Birthday Book Recs 41/50 : Plainsong by Kent Haruf
Plainsong by Kent Haruf
Birthday Book Recs: 41/50
Plainsong by Kent Haruf
I’ve been on a bit of an uneven tear with books lately. See my last post about Trip, see my post about The Ten Year Affair, maybe see a post I might do about the book that led me on a deep dive of Good Morning America and its viewership demographics because I had a hard time believing that GMA (which my brain always reads as “grandma” as in “gma” until I learned that the main viewership is ages 25-54?!) selected a book for its “book club” that was so juvenile and cringey and, well, this Goodreads user summed it up best: “I would not consider this a mystery. The only real mystery is why I finished this book?”
Sometimes “uneven tears” like the one I’ve been on are ok — and I do often write about these books nonetheless because there’s always something to talk about even with things that aren’t our favorite. But excusez-moi for preferring a book that feels edifying, challenging, and more expansive than a myopic look at someone’s unhinged house hunt in upscale Bethesda.
If books that promise “escapism” are starting to feel a little hollow, allow me to suggest Plainsong by Kent Haruf. Here, just read this beautiful NYT blurb on the front cover of this edition: “So foursquare, so delicate and lovely…it has the power to exalt the reader.” It’s not escapism; it’s exaltation, baby!
The late Haruf set much of his work in fictional Holt, Colorado, and Plainsong is the first in a trilogy (Eventide and Benediction follow) that explores the ways disparate community members unite in both small and big ways to create an overarching ethos of grace and care. There is a spare and somewhat restrained quality to Haruf’s writing (similar to Leif Enger or Marilynne Robinson) that I find poetic and engaging.
Instead of “escaping” with a book when real life feels daunting and near impossible, how about trying an “exalting” book that might bolster you while infusing your soul with the possibility of a more enriching reality?
You can find all my 50th Birthday Book Recommendations HERE.
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