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Title: Where You Once Belonged by KENT HARUF ISBN: 0-375-70870-7 Publisher: Vintage Books Pub. Date: 21 March, 2000 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $12.00 |
Average Customer Rating: 3.24 (21 reviews)
Rating: 3
Summary: Quality Writing, Enjoyable Reading
Comment: As I've worked my way backwards through Kent Haruf's catalog of books, I've become increasingly impressed with the seeming simplicity of his writing and how he lets his characters come alive on their own terms instead of his. This allows the reader to understand the characters quirks and motivations in a way that reminds us of relationships with real people. We don't know everything about someone the first time we meet them, instead we learn what they want us to know and draw other conclusions from their actions and what other people let us know about them. In Where You Once Belonged, that is exactly how I grew to know Jack Burdette and the people in Holt, Colorado whose lives he so deeply affected.
Like Plainsong and The Tie That Binds, the reader is drawn into a seemingly simple story that simmers with local personality and an undercurrent of conflict. Slowly, Haruf lets you in on the complexities and even when the story here doesn't seem as compelling as his later work, you know there's more going on than you're being told. That Haruf can make the reader believe it's for the better not to know is a testament to his unique storytelling style.
I don't think Where You Once Belong is as powerfully told as Haruf's next books, which earns it a strong three star rating, but I would highly recommend it to any reader who already knows his style or appreciates subtle stories of lives not too unlike our own.
Rating: 4
Summary: Satisfying, but...
Comment: This is the final Haruf book I had to read to complete the three he has in print. You will get a wide range of opinions when reading these reviews, but for me, this would be the second place book - behind 'Plainsong', but ahead of 'The Tie That Binds' - in his catalogue.
Certainly you are aware of the main plot: gifted kid (at least athletically) has people's respect, marries quickly, leaves town suddenly with money from the farmer's co-op grain elevator, and makes a sudden, while not welcome, appearance eight years later once the statute of limitations on his crime has run out. Some of the characters from Haruf's 'The Tie That Binds' make their appearence again in this story. Sheriff Bud Sealy, Tom Crossman, and Bobby Williams all appear here, but only Sealy's character status really rises above minor. As with Haruf's other books, character development is present, but spare at the same time. The story is told with a rural, detached, but not aloof, feel - something born in the people living on the High Plains. It just 'feels' natural.
As for the ending...it's sudden. I can honestly say I didn't see the book ending the way it did. But do I like it? I kinda think I do. I only finished the story a couple of hours ago, so I might need to ponder it more, but it isn't the nice, clean ending one might expect. The curious person in me wants a sequel to tidy things up - is Jessie ever found? Does she stay with Pat? What is the effect on the boys? What happens to Jack?, etc. But I think I like not knowing. It's not the conventional way, but I respect Haruf for not giving in to the reader's need to have a tidy ending.
That said, if I were recommending Haruf's books to friends, I'd have them start with 'Plainsong.' If they don't like that, chances are they won't appreciate his other works in my opinion. As for me, Haruf's in a very short list of authors from whom I'd buy anything. In fact, if he were to publish the Holt Co. phone book I'd probably buy a copy or two... Yup, I think I would.
Rating: 4
Summary: We need a sequel!
Comment: I, like many others, have read my way backwards through Kent Haruf's (too few) books since being mesmerized by Plainsong. Having just finished Where You Once Belonged, I am eager to have a sequel. I'm not sure whether Mr. Haruf reads the reviews on amazon.com, but just in case: Please help us get some closure on Jessie and Pat! The book ends quite abruptly, and it certainly left me anxious to know especially what would become of its self-posessed heroine and her two boys. To all of the rest of you, I recommend this, as I recommend any of Mr. Haruf's beautifully simple books. He has a gift for expressing the pathos and triumph of living everyday human life.
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Title: The Tie That Binds by KENT HARUF ISBN: 0375724389 Publisher: Vintage Books Pub. Date: 21 March, 2000 List Price(USD): $12.95 |
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Title: Plainsong by KENT HARUF ISBN: 0375705856 Publisher: Vintage Pub. Date: 22 August, 2000 List Price(USD): $13.95 |
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Title: Eventide by KENT HARUF ISBN: 0375411585 Publisher: Knopf Pub. Date: 04 May, 2004 List Price(USD): $24.95 |
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Title: Sleep Toward Heaven: A Novel by Amanda Eyre Ward ISBN: 1931561230 Publisher: MacAdam/Cage Publishing Pub. Date: March, 2003 List Price(USD): $24.00 |
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Title: The Midwife's Tale by Gretchen Moran Laskas ISBN: 0385335512 Publisher: Dial Pr Pub. Date: 01 April, 2003 List Price(USD): $23.95 |
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