Plainsong

Rating:
Summary: Compelling portrait of life on the plains
Review: In this entrancing gem of a novel, Kent Haruf draws the reader into a self-enclosed world of small-town hopes, fears, dreams, and conflicts. Writing in a simple, plainspoken style that is at once spare and highly descriptive, Haruf presents life on the plains by providing a series of vignettes involving a small but compelling cast of characters. These include a high school teacher and his two young sons, a troubled teenaged girl who faces the uncertainties of an accidental pregnancy, and a hardworking pair of elderly bachelor brothers who are more comfortable with their cattle than with other human beings.

The stories that unfold in *Plainsong* are uncomplicated, and in the end, the conflicts and problems presented remain largely unresolved. Some readers might find this disappointing, but Haruf's aim here is to to weave a narrative that reflects the ambiguous realities of real life, rathen than to present a didactic morality tale with a "happily ever after" ending.

To my mind, the most significant characters in the novel are the McPheron brothers, the aging bachelor ranchers who have spent their entire lives on the same plot of land. The brothers take in the pregnant Virginia Roubideaux, instruct the two young Guthrie boys in the ways of cattle ranching, and in general come to represent all that is good, hardworking, straightforward, and generous within the culture of the rural great plains. In some ways, in fact, their earnest, honest nature render them "too good to be true."

On the other hand, Haruf explores the darker side of small town life by presenting Tom Guthrie's wife as a hopeless depressive and by forcing Guthrie to face every teacher's nightmare, an evil-minded, disruptive student whose parents maintain that their child can do no wrong.

The earnestly unadorned style of presentation is an effective vehicle for capturing the book's small town American subject matter. There are, however, aspects of the literary texture created here that are, in fact, unorthodox. The best example is Haruf's presentation of dialogue without any use traditional quotation punctuation. This is no mere gimmick, as this innovation complements the rhythm and cadence of the writing, rendering the overall presentation more effective.

Over three hundred enchanting pages, *Plainsong* succeeds in depicting a narrow, declining, and too-often forgotten slice of Americana. When I finished this book, I was truly sorry to see the story end.

Rating:
Summary: Precisely-edited, human story
Review: A very economically-written, precisely-edited story about human kindness found in unlikely places. Haruf's Colorado community is the quintessential small town, where everybody knows not only your name, but your business--or thinks they do. It is hard-working, undemonstrative, and--this is the meat of this book--it takes care of its own with quiet concern and a minimum of fanfare.

Haruf's characters carry the story, mostly through dialogue and description; there is very little introspection. It works: my heart ached for his protagonists, a quietly righteous teacher, his two young sons, his estranged, depressive wife; a pregnant highschool girl whose mother kicks her out of the house; two wryly hilarious old farmers who perform an unlikely act of mercy. Even the villians--the parents of a surly, lost teenaged boy and the kid himself--are human and recognizable archtypes who might well live next door. Bit-players, minor actors--although they might have spent little time in print, these too were fully fleshed and caught in as few words as possible.

The writer's approach reminds me of Larry Brown's--the tightness of the editing, the simplicity of the imagery. Amazing, too, the mood he sets by not using quote marks; I kept asking myself how it would have changed the book to do so. An interesting stylistic gesture, but one that made a subtle but profound mark on the way I read the story.

Rating:
Summary: Plainsong
Review: For a regular, old novel, it's pretty good. The story is somewhat interesting, so it can keep you entertained. The writing is also complete and rather compelling. But if your going to take the time to read a book, read something that will enhance your knowledge. This book has no benefit, from what I can see, and will not leave you feeling intrigued nor accomplished.

Rating:
Summary: Plain Good
Review: this book was one of the best i've read in years; the character development was excellent with a poignancy seldom written today.

Rating:
Summary: A wonderful novel about family...
Review: Kent Haruf's novel, *Plainsong*, earned a special place in my heart for its emotional depiction of small-town life in modern day Colorado. I listened to the CD audio version (very cool format, by the way) at work and enjoyed every minute I could spend listening to the novel.

Each chapter is narrated by a different character including high school teacher, Tom Guthrie, his two young sons Ike and Bobby, a pregnant teen named Victoria, her teacher friend Maggie and the McPheron brothers, farmers who take Victoria in. Haruf connects these seemingly different lives in fascinating ways sure to capture the attention of his readers.

If you're a fan of heartwarming yet realistic novels by authors such as Barbara Kingsolver and/or Billie Letts, don't think twice about purchasing this novel. I will definitely be on the lookout for more novels by Kent Haruf.

Rating:
Summary: Couldn't get into it
Review: Tried to read this, couldn't get into it. Maybe I'll sell my copy.

Rating:
Summary: Mixed feelings
Review: I just finished Plainsong and found many things to admire, most of all the writing itself, which was generally graceful and unadorned. The best parts of the book were the sections focusing on daily life on the prairie -- a glimpse of a world that seemed very genuine.

And yet, some of the central relationships in the book didn't ring true. In particular, there is a plotline about a pregnant teenager who goes to live with two elderly bachelor brothers. Haruf isn't so successful with this: I had the feeling that he hasn't spent as much time around pregnant teenagers as he has around cattle. Also, this set of brothers (and another pair in the book) are not developed as well as they should be. It's almost impossible to tell one brother from the other.

Nonetheless, I read Plainsong today on a rainy afternoon and was very glad of its company.

Rating:
Summary: I still think about it ...
Review: ... even though I finished it three months ago.

After reading so many average books, spending a few days with Haruf's breakout novel renewed my hope in contemporary literature.

Yes, literature; for those who get bored without plot twists and clever, two-faced characters with extraordinary abilities, this book is too good for you.

This is nothing more than a beautifully written account of a people you've probably passed on a two-lane highway. Their stories aren't magnificent, but are laden with enough conflict and personality to carry a simple plot line.

I have told everyone I know about this book. It is refreshing and artistic.

Plainsong is always warm, but never fuzzy.

Rating:
Summary: A Review on Plainsong
Review: Plainsong, by Kent Haruf, was a story about a community of non-traditional families, mended together through their own individual troubles. It is hard to follow at first because it skips around from character to character, and what is going on in their lives. As the book goes on the different scenes for each character seem to flow together better and become easier to read because the reader gets used to Haruf's style. It starts out as a tragic story for several different characters. By the end they all become friends. Though they are not a real family tied together by blood, they still form a traditional family. Tom Guthrie is a high school teacher who is having trouble in his relationship with his wife, Ella. She is becoming more and more depressed each day. After struggling with her depression for a while she moves out. Their two sons, Ike and Bobby, are just alike, even though they are a year apart. They have to deal with their mother's sickness, and the feeling of being abandoned when she leaves. Victoria Roubideaux is a 17-year-old high school senior that is pregnant. Her mom kicks her out of her house because she thinks Victoria's pregnancy is unacceptable. She has to deal with abandonment and the fact that she is going to have a baby that she will have to raise on her own. Maggie Jones, the central character in the story, is the one that Victoria turns to for help. Maggie is the strongest and most flawless character in the book. She asks a couple of elderly ranchers, the McPheron brothers to take her in. They don't know anything except for ranching. Their parent's died when they were only in their teens. Since that point they raised themselves on their ranch. Even though they have no idea what it will be like, they graciously take Victoria in. Overall, I thought this was a good book and I would recommend it for a pleasurable read.

Rating:
Summary: Plainsong a great book
Review: Through different tragedies the characters in Plainsong come together to form non-traditional families. In Kent Haruf's book there are four characters that the story revolves around. They are Ike, Bobby, and the McPheron brothers.
You can see the non-traditional family with the McPherons. They take in a young girl that is pregnant. These brothers know nothing about young girls and they do not understand all of the things she does, so they have to ask Maggie Jones if the things she is doing are normal for girls to do. The reason the McPherons know nothing about young girls is when they were young their parents died so the brothers just started working on their ranch and never did anything else. They are very caring people and they try to help others in any way they can.
The other two characters the story goes around are Ike and Bobby. They are two young boys that are brothers. Their mother has a lot of problems so she has moved out of the house. Their dad is Guthrie, a teacher at school. These boys are very responsible. They have a paper route and, they also have horses they ride and take care of. Their town is a small one so they are able to ride their bikes all over town; they are always together. In the story they become friends with an old lady, who they deliver the paper to. They go to the old lady's' house and make cookies with her. They share the things that are going on in their life with her.
Plainsong is an easy reading book, with an interesting way of dividing chapters. Instead of numbers the chapters have the characters names. The book doesn't use very many adverbs leaving the reader to imagine how the characters are reacting to the situations. When you read plainsong it is easy to relate to the story because, Kent Haruf has captured that small town feeling.