“Our Souls at Night” by Kent Haruf
I’ve loved Kent Haruf since I read PLAINSONG in the nineties. I continue to be amazed at how he conveys our deepest human selves in language that’s beautifully sparse, yet satisfying and deep.
OUR SOULS AT NIGHT is the story of Addie and Louis, seventy-year-old, widowed midwesterners, who, at Addie’s request, decide to sleep together each night and talk. I felt like I was sitting next to Addie’s bed as she and Louis revealed their troubled marriages, conflicted lives, unrealized dreams, and strained relationships with their children. When Addie’s five year old grandson Jamie shows up, we see Addie and Louis interact with him in ways that strengthen their union. We see how they handle gossiping neighbors, their families’ reactions, and sex (Spoiler—They ain’t dead yet.)
Haruf writes gorgeous dialog, so clear and real he can get away with not using quotation marks. He captures the essence and the complexity of Addie and Louis, and shows their strengths and flaws so non-judgmentally that I embrace them.
The beginning of the book is strong and straightforward. The ending left me wondering, but in a good way. OUR SOULS AT NIGHT is a delicious book. Intimacy, this couples counselor believes, means “In-To-Me-See,” and Addie and Louis, as they become truly intimate, see into each others’ souls.
OUR SOULS AT NIGHT is the story of Addie and Louis, seventy-year-old, widowed midwesterners, who, at Addie’s request, decide to sleep together each night and talk. I felt like I was sitting next to Addie’s bed as she and Louis revealed their troubled marriages, conflicted lives, unrealized dreams, and strained relationships with their children. When Addie’s five year old grandson Jamie shows up, we see Addie and Louis interact with him in ways that strengthen their union. We see how they handle gossiping neighbors, their families’ reactions, and sex (Spoiler—They ain’t dead yet.)
Haruf writes gorgeous dialog, so clear and real he can get away with not using quotation marks. He captures the essence and the complexity of Addie and Louis, and shows their strengths and flaws so non-judgmentally that I embrace them.
The beginning of the book is strong and straightforward. The ending left me wondering, but in a good way. OUR SOULS AT NIGHT is a delicious book. Intimacy, this couples counselor believes, means “In-To-Me-See,” and Addie and Louis, as they become truly intimate, see into each others’ souls.