Read Time:1 Minute, 28 Second
Some of you may have noticed that I’ve been doing a lot of bargain-bin-book reviews lately. This, however, isn’t one of them. Plainsong is a national bestseller. It was a finalist for a number of book awards. And it was definitely not in the bargain bin. Still, I think I enjoyed some of my bargain-bin books more.
Plainsong takes place in a small town called Holt—in rural Colorado. It tells the story of a number of people in town, including a pregnant high school girl—and the two old bachelor-brother farmers who take her in—and a high school teacher and his two sons. The story isn’t anything particularly exciting or extraordinary (though I loved the McPherson brothers). In fact, I could have done without half of the characters—characters that never really became real. And it’s all about as fast-paced as the lives of the people who live in rural Colorado (and while that’s perfectly fine for day-to-day life, it’s rather dull for a book). For the most part, the book is made up of two stories that are almost totally unrelated—but are somehow supposed to fit together in the end (but even then they only fit together loosely, and it seems forced).
The most disturbing thing about the book, however, is its total lack of quotation marks. Perhaps Haruf wanted to be unique and artistic—but it just didn’t work for me.
This isn’t one of those books that I’d complain about to anyone who would listen. It really isn’t all that bad—just a bit slow. I might, however, recommend waiting to buy it until you find it in the bargain bin.
Kristin Dreyer Kramer has been writing in some form or another (usually when she was supposed to be doing something else) since the ripe old age of ten—when she, her cousin, and their two Cabbage Patch Dolls formed the Poo Authors’ Club. After a short career in advertising, Kristin got sick of always saying nice things about stuff that didn’t deserve it—so now she spends her days criticizing things, and she’s much happier for it.
Since creating NightsAndWeekends.com in February of 2002, Kristin has spent her life surrounded by piles and piles of books and movies—so many that her office has become a kind of entertainment obstacle course.
As if her writing and editing responsibilities for N&W.com weren’t enough to keep her out of trouble, Kristin also hosts a number of weekly radio shows: Reel Discovery, Shelf Discovery, and On the Marquee. She’s also a proud member of the Broadcast Film Critics Association (CriticsChoice.com), the Central Ohio Film Critics Association (COFCA.org), the Online Film Critics Society (OFCS.org), and the Women Film Critics Circle (WFCC.Wordpress.com).
Kristin lives in Columbus, Ohio, with her husband, Paul, and their daughter, Anna. She welcomes questions, comments, and fan mail at kdk@nightsandweekends.com.
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Kristin Dreyer Kramer has been writing in some form or another (usually when she was supposed to be doing something else) since the ripe old age of ten—when she, her cousin, and their two Cabbage Patch Dolls formed the Poo Authors’ Club. After a short career in advertising, Kristin got sick of always saying nice things about stuff that didn’t deserve it—so now she spends her days criticizing things, and she’s much happier for it.
Since creating NightsAndWeekends.com in February of 2002, Kristin has spent her life surrounded by piles and piles of books and movies—so many that her office has become a kind of entertainment obstacle course.
As if her writing and editing responsibilities for N&W.com weren’t enough to keep her out of trouble, Kristin also hosts a number of weekly radio shows: Reel Discovery, Shelf Discovery, and On the Marquee. She’s also a proud member of the Broadcast Film Critics Association (CriticsChoice.com), the Central Ohio Film Critics Association (COFCA.org), the Online Film Critics Society (OFCS.org), and the Women Film Critics Circle (WFCC.Wordpress.com).
Kristin lives in Columbus, Ohio, with her husband, Paul, and their daughter, Anna. She welcomes questions, comments, and fan mail at kdk@nightsandweekends.com.
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