Looking Back - Where You Once Belonged

Looking Back... In an effort to transfer my book journal entries over to this blog, I'm going to attempt to post (in chronological order) an entry every Friday. I may or may not add extra commentary to what I jotted down in these journals.

Where You Once Belonged by Kent Haruf

Fiction

2000 Vintage (first published 1990)

Finished on June 14, 2000

Rating: 2/5 (Fair)

Publisher's Blurb:

The red Cadillac pulled down Main Street and sat by the tavern for hours, unnoticed. Then Ralph Bird of the Men's Store recognized the driver as Jack Burdette and bolted to the sheriff's office. The prodigal son of Holt, Colorado, had returned--and he was far from welcome.

In Where You Once Belonged, acclaimed novelist Kent Haruf tells of a small-town hero who is dealt an enviable hand--and cheats with all of the cards. In prose as lean and supple as a spring switch, Haruf describes a high school football star who wins the heart of the loveliest girl in the county and the admiration of men twice his age. Fun-loving, independent, Burdette engages in the occasional prank. But when he turns into a man, his high jinks turn into crimes--with unspeakable consequences. Now, eight years later, Burdette has returned to commit his greatest trespass of all. And the people of Holt may not be able to stop him. Deftly plotted, defiantly honest, Where You Once Belonged sings the song of a wounded prairie community in a narrative with the earmarks of a modern American classic.

My Original Thoughts (2000):

Depressing book! Well-written, but dark & gloomy. I read it in one day. Only felt a connection to one character. Doesn't compare to Plainsong. No sense of place. Lacks character development. [And yet, I said it was well-written.]

My Current Thoughts:

I remember how disappointed I was after I finished this book. I had looked forward to reading it but it was nothing like Plainsong, which I loved.