07/26/2004 - 10:51 PM
I'm about 150 pages into Plainsong by Kent Haruf, and I'm still warming up to it. The book so far has been a series of chapters following the day-to-day activities of seven people in a small town in Eastern Colorado, and how they intersect. It's been difficult in a couple of ways, but not necessarily bad ways. For one, Haruf doesn't use any quotation marks around dialogue, and that forces the readers to work a little harder at following the conversations. I have to say that I'm actually enjoying the challenge of this, even when I have to reread a passage several times to get the full gist. The other has been to develop a bond with the characters. It's not like I don't care about them, but there is a bit of detachment in the writing.One theme that has become evident is that sometimes people need to lean on others sometimes, and other times they have to become more independent. I can relate to the two boys, Ike and Bobby, who are trying to work through some pretty deep stuff at nine and ten years old. My brother and I often found ourselves dealing with stuff between ourselves, since we didn't always feel comfortable talking with our mom or step dad.
Slight digression there...didn't expect that to surface.
We're flying back to Denver after three days in Fort Lauderdale, and I'll be glad to sleep in my own bed tonight. The trip was good, and the birthday party was a big surprise to the birthday boy. A lot of good food, good conversation, and good shopping, too. Nothing substantial to report, though. Just a good time had by all. I�ll try to get more in tomorrow.
What I'm Listening To: Switchfoot - Meant To Live
First Word That Comes To Mind: Bed
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