Our Souls at Night

A Novel

De: Kent Haruf

Narrado por: Mark Bramhall

A spare yet eloquent, bittersweet yet inspiring story of a man and a woman who, in advanced age, come together to wrestle with the events of their lives and their hopes for the imminent future.

In the familiar setting of Holt, Colorado, home to all of Kent Haruf's inimitable fiction, Addie Moore pays an unexpected visit to a neighbor, Louis Waters. Her husband died years ago, as did his wife, and in such a small town they naturally have known of each other for decades; in fact, Addie was quite fond of Louis's wife. His daughter lives hours away in Colorado Springs, her son even farther away in Grand Junction, and Addie and Louis have long been living alone in houses now empty of family, the nights so terribly lonely, especially with no one to talk with.

Their brave adventures - their pleasures and their difficulties - are hugely involving and truly resonant, making Our Souls at Night the perfect final installment to this beloved writer's enduring contribution to American literature.

©2015 Kent Haruf (P)2015 Random House Audio

Well written and touching

Sweet, touching story of friendship in later years. A good listen. Well written and enjoyable.

Make Somebody Happy Today & Mind Your Own Business

"Make somebody happy today and mind your own business." Ann Landers

What a golden, enriching novel in which Haruf takes a tender look at friendship and romantic companionship late in life, as he masterfully brings together a widow and widower to show how the older among us can still find love if they open up to the possibility.

“Who would have thought at this time in our lives that we’d still have something like this. That it turns out we’re not finished with changes and excitements. And not all dried up in body and spirit.” Kent Haruf, Our Souls at Night

And then how the people around them can be so petty and puritanical and miserable. In this way, this short novel is rather heartbreaking.


"Puritanism -- the haunting fear that someone, somewhere, may be happy." H.L. Mencken

Sweet and sad

At any age souls can meet and create bonds that last a life time. Luis was so complex but sweet. Good story, and heart warming.

Loneliness

The writing , the. plot, so low key and gentle and real. Very touching.
Will we ever learn to trust more and judge less?

I think I've read all of Haruf's books...

...and liked or loved them all. His writing is always simple yet eloquent.

There are plenty of good reviews that are longer than a sentence on here, so I'll just emphasize one thing: the ending.

Plenty of people (including me) are not going to like the ending. I didn't believe that Addie would have made the choice she did--it felt uncharacteristic. That's the only reason the ending bothered me somewhat. It wasn't the kind of ending that makes you want to throw the book (or your iPhone) across the room, but for some people, an unsatisfying ending ruins the book for them.

Apparently Haruf knew he was dying when he wrote this book and died just before he finished it. I wonder what effect that had on the ending he wrote. I'm sad this is the last book we'll ever see from him.

WOW I say WOW - I rarely give five stars

A MUST READ. If you liked "The Notebook", you will love this. It is new and on the best seller list and I can see why. I just finished it and it hit home. I know several couples in this situation. Short - 179 pages.

Beautiful

Tender and relevant, surprising yet comfortable

I don't mind writing a short review but it ticks me off to have the app require a minimum number of words!!!!

Disarmingly lovely!

It is a sweet and poignant story. The narrator takes the beautiful language gently pulls us in.

Lovely book but so age-ist!

Book is lovely but is dated and ageist. Hated the ending. Makes 70 year old people seem like the oldest people in the world.

Mesmerizing reality

Such a gentle, heartbreaking tale about ordinary people.
Beautifully read with just the right amount of sparkle to lighten very serious content.
How well Mr Haruf knew a quiet life.