Choice Book Reader Response

Plainsong, by Kent Haruf is a delicate, simple novel that reveals around life in the small town of Holt, Colorado. Although, this novel is not one of my favorites it is well written and offers a glimpse of life in a small town. Each new chapter is a different character story, and Haruf does an excellent job of connecting each one. This book focuses on loneliness, friendship, and hope.

The most heartwarming story in this novel involves the McPherons. These two brothers who never married, and simply stayed together and worked their farm are full of compassion and warmth. Raymond and Harold bring not only a kindness to the novel, but also a distinct sense of humor, that is followed by a complete lack of knowledge of teenage girls. Haruf writes"They wondered privately if all seventeen-year-old girl disappeared after eating supper"(132). After time passes, though, they begin to really care for the girl, the McPherons take it upon themselves to help this young girl out and protect her from harms way, whether that involves buying her a crib, harassing the doctor, or kicking out Dwayne.

On the opposite end, Ike and Bobby's story was the most heartbreaking. These boys are only nine and ten, yet their mother leaves them because she is mentally unstable. Their father is never around and when he is he often seems distant. Haruf writes, "...they were alone much of the time"(291).Everyone they grow close to seems to become ill or die. The two boys find strength in each other and learn to weather whatever comes, together.

This novel uses very simply language, the author uses much detail to describe the setting and place;but overall it was hard to adjust to the delicate use of language. Each new setting is described fully and clearly offers the reader a picture of the small town of Holt. Whether it be main street, a neighborhood, or the farms that lay on the outskirts of town, everything is well described and intriguing.

One thing I did notice that started to annoy me towards the end, is the author never uses quotation marks for dialogue. Sometimes the dialogue is in the middle of a paragraph, or sometimes it has its own paragraph,but no matter what Haruf never use quotations. At times, this makes it very difficult to distinguish when someone is talking and whom is talking.

Although this novel was some what slow in plot development, the characters help to pull the reader in and feel more attached to the novel. Along with wonderful set descriptions, Plainsong, is a straightforward novel depicting life in a small town.