Tolog Review: Plainsong

Plainsong
by Kent Haruf
reviewed by Lauren Risha

There’s a certain feeling I get whenever I travel to rural areas—a wondering peace suffuses over me, and I feel calm and relaxed like never before. It is always comforting for me to see infinite planes of grassy ground; I feel like I could run forever and never reach and end. This feeling of endlessness is the same feeling provoked in me when reading Kent Haruf’s novel Plainsong. 

Haruf’s story follows one town through the journeys of five different characters; all somehow intertwined with one another. From a newly divorced history teacher with two young sons to a pregnant teenager living with elderly cow farmers—the reader is brought into the struggles and hardships of life in rural Colorado. 

I found each viewpoint we heard from to give new insight on new situations—something I thought to be extremely insightful and enjoyable as a reader. The characters themselves are relatable, yet still intriguing. Haruf does an amazing job of developing his characters to overcome their own personal struggles, while unknowingly helping others in the process. Understanding how each character relates to the other by the end of the novel united every story that was told under the themes of perseverance and self-discovery. 

Haruf’s writing style is unique, and contributes even more to the casual, realistic tone of the novel. At first, the absence of quotation marks around dialogue confused me; but as I read on, it only made the conversations seem more natural. The long, winding figurative language used to describe the scenery transports the reader to the rural, low middle class town the novel is set in. The beauty given to this seemingly irrelevant place advocated for the value you can find in everyday sensations. 

I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys looking at life through different lenses. Nevertheless, I think everyone can get something out of this thought provoking, enjoyable read.