Customer Reviews

Where You Once Belonged

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(15)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Now that Kent Haruf is finally receiving some long overdue attention for his current (excellent) novel "Plainsong" perhaps the publishers will see fit to re-issue this, his wonderful second book. It is written in the same low-key style as "Plainsong", with the same warm attention to detail, but builds to one of the most devastating, heart-rending conclusions in all of literature. I will give away no more. Not only is this book out of print but, incredibly, it was never issued in paperback! Just read it and don't put it down until the last page.

As I've worked my way backwards through Kent Haruf's catalog of books, I've become increasingly impressed with the seeming simplicity of his writing and how he lets his characters come alive on their own terms instead of his. This allows the reader to understand the characters quirks and motivations in a way that reminds us of relationships with real people. We don't know everything about someone the first time we meet them, instead we learn what they want us to know and draw other conclusions from their actions and what other people let us know about them. In Where You Once Belonged, that is exactly how I grew to know Jack Burdette and the people in Holt, Colorado whose lives he so deeply affected.

Like Plainsong and The Tie That Binds, the reader is drawn into a seemingly simple story that simmers with local personality and an undercurrent of conflict. Slowly, Haruf lets you in on the complexities and even when the story here doesn't seem as compelling as his later work, you know there's more going on than you're being told. That Haruf can make the reader believe it's for the better not to know is a testament to his unique storytelling style.

I don't think Where You Once Belong is as powerfully told as Haruf's next books, which earns it a strong three star rating, but I would highly recommend it to any reader who already knows his style or appreciates subtle stories of lives not too unlike our own.

This is the final Haruf book I had to read to complete the three he has in print. You will get a wide range of opinions when reading these reviews, but for me, this would be the second place book - behind 'Plainsong', but ahead of 'The Tie That Binds' - in his catalogue.

Certainly you are aware of the main plot: gifted kid (at least athletically) has people's respect, marries quickly, leaves town suddenly with money from the farmer's co-op grain elevator, and makes a sudden, while not welcome, appearance eight years later once the statute of limitations on his crime has run out. Some of the characters from Haruf's 'The Tie That Binds' make their appearence again in this story. Sheriff Bud Sealy, Tom Crossman, and Bobby Williams all appear here, but only Sealy's character status really rises above minor. As with Haruf's other books, character development is present, but spare at the same time. The story is told with a rural, detached, but not aloof, feel - something born in the people living on the High Plains. It just 'feels' natural.

As for the ending...it's sudden. I can honestly say I didn't see the book ending the way it did. But do I like it? I kinda think I do. I only finished the story a couple of hours ago, so I might need to ponder it more, but it isn't the nice, clean ending one might expect. The curious person in me wants a sequel to tidy things up - is Jessie ever found? Does she stay with Pat? What is the effect on the boys? What happens to Jack?, etc. But I think I like not knowing. It's not the conventional way, but I respect Haruf for not giving in to the reader's need to have a tidy ending.

That said, if I were recommending Haruf's books to friends, I'd have them start with 'Plainsong.' If they don't like that, chances are they won't appreciate his other works in my opinion. As for me, Haruf's in a very short list of authors from whom I'd buy anything. In fact, if he were to publish the Holt Co. phone book I'd probably buy a copy or two... Yup, I think I would.

Okay, I really like Kent Haruf's style of writing. I really like Plainsong, and I really wanted to like Where You Once Belonged. But the ending just ruined the whole thing. He just couldn't pull it off, I guess. Now don't get me wrong, I don't need to have a happy ending to like a book, in fact there are many many books among my favorites in which the endings weren't happy. The problem with this book is this:

First of all, the way the book was written demanded that much of your view of it be decided upon the conclusion....which in turn demands that the conclusion be very well written (not necessarily happy). This brings me to the second part of my problem with this book. The ending bothered me not as much for what happened at the end, but because of the insincerity of it. It made me feel like the author was trying to write a "cool" ending and make a really meaningful story, but that he didn't take the time to make sure that it was written well enough to be halfway plausible.

My reaction was "you've gotta be kidding, you expect me to believe that?" I am a great lover and collector of books, but this was one that I'd never read again, and never ever recommend to anyone I know, so consequently, my copy of this book now lies at the bottom of the Carribean Ocean! I gave it 2 stars instead of 1 because I do like Kent Haruf's other writing, and I'm hping for better in the future.

I don't want to give away the ending in case you want to read it, but the main character acted like he didn't even care about what happened in the end...so why should I? (I'd like to believe it's the fault of editors, but...?)

A blurb on the back of the book refers to WHERE YOU ONCE BELONGED as "A beautifully told parable-simple and stark and true." The only parable I remember is "The Prodigal Son," but it seems to me that a parable should teach a lesson. If Haruf was trying to teach a "moral attitude or religious principle" as Websters defines the word, I can't imagine what it would be.

In Haruf's second novel, Jack Burdette returns to Holt, Colorado, where he encounters Sheriff Bud Sealey who handcuffs him, then pistol whips him. The story goes on to show us why he got off easy. Burdette is a completely selfish individual, almost a sociopath, who spurns his girlfriend of eight years for a woman he met at a weekend workshop. Burdette has no patience with education, competition (football in this instance) where he can't be the star, or a cushy job that is handed to him after he flunks out of college. Jack is either a spoiled brat or he's got terminal ADHD.

Pat Arbuckle, the narrator isn't introduced until well into the story. He's the editor of the town newspaper and a former classmate of Jack's; he also becomes enamored of Jack's wife when his own marriage fails.

Although this story isn't as good as PLAINSONG, it has its moments. I was most impressed with a minor character who has more humanity than all the members of the Moral Majority put together. When Jack leaves his loyal girlfriend and marries another woman, she hits the skids, drinking and sleeping around. The man I'm talking about is her supervisor at the telephone company where she works. Instead of firing her, he transfers her to another town where her story isn't known. Haruf manages this with just a few sentences, and we never see this character again.

WHERE YOU ONCE BELONGED is a short book, only 176 pages, and I was disappointed in the ending (It comes to an almost screeching halt), but I was so absorbed I read it in two days. I'm convinced that Haruf uses real people or composites to fashion these characters. All of us have known a Jack Burdette someplace along the way. Unfortunately they're more numerous than that telephone company supervisor.

I read this book after reading Plainsong, which touched my heart. Kent Haruf is skilled at making his characters believable. In this book, he has created someone who is lacking compassion, empathy or any redeeming quality. His sociopathic selfishness affects everyone in his life with disastrous consequences and heartbreak for many who trusted him. Haruf is definitely a writer worth reading since he just seems to get better while maintaining a consistently good style. I sense in him a heart worth knowing.

Having previously read Plainsong (as I am sure many who read this novel will have done), I was looking for a similarly enjoyable reading experience. Actually, in some ways, I liked this novel better. As much as I liked Plainsong, I found that there wasn't enough of a focus on a single storyline, and, in the end, I found it a disjointed work. Where You Once Belonged is much more of a traditionally structured novel, and the conflicts are clearer to the reader.

Haruf's simple style is both deceptive and hypnotic. I read this book in two sittings, and it was the power of the style that kept me going. The story involves a high school football star who is forgiven many of his character flaws by the town where he lives. After a long absence from the town, he returns, and the novel is the story leading up to that fateful return to town.

If you're looking for exactly the same feelings of community and warmth you had at the end of Plainsong, then you will be sorely disappointed by this novel. If, however, you are looking for a more compelling plot with a few more twists, then this novel is for you. I can see why many of Plainsong's fans don't like this one, but I see them as two distinct sides of a very good writer.

This is the first Kent Haruf book I have read, having been encouraged to pick him up by a friend who enjoyed Plainsong. I plan to read Plainsong at some point, but after having read Where You Once Belonged I am in no real hurry.

I thought the book started out well, filling in the biographical information about the characters and developing the small town setting, and then working up into Burdette's adulthood, his wife and two sons and their travails, and the narrator's own life. Nothing tremendous, certainly, but I thought it was a story moving along nicely and I was enjoying the read.

I was disappointed by two things, however, and the first concerns the 'upheaval' that supposedly occurs upon Burdette's return to Holt. Even after having read the entire book I couldn't fully understand why the people of Holt would be so violently angry at Burdette, and I think my reason for this is that Haruf didn't make clear the negative impact of Burdette's actions upon the town and its people. Consider the event upon which this entire narrative turns. His stealing the money from the local mill was wrong, of course, but we are not made to understand how this action impacts the business of the mill itself or the lives of the farmers who use it. So far as we know from reading the book, it was business as usual once Burdette left town with the money. Consequently, Burdette looked to me like nothing more than a feckless local loser. Burdette sitting in his car at the beginning of the book had me expecting a great deal more by the end of the book.

The other serious flaw, in my opinion, was the end of the book. Although what took place was (I assume) deliberately abrupt it seemed a very disappointing end to the book; it was too 'convenient' and brief. It is as though what should have been the last half of the story had been compressed into the final ten pages of the book. The book seemed too short for the story it is attempting to tell.

I, like many others, have read my way backwards through Kent Haruf's (too few) books since being mesmerized by Plainsong. Having just finished Where You Once Belonged, I am eager to have a sequel. I'm not sure whether Mr. Haruf reads the reviews on amazon.com, but just in case: Please help us get some closure on Jessie and Pat! The book ends quite abruptly, and it certainly left me anxious to know especially what would become of its self-posessed heroine and her two boys. To all of the rest of you, I recommend this, as I recommend any of Mr. Haruf's beautifully simple books. He has a gift for expressing the pathos and triumph of living everyday human life.

Having not had my fix of Haruf's writing after reading Plainsong, I immediately bought this book and found it to be equally satisfying. This is a book with a lot of heart and one that reminds you that no matter where you are right now you are never to far from home and your past, for better or worse. Haruf has an uncanny ability to draw you into his story and allow you to genuinely empathize with his character's emotions. You will be thrilled when the narrator finds his true love and you will be disgusted when you read the bitter and shocking ending. This book can be read in a matter of hours. Give it a chance.