Books and Cooks Ithaca -- April 2001

Plainsong

Our rating as a stand-alone book:?.?? cups of tea!

Our rating as a discussion book: ?

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Discussion date: April 30, 2001

Discussion place: Vicky's Place

Menu: Anything that De-Stresses

Review from www.salon.com
Reading Kent Haruf's new novel is like being in an expertly piloted small plane, finding yourself flying low and smooth over the suddenly wondrous world below. "Plainsong" (which was recently nominated for a National Book Award ) lays out a year in the life of Holt, an unremarkable small town in the High Plains east of Denver. The cast includes a high school history teacher who stands up to ominous pressure to pass a failing student; two small boys whose mother is gradually disappearing into depression; a shy 17-year-old girl whose mother has found out she's pregnant and kicked her out; and two grizzled bachelor brothers whose life revolves around their cattle. These characters are as varied as they come, and yet in alternating chapters Haruf tells each of their stories with the same steady, unstrained rhythm and generous, unflinching tone, so that the unexpected intersections of his character's lives come to seem not just interesting but deeply, reassuringly right...

The Books and Cooks Plainsong Informal Reading Guide
(member-generated questions to be given after the meeting)

This Page Last Revised: April 30, 2001.