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Kent Haruf |
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Recorded Books
Narrator ~ Tom Stechschulte |
Published in 1999, Plainsong was a finalist for the National Book Award for Fiction. Haruf, self-proclaimed "ministry brat," grew up in Eastern Colorado and has set all of his novels in the fictional town of Holt, also in Eastern Colorado. In 2004, he wrote a sequel to Plainsong, Eventide.
Plainsong, takes place over a year in the small town in Holt, where unrelated residents get caught up in each others domestic problems.
Tom Guthrie and his two sons, Ike and Bobby are dealing with the loss of wife and mother to deepening depression and finally a decision of hers to move to Denver. Tom is also is dealing with a difficult student at the high school where he teaches.
There is a shy 17 year old girl, Victoria Roubideaux, who after finding out she was pregnant has been kicked out of her house by her mother and has no place to go since she has not seen the baby’s father in weeks.
Harold and Raymond McPheron brothers, whom have lived a solitary life on a cattle ranch, since their parents where killed decades ago in a truck accident.
The catalyst for the story is Maggie Jones, a another teacher at the school where Tom teaches. In a closeness, found in small communities Maggie knows that the McPheron brothers can care for Victoria and maybe help them out of their lonely existence.
Haruf, chapter by chapter moves through the ensuing months by alternating the story through Ike and Bobby’s struggle to deal with the loss of their mother; Victoria dealing with the return of baby’s father and her realization of her own worth. Tom Guthrie’s stand against passing a failing student who is the school basketball star and bully, just to get rid of him. The most delightful part of the story are the chapters where the McPheron brothers adjust their life after Victoria comes to live with them.
Haruf has taken a mix of good and bad and balanced it to perfection. The story is so engaging, though simply told the depth of compassion drew me in completely.
A coming of age story with a twist, Will Heller a 16 year old paranoid schizophrenic believes, like most of us, the world is being destroyed by global warming. Will known as Lowboy because he likes to be down in New York’s subway tunnels, believes that he has the answer as to cool down the overheating earth; is to cool down his own overheated body.
It is obvious what this means for Will — He has the perfect girl in mind. In fact, Emily, a teenage hipster that Will used to date and who had something to do with his recent institutionalization is the person he has chosen to save the planet from global warning with.
As Will pursues his dream girl, Will’s mother Violet and Ali Lateef – who has been charged with finding the missing boy – begin an alternately confrontational – supportive search for Will. Ali wanting to find Will before he hurts someone else again and Violet wanting to him before he hurts himself.
The story thus moves along giving alternating chapters of Lowboy’s search for Emily with Violet and Ali giving background and foundation to Will’s illness and his life in New York. It also begins to give us a view of the woman who has raised Will and her perspective of the world which plays a important role in the story.
A compelling story, of a young man moving from childhood to manhood who is terribly troubled, a young woman who knows better but can not herself as she is drawn to Will, a middle aged man who is torn between public safety and helping a parent and a parent who is caught between her own troubled life and that of her son.
Vince Camden is a small time crook, from the East coast that ends up in Spokane, Washington after entering the witness protection program. After arriving in Spokane, he is given six months training as a baker, and settles into a job as manager of a donut shop. Vince is also returns to playing poker and running a small time credit card scam to supplement his “public job” income.
The backdrop of the story is the week leading up to the 1980 Presidential election between Ronald Regan and Jimmy Carter. Vince for the first time in his adult life has received his voter registration card.
But all is not well for Vince. He has mixed emotions about a prostitute and a legal secretary, his credit card stealing postman wants to increase his take, and a “connected” thug shows up in town asking around about him.
The author takes the election and Vince’s current situation and weaves a story of second chances and redemption. The voter registration card is for Vince the life he could have had, he knows that as he travels back to New York to make amends with those he has crossed.
Jess Walter has created a well crafted, humorous book of crime and politics.
