50 States, 50 Love Stories The New York Times (Valentine’s Day)
Thanks for sharing. I've read all, I think, but one (still looking for it) of Kent Haruf's novels, he's one…
Thanks to Marnie Mueller for the ‘heads up’ (Ecuador 1963-65)
50 States, 50 Love Stories
New York Times, Valentine’s Day
From sea to shining sea, here’s a tour of unforgettable fiction that explores matters of the heart. In the list of ‘love story’ by novelists from all of our states, Colorado comes up with a real winner, RPCV Kent Haruf (Turkey 1965-67)
Colorado
Kent Haruf, “Our Souls at Night”
Kent Haruf’s final novel opens with an evening visit between neighbors in their 70s. Our reviewer wrote: “Both are widowed — Addie is 70, Louis about the same — and Addie makes the surprising proposal that they begin sleeping together, without sex, just to talk in the dark and provide the sleep-easing comfort of physical company. … We get to watch these two, night by night, pass through phases of awkwardness, intimacy and alliance.”
In the summer of 2014 Haruf finished his last novel, Our Souls at Night, which was published posthumously in 2015. He completed it just before his death. The novel was subsequently adapted in 2017 into a film by the same name, directed by Ritesh Batra and starring Robert Redford and Jane Fonda. JC Note.
This is truly a beatiful story with a rathe sad and for me, an unexpected ending. Thank you so much for highlighting it.
Thanks for sharing. I’ve read all, I think, but one (still looking for it) of Kent Haruf’s novels, he’s one of my favorite PC writers. A wonderful storyteller with a clear, accessible, unadorned style. I’ve read Our Souls at Night but haven’t seen the film yet. A year or so ago, I found a DVD of Plainsong in my local library, a film based on one of Harif’s early novels, which I’d read. It’s a made-for-TV-movie, so I initially had some misgivings, but it’s well done, with a great cast. I highly recommend the book–all his books–and the film. Here’s a link to a brief description of the latter: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/plainsong/