Plainsong

By: Kent Haruf

Narrated by: Tom Stechschulte

Length: 9 hrs and 3 mins

Publisher's summary

Kent Haruf has received prestigious awards, including a special citation from the PEN/Hemingway Foundation for his finely-tuned works. Before the opening chapter of this novel, Haruf offers a definition. Plainsong is “any simple and unadorned melody or air.” Direct yet elegant, Haruf’s Plainsong is a hymn to the breadth of the human spirit.

A high school history teacher in a small Colorado town, Guthrie is raising his two young sons alone. Thoughtful and honest, he is guiding them through a world that is not always kind. Victoria, one of his students, is pregnant, homeless, and vulnerable to the scorn of the town. When Guthrie helps two elderly ranchers take the young woman into their home, an unlikely extended family is born. As the chapters of these people’s lives alternate throughout Plainsong, loneliness and need are transformed into nourishing bonds. Narrator Tom Stechschulte captures the subtle changes that bring the men, women, and children together. His performance highlights every shading of this superb New York Times best-seller.

©1999 Kent Haruf (P)1999 Recorded Books, LLC

Too plain a song

The story was a little slow and plodding. Wished for more of a plot, a fun ending

A quiet masterpiece

Such a vivid story about a place where nothing much happens. If you need action and exciting plots this probably isn’t for you. Holt is a little town with ordinary people and their ordinary life problems but in author Haruf’s hand are rendered with exquisite simplicity and emotional depth. You won’t soon forget them.

Still Wonderful

Plainsong was just a wonderful read years ago, and even better to hear today. Hearing it makes me pay attention to every detail, and they are good details. This story has great heart.
Great reader, too.

Narrator is beyond wonderful!

Great story told by a fantastic reader. The story unfolds on the Eastern plains of Colorado and the characters are believable and also endearing.

Impressive writing, but brutal.

I liked most of the characters so much that it was hard to see them brutalized by teenage boys—so many good, good people, such horrible teenage boys.

Interesting -

I finished this book the weekend the author died. My sympathies to the family. It the author lived his life as thoughtful as his writing he was a wonderful being I am sure.

The characters and the proses are beautifully crafted, I loved the writing. But if you listen, expect a very subtle overlay of simple stories that unfold slowly. There is no big dramatic moment, anywhere; rather it is beautiful writing about people you could know, trying to figure out their lives that occasionally intersect.

Unbiased rating, it is an aquired taste.

If you are here for a very well written story and do not care much about a story being a cliche, then this is for you. However, it does take place in an older setting, with extremely well written story-writing. The areas that make me not like it are more of a bias, when in whole it is actually a great story. There are a lot of dark and graphic portions in this book so keep an eye out, this book is not for anyone under 18 unless for educational purposes. The writer is very in depth with how they write, and the consistencies and character design makes sense and has a lot of depth as well.

Splendid Reading of a Favorite Novel

This is a pitch-perfect reading of one of my lifetime-top 10 works of contemporary fiction.

Haruf died too soon. He was an author who mastered the art of telling stories through character.

PLAINSONG was his breakthrough work. It changed my life when I first read it nearly 19 years ago. It remains as fresh and relevant as ever. Haruf's prose shimmers like cut glass, and his power to evoke character and place is nearly unparalleled.

It is antidote to the meanness of American Life now and a love song to the American West.

A story of… faith in human nature

Too bad that there are not more of these. That are well written and crafted. 15 years in, this book seems like it will age well.

interesting book about some gripping personalities

i loved the personalities and their full and in deep insights. i will recommend it to others.