Plainsong

Kent Haruf

A very quiet novel of a small town community. It is, however, a novel deceptive in its simplicity. It is a rich and enriching story that encompasses the individual lives of several characters, all of which intersect, as lives in small towns usually do. There is nothing extraordinary here -- Harul tells a story of simple folk with usual troubles -- except the extraordinary way this story, lovingly rendered, will affect you. My only qualm with it was that the ending was a little too pat for my taste, but given the strength of the novel as a whole, it is a forgivable transgression.