language_loving_amateur's review
4.0
In Our Souls at Night, a widow and widower take up together and provide companionship and love to each other. The tone of this book keeps readers at a distance from the characters, which is unusual for a love story. The POV is third person and characters' thoughts and feels are not shared in the narration. To understand the characters, readers only have the characters' actions and dialogue to go on, which is a lot like real life. But Haruf does get the point across within those constraints. While it is short, there were chapters that made me go "OOMPH! I need to chew on this for a while" and put it down for a day.
It is not spicy, but there is some sex on the page (and they are not married) so I will not be recommending it to my very Proper Christian Grandmother. To other readers, I do recommend it.
It is not spicy, but there is some sex on the page (and they are not married) so I will not be recommending it to my very Proper Christian Grandmother. To other readers, I do recommend it.
whitmc's review
5.0
Lovely and maddening all at once. Why can't people just mind their own business and let happiness be happiness? The beauty of friendship and connection is contrasted with the necessity of familial and emotional restrictions, however unfair.
nikkitynack's review
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
noodleb's review
emotional
hopeful
reflective
relaxing
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
carajigglesxoxo's review
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
nglofile's review against another edition
4.0
This is one of those stories that expands as you consider it, no matter if privately or in conversation with others. The narrative is relatively subdued, true, but it contains the roiling thoughts and emotions we all carry throughout our waking hours. We are the sum of our experiences: the cherished memories, the deferred dreams, the wish for do-overs, the need for our lives to be witnessed. What we say out loud is but a fraction, but anyone (character or reader) who cares to pay attention will understand a great deal more.
Nearly everyone who writes about Haruf cites his spare style and his sense of place, and that's for a reason. His voice isn't only part of the storytelling; it is very much a part of the story itself.
In each of two separate discussions, several in the group asserted that this work could only be "endured" and truly appreciated by those over 60. I'm not part of that demographic, and I can't help but disagree. However, I will concede that my experience of the book seemed to be different from those who have lived more decades than I. [Then again, that disparity isn't unique to this book.] I may always be grateful that my interactions with the text can be expanded by hearing from those in different life stages, but it was especially enriching in this case.
audiobook note: Narrator Mark Bramhall is a gift. I've enjoyed his reading of other works, but this performance imbues Haruf's narrative with poignant emotional resonance. I fully expect that when I re-read the print, it will be Bramhall's voice that echoes in my perceptions. [ETA: Yep! Happily so.]
re-read (print): May 2017
Nearly everyone who writes about Haruf cites his spare style and his sense of place, and that's for a reason. His voice isn't only part of the storytelling; it is very much a part of the story itself.
In each of two separate discussions, several in the group asserted that this work could only be "endured" and truly appreciated by those over 60. I'm not part of that demographic, and I can't help but disagree. However, I will concede that my experience of the book seemed to be different from those who have lived more decades than I. [Then again, that disparity isn't unique to this book.] I may always be grateful that my interactions with the text can be expanded by hearing from those in different life stages, but it was especially enriching in this case.
audiobook note: Narrator Mark Bramhall is a gift. I've enjoyed his reading of other works, but this performance imbues Haruf's narrative with poignant emotional resonance. I fully expect that when I re-read the print, it will be Bramhall's voice that echoes in my perceptions. [ETA: Yep! Happily so.]
re-read (print): May 2017
whoisthisjan's review
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
I read this book to my girlfriend. I don't know if it makes a huge difference to read it out loud, but it made the following apparent: The sentences dragged into infinity, while incorporating the word 'and' approximately 9000 times. I felt like it was written by someone who just learned how to tell stories but lacks the appropriate range in vocabulary. The plot has a lot of potential, which could (in my humble opinion) not be met by this execution. 2 stars for the great idea. But that's about it.
cestelaine's review
3.0
“Who does ever get what they want? It doesn’t seem to happen to many of us if any at all. It’s always two people bumping against each other blindly, acting out old ideas and dreams and mistaken understandings.”
A gorgeously simple little book reminding us that our inherit desire and need for love and compassion from another human being never leaves us.
‘Our Souls at Night’ opens with an offer, a desire for companionship and a need to combat the deep sense of loss that has inevitably crept in to the main two protagonists thoughts as they have settled down into their respectably long lived lives. Finding themselves both quite alone and, in a sense, lonely, the pair embark on a relationship that takes them on similar paths as those of any other young relationship might. With the added ability to truly embrace acceptance for their pasts, and the value of wisdom that only a life full of experience can bring.
This booked opened a wider conversation about how we view love and older people. Society often has an inability to see that the human mind does not cease with age. Emotions solidified by a history of experience can and do and will make themselves felt for our entire lives.
Recommended read? Most definitely.
A gorgeously simple little book reminding us that our inherit desire and need for love and compassion from another human being never leaves us.
‘Our Souls at Night’ opens with an offer, a desire for companionship and a need to combat the deep sense of loss that has inevitably crept in to the main two protagonists thoughts as they have settled down into their respectably long lived lives. Finding themselves both quite alone and, in a sense, lonely, the pair embark on a relationship that takes them on similar paths as those of any other young relationship might. With the added ability to truly embrace acceptance for their pasts, and the value of wisdom that only a life full of experience can bring.
This booked opened a wider conversation about how we view love and older people. Society often has an inability to see that the human mind does not cease with age. Emotions solidified by a history of experience can and do and will make themselves felt for our entire lives.
Recommended read? Most definitely.
tasha_slone's review
4.0
This is a sweet little read about an elderly single couple who find solace in each other. They make a deal to sleep side by side because they're lonely. I truly enjoyed it.