Plainsong

Plainsong
by
Kent Haruf
adult fiction

I saw a list of books that Barack Obama has read since becoming President. Most of them were about history or economics, but then I saw this fiction book among the nonfiction books. I remembered that this book had been considered for our library's "One Community One Book" book as well, so it must have some kind of universal appeal. When I checked it out I also saw that it was a National Book Award finalist.
Those are impressive credentials, so I had high hopes for this book. It is a well written book, but in a quiet way. There are no car crashes or terrorists or murders, although there are some nasty school bullies.
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2010/08/13/obama-reading-the-complete-list-of-his-favorite-books.html
The exact time period of when this is set is not mentioned, but it is probably in the 1970's or 1980's in rural Colorado. A few stories of people in the same small town overlap. There is the teacher whose wife is having a breakdown and is left with his two sons. There is another teacher who is trying to help a young, pregnant teenager. There are also the elderly bachelor brothers who I could not help but thinking of as, in the words of Garrison Keillor, "Norwegian bachelor farmers, so you know they're not only good for you, but also pure, mostly".
They are all trying to get through life as well as they can with the twists and turns that life sends them. They are everyday people in an average American town. You get the idea that they would all be pretty good neighbors to have. That is why the book is entitled "Plainsong". It is just another typical day in late 20th century America. If this book is overlooked in 2011, it might be worth re-reading in 2061 to see how America has changed or is the same.
Already, from the time period in which it is set to today, we can see that unwed mothers are more frequent, divorce is more commonplace, and telephone booths have gone the way of the telegraph.
One thing about the book that struck me right away is that, for some reason, the author has decided not to place any dialog in quotation marks. Why? Probably to keep the flow of the book going. As I said, it is a quiet book that flows like a tide going in and out. Each ebb and flow is the same, but not really. Each time it is slightly different. That's how life in America goes - new people, same old stories.
If I were a teacher I might have students "compare and contrast" this book and its setting and characters to "Our Town" or "Spoon River Anthology" or Keillor's "Lake Wobegon" world.
This book will probably appeal most to a middle-aged or older audience with more female than male readers, although the author is male and the number of male and female characters are fairly well balanced.

Stolen Life: A Memoir

Stolen Life: A Memoir
by
Jaycee Dugard
adult autobiography

Jaycee was kidnapped by two strangers when she was 11 years old. Eighteen years later probation officers finally became suspicious enough of her captures to get her back home to her mother. Jaycee, now 30 years old, tells her own story. While she was held in a couple's back yard in two buildings she was tied up and raped for years and years as well as subjected to the husband's skewed view of the world. During that time she gave birth to two daughters who were also kept captive at times and allowed in the main house at times. They did not go to school except for occasionally working on worksheets which Jaycee was eventually allowed to download from the internet under the supervision of her kidnappers.
The book is simply written. Keep in mind that Jaycee only went to school until fifth grade. During much of her life in captivity she did have access to an occasional book, but much of her education was from watching television. She plainly states some of the horrors that were done to her and occasionally reflects on how they have affected her. Some questions are left unanswered as this is told from the victim's viewpoint. There are many things she did not know and may never know. She does not say how many years in prison her capturers received or a number of other facts that a reporter may included. I suppose that readers can turn to People magazine and other news venues for that information. There is definitely room for a sequel or another book written by a reporter telling the same story from different views - like the view of her mother or the police officers or the kidnappers. I see that my library also owns "Lost and Found" by John Glatt about this same case.
I read this book in a very short time. I can see that this will probably make its way to being on psychology and sociology reading lists as well as its current New York Times bestseller status.