Plainsong by Kent Haruf

A bookclub that I am in recently discussed "Plainsong" by Kent Haruf. Set in the fictional small town of Holt, Colorado, this story takes the reader into the intersecting lives of 6-7 main characters (if you include Maggie, who is basically the link between the other characters--Tom Guthrie and his sons Ike and Bobby, Victoria Roubideaux, and the McPheron brothers-Raymond and Harold). I totally loved this story when it first came out in 1999. The ability this author had to create characters worth caring about was awesome. I knew that I had to read more by Haruf, unfortunately at that time there were only 2 other titles he had written; "The Tie that Binds" in 1984 and "Where you once belonged" in 1990. Both great books with some awards, but Plainsong was the first real best-seller. He has since written a sequel to "Plainsong", in 2004 he wrote "Eventide" picking up once again with the McPheron brothers, Tom Guthrie, Maggie, Ike, Bobby and Victoria Roubideaux.
In both "Plainsong" and "Eventide" Haruf does not use quotations etc which some readers may find odd, but the way he writes in long continuous sentences reminds me of the way we speak (or ramble) in the Midwest, much like the countryside goes on into the distance.
I hope you try "Plainsong" and open yourself up to these characters and the country that surrounds them. I hope you enjoy the story as much as I did. .