Please open https://hotaudiobook.com ONLY on your standard browser Safari, Chrome, Microsoft or Firefox to download full audiobooks of your choice for free.

Title: Plainsong

Author: Kent Haruf

Narrator: Tom Stechschulte

Format: Unabridged

Length: 9 hrs and 6 mins

Language: English

Release date: 12-29-11

Publisher: Recorded Books

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 603 votes

Genres: Fiction, Contemporary

Publisher's Summary:

Kent Haruf has received prestigious awards, including a special citation from the PEN/Hemingway Foundation for his finely-tuned works. Before the opening chapter of this novel, Haruf offers a definition. Plainsong is any simple and unadorned melody or air. Direct yet elegant, Harufs Plainsong is a hymn to the breadth of the human spirit.

A high school history teacher in a small Colorado town, Guthrie is raising his two young sons alone. Thoughtful and honest, he is guiding them through a world that is not always kind. Victoria, one of his students, is pregnant, homeless, and vulnerable to the scorn of the town. When Guthrie helps two elderly ranchers take the young woman into their home, an unlikely extended family is born. As the chapters of these peoples lives alternate throughout Plainsong, loneliness and need are transformed into nourishing bonds. Narrator Tom Stechschulte captures the subtle changes that bring the men, women, and children together. His performance highlights every shading of this superb New York Times best-seller.

Members Reviews:

Grim Living In A Small Town

When I think of this book words like bleak, abusive, depressing, harsh, and grim all come painfully to mind. I wanted so much to love this story--but it was absolutely not for me. Further, the rough narration only added to the misery of this listening experience. I am giving up on this darkly plodding and bitter book. Life is simply too short. Can't recommend.

A Bleak Book About Small Town Life

This book is very well written and the narration is great but the story was too bleak for my taste. It may be realistic in its depiction of small town life with ordinary people trying to cope with eccentrics and bullies but overall it has a hopeless feel to it. Certainly a lot of 20th Century literary legends like Faulkner wrote similar stories. It was recommended to me by a friend who loved it. I did not love it and felt more like I was enduring it. Basically this falls in the category of the kind of literary realism you'll like if you like that kind of thing.

A taste of Real Life

Would you listen to Plainsong again? Why?

This is a story I can relate to - the characters are as real as life itself. Narrator does an excellent job

What other book might you compare Plainsong to and why?

Can't compare Plainsong to any other author - it is unique

What does Tom Stechschulte bring to the story that you wouldnt experience if you just read the book?

Tom's delivery provides flavor - his ability to create characters with different voice inflections is very valuable

Any additional comments?

Just an excellent work - the kind of story that you can connect with. Finishing this story made me crave for more.

Comfort food for the brain

Would you consider the audio edition of Plainsong to be better than the print version?

N/A. I have not read the book.

Who was your favorite character and why?

I liked them all. The McPheran brothers, though were especially entertaining.

What does Tom Stechschulte bring to the story that you wouldnt experience if you just read the book?

He is a good reader who captures the manner of speech in that part of Colorado well. I am a Co. Native who has been to Yuma (Holt) many times.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

It wouldn't work well as a movie.

Any additional comments?

After a steady diet of spicy food, (thrillers and action novels) I needed some comfort food.