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 This is one of the strongest and most winning stories I have ever read. From its first page it takes the reader into a world that is lost but not forgotten. An elegy to how people should treat each other, a fictional self-help book for the new millenium, and an exquisite piece of literary craft, this is one of the most assured and astonishing fictions of our time.
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At the end of American culture, with nothing but hardness in life, in love, in entertainment, the longing for sweet old-time niceness is intense, and can be re-sold back to people. There is no sense of community in this book, and yet people act gratuitously "nice." There is no real plot, only scenes that alternate between bad people and nice people and their encounters. In such simple terms, the book might have been rendered better through the eyes of one Guthrie's boys. As it stands, the book assumes a community that doesn't exist, and then everything flows from this space of non-existence. Note: Maggie Jones tells the two brothers who take in the pregnant girl "You need to do this." If that line ever worked at all, things wouldn't be so screwed up. So, in this sense, the book rests upon the imaginary of community--perhaps similar to what William Faulkner said about love "It's a good thing they put it in books because that's the only place it exists." This in no way means that there aren't nice people, or nice gestures, just that as a "vehicle" for a novel, it seems to be all promise, and no delivery. It might keep readers going until the last pages, but in the end its the same old same old of the imaginary resolution to problems that cannot be solved by relying on the kindness of strangers. Of course, Williams knew that, and Haruf should too.
What a shame! This book could have been so much more if the author wasn't so impressed with his own writing style. It was filled with two dimensional characters and overused ideas. The oddities the characters had were much too contrived. This guy can obviously write a book but praising him this early will only do his career more harm than good. Let's save the praise for when he really deserves it. Hopefully this won't be his best book. Looking forward to a maturing writer.
