unsatisfying at the end
Review: I thought this book had great potential. The characters were interesting and the plot was cleverly interwoven to include all the main characters eventually but the book just kind of ends, leaving me hanging and wanting more. I guess it is a sign that a book is good if you want to read more, but it tends to leave me feeling unsatisfied. Was the author intending to write a sequel to this book because he certainly left a lot of questions unanswered. Maybe that was his intention but I always say if you got a story to tell, finish what you start and don't leave so many things dangling. I would still recommend this book but I wish the author would write another book to tie up the loose ends.
Rating:
Summary: A simple story of complex people
Review: Haruf's characters are at once brilliant and foolish, simple and complex. I loved this book, and could barely put it down. It's a story of regular people living in a small town, and the problems that plague us all. The motherless boys, the lonely school teacher, the old woman in the stuffy apartment . . . we know these people. It's the first Haruf book I've read, but by no means the last. Beautifully written and presented, in easy to manage chapters . . . a perfect book. I'm telling all my friends about it.
Rating: 
Summary: Why did I read this?
Review: Because it was a very fast read (skim), simplistic & superficial, and on our book discussion group list. It must be of regional interest, it hardly seemed like any real people were involved - agree with earlier critic, in that, the characters never said anything in quotes. It was as if I were looking in on play characters running around the scenery; and the convergence of characters was a stretch of early childhood imagination.
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