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Where You Once Belonged
Where You Once Belonged | Kent Haruf
13 posts | 21 read | 9 to read
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 thepeople 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.
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Jeg
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Pickpick

Just finished this. Almost a so so. I had to speed read towards the end. I enjoyed the writing. The story line was ok.
Certainly not as enjoyable as Our Souls At Night. I would have liked to have met the author Kent. I think he might have been a very gentle kind man. His stories certainly come across as gentle and thoughtful.

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CRR
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Pickpick

Vacation read while in the Black Hills of South Dakota. I think I only have one more from Haruf. I really like his writing and stories. They are slow burns a little and don‘t fit conventional writing in some ways but they are well written and enjoyable. I think I save his last written book for last—this one was his second.

rachelk I absolutely loved ‘Our Souls at Night‘ and have been thinking of reading more from him. 1y
CRR @rachelk that‘s the only one I have left! I have really enjoyed the other ones. 1y
rachelk @CRR Oh how funny! I hope you like it. The book is much, much better than the movie, imo. 1y
31 likes1 stack add3 comments
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TheBookgeekFrau
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Panpan

Blah and disappointing

#booksbystate2023 #Colorado

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TheBookgeekFrau
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"In the end Jack Buffett came back to Holt after all."

#FirstLineFridays

TheBookgeekFrau Thanks auto correct🙄 It's Jack Burdett NOT Buffett 😖 2y
dabbe The way auto correct did it, it sounds like Jack buffed it. I'm picturing a guy buffing his car or something. 🤣🤣🤣 2y
TheBookgeekFrau @dabbe 🤣🤣 actually not too far off the mark since the whole first chapter has to do with the car he returned to Holt in. 2y
Trashcanman Claudia 2y
TheBookgeekFrau @Trashcanman And now you're leaving the ballpark. Candy was Soooooo close 2y
20 likes5 comments
blurb
TheBookgeekFrau
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Coffee+reading=the best part of the day

#currentread

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peacegypsy
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Pickpick

Beyond delightful. Haruf‘s crisp language and exceptional storytelling abilities make his work first-rate. He has a gift with creating dialogue and describing things in such a detailed fashion that you can envision yourself in every room, in every embrace, in every victory, in every loss. I‘m truly thankful for his books.

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mreads
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Pickpick

Haruf has some beautiful spare writing about small town life in the 1960-70s. If you've read Our Souls at Night it's the same type of story telling and ending. (Trying to avoid a spoiler)

Tamra I love, love his writing! (edited) 6y
mreads @Tamra His writing is lovely but he can really rip your heart out 6y
52 likes2 comments
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Currey
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Pickpick

Classic Hartuf, in that the dialogue is terse and unsentimental and the prose is eloquently sparse. I think it is the perfect language to capture the story of a BIG man in a small town on the plains of Colorado. An investigation of what belonging to a place might mean, and what the destruction of trust can do. It is mostly about a pure attempt at love. I really enjoyed this #Colorado #readacrossthecountry

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LWagoner
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Pickpick

Haruf's writing is so real that it always puts me within the scene. This story was set in rural Colorado and centered around the town's life and what can happen when one person's actions affects the whole. It comes with some unexpected turns.

10 likes1 stack add
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Lkardos12
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First read Haruf AGES ago, so realized I needed to rescue this from a used book store. So far it is as great as I'm remember Plainsong - plain, straightforward prose that plays out like conversation. An unfolding of small-town America... so resonates with this country mouse turned city mouse 🐁📚