In Plainsong, Kent Haruf weaves his story around struggling characters who learn to reach out and help one another. The story never crosses the line into becoming too emotional or overdone, the author’s writing is candid, under embellished and quite beautiful. I found Plainsong to be an uplifting experience, a simple, straight forward story that speaks to the heart.

This book was a bit of a give and take. The plot was intriguing enough to keep reading but the author's simplistic word style I wasn't in favor of. It was too monotonous and boring for me -- yes, people think that's what make Haruf's stories so emotional, etc., etc. In my opinion, it was just very slow and far too open-ended to enjoy.

I'm baffled by those reader/reviewers who didn't like this book, but am reminded of what a wonderful UW English prof said when a student complained that "Shakespeare was boring": "There are boring writers; Shakespeare is not one of them. There are also boring readers. Enough said." This is a terrific book. I own a copy, and everyone I've lent it to has loved it. The audio version is wonderful, too. Give it a try. It'll make you laugh, cry and think.

Absolutely loved this book. The characters come alive on the pages - I kept thinking of how they would be cast if they ever make a movie.

Wasn't sure about this but couldn't put it down.

Very disappointing book. A series of vignettes that never follow up and the connections between characters are not believable. For instance the father of two young boys gets into a fight with a family because their son scared and abused the children but then the thread ends and the author just drops the whole issue. It is a book that has some good parts but there is a lot of detail around cruel and abusive scenes but not real character development and is a frustrating read

Don't believe the jacket. It is vague and implies much but the book does not deliver. I found it very dull. "Plain", as its title.

This isn't a mystery novel, it's a sketch of a certain place in a certain time. The place is Colorado. The time? Well, for me, that was part of the fun. In the opening chapters, we met young boys with paper routes, a young girl in a short skirt, teachers labouring over "dittos" in a staffroom where there's smoking and casual male chavinism. Sixties, I thought. Later in the novel, there was a mention of Nancy Reagan so I had to adjust the period. Late seventies, perhaps? She was California's "First Lady" in the sixties, but I don't think she started entering the national vocabulary of the United States until her husband entered the presidential campaign. Finally, there's a reference to a soap being taped for home viewing, so definitely eighties, although the overall mood of the book feels like a longer ago, more innocent time. This is a quick read, plenty of dry humour in a compelling story. Just the thing for a plane trip, I should think.