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juniperd 's review for:
Our Souls at Night
by Kent Haruf
this is a quiet, lovely novel. as in life, there are a few sharp-edged moments. how one handles these moments says a lot about a person's character. i feel like haruf was of good character. and he always gives us fictional characters with heart and depth, and stories that are wonderfully contemplative.
i was initially sceptical of the premise - feeling it such a forced setup. but then i began thinking about my own grandmother and how, once she was widowed (she had never lived on her own, ever, until she was 78yo), she would talk about the loss of physical touch and companionship in her life, and how the nights were the hardest. (the 'touch' wasn't a sexual thing, and she wasn't interested in having or caring for a husband - she'd had 2 of them.) so i got past my own 'yeah... but' moment (and it truly was just a moment), and really enjoyed this read. save for the very ending which i didn't quite love as much as getting to that point.
i also had some odd 'what the heck?' moments concerning the townspeople's reactions (or inferred reactions) to addie and louis' friendship (i've lived in a small town), and the reactions of addie and louis's kids. addie's son, gene, was a sad piece of work (gene probably could have had an entire novel around his own life... but that's a digression on my part). holly, louis' daughter, was eventually softened and better about it. given the story is approximately set in 2010.... it felt like dated responses not in keeping with today. i had trouble thinking anyone could begrudge a couple in their 70s finding happiness. (but this is a minor quibble.)
one of the highlights for me in this book was haruf going meta on himself in referencing two of his previous holt-set stories. i found this moment in the narrative so fun and enjoyed it a lot. and it made me want to go back and reread [b:Plainsong|77156|Plainsong (Plainsong, #1)|Kent Haruf|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1388200586s/77156.jpg|1402373] and [b:Eventide|89884|Eventide (Plainsong, #2)|Kent Haruf|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1320471712s/89884.jpg|1168090]. i held off reading OSaN, knowing it was haruf's last. i didn't want to be at the end of his stories. but now here i am - certainly better for reading haruf, but sad all over again about his absence from our world. thank you, kent haruf.
i was initially sceptical of the premise - feeling it such a forced setup. but then i began thinking about my own grandmother and how, once she was widowed (she had never lived on her own, ever, until she was 78yo), she would talk about the loss of physical touch and companionship in her life, and how the nights were the hardest. (the 'touch' wasn't a sexual thing, and she wasn't interested in having or caring for a husband - she'd had 2 of them.) so i got past my own 'yeah... but' moment (and it truly was just a moment), and really enjoyed this read. save for the very ending which i didn't quite love as much as getting to that point.
i also had some odd 'what the heck?' moments concerning the townspeople's reactions (or inferred reactions) to addie and louis' friendship (i've lived in a small town), and the reactions of addie and louis's kids. addie's son, gene, was a sad piece of work (gene probably could have had an entire novel around his own life... but that's a digression on my part). holly, louis' daughter, was eventually softened and better about it. given the story is approximately set in 2010.... it felt like dated responses not in keeping with today. i had trouble thinking anyone could begrudge a couple in their 70s finding happiness. (but this is a minor quibble.)
one of the highlights for me in this book was haruf going meta on himself in referencing two of his previous holt-set stories. i found this moment in the narrative so fun and enjoyed it a lot. and it made me want to go back and reread [b:Plainsong|77156|Plainsong (Plainsong, #1)|Kent Haruf|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1388200586s/77156.jpg|1402373] and [b:Eventide|89884|Eventide (Plainsong, #2)|Kent Haruf|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1320471712s/89884.jpg|1168090]. i held off reading OSaN, knowing it was haruf's last. i didn't want to be at the end of his stories. but now here i am - certainly better for reading haruf, but sad all over again about his absence from our world. thank you, kent haruf.