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My wife marked this as “great�� when she read it many years ago. We don’t often agree on reading choices, but every now and then we match. I had great hopes for this book, believing from other reviews that it would be an improvement from Our Souls at Night�� which I enjoyed but was slightly underwhelmed. Plainsong is a small town in Colorado, with accurate depictions of farm life and animal handling. Having grown up on a farm in Kansas, the son of and brother to veterinarians, I would say Haruf nailed it. I also thought the plot was good, somewhat reminiscent of small town tales I’ve encountered from McMurtry and Russo. However, I found the characters too thin. There were two pairs of brothers, and little differentiation of the characters. I came to the conclusion that this is simply not this author’s strength. It was heartwarming, not quite Hallmark due to some grittiness, or “foursquare�� as the advertisement in the preface informed me. But it really didn’t hit hard enough for me, the author was just too surface in his characterizations, and this lacked emotional depth and authenticity for me. And I hated the ending, it was administered with a big ol�� slab of cheese and reeked of comic book insincerity. I don’t like being played.

But the story line was pure, and the country life and landscapes were a delight. So, love you Kent but you get a C for this one. Sadly we must part ways.