Book Club Selection

Our book club selection this month is Plainsong by Kent Haruf. And like the song style the title alludes to, this lovely little novel is truly lyrical. Weaving together the lives of several residents of a small Colorado town, Haruf describes life, relationships and the landscape in similar ways: starkly, darkly but with tinges of hope and good humor.

Guthrie is a lonely man, unhappy in his job as a schoolteacher and on the brink of loosing his severely depressed wife. Ike and Bobby are his two little boys who suddenly find that they must more or less make their own way when their mother abandons them physically and their father emotionally. Victoria is an introspective quiet girl who finds herself pregnant and out on the streets when her mother kicks her out and the father of her baby is nowhere to be found. The McPherons are two old brothers who keep to themselves and their curmudgeonly ways until their quiet solitude is disturbed, or perhaps filled, with the arrival of the pregnant teenager. Maggie Jones is the kind, take-care-of-business woman who brings them all together.

Though somewhat slow-paced, I enjoyed this novel and the array of characters Haruf presents. The descriptions of the landscapes and the wonderful old coot McPheron brothers are particularly enjoyable assets to this colorful novel.

To find this book in the library go to our catalog at http://www.ci.newberg.or.us/library

Reviewed by Lori M