This book was a bit of a give and take. The plot was intriguing enough to keep reading but the author's simplistic word style I wasn't in favor of. It was too monotonous and boring for me -- yes, people think that's what make Haruf's stories so emotional, etc., etc. In my opinion, it was just very slow and far too open-ended to enjoy.

I'm baffled by those reader/reviewers who didn't like this book, but am reminded of what a wonderful UW English prof said when a student complained that "Shakespeare was boring": "There are boring writers; Shakespeare is not one of them. There are also boring readers. Enough said." This is a terrific book. I own a copy, and everyone I've lent it to has loved it. The audio version is wonderful, too. Give it a try. It'll make you laugh, cry and think.

Absolutely loved this book. The characters come alive on the pages - I kept thinking of how they would be cast if they ever make a movie.

Wasn't sure about this but couldn't put it down.

Very disappointing book. A series of vignettes that never follow up and the connections between characters are not believable. For instance the father of two young boys gets into a fight with a family because their son scared and abused the children but then the thread ends and the author just drops the whole issue. It is a book that has some good parts but there is a lot of detail around cruel and abusive scenes but not real character development and is a frustrating read

Don't believe the jacket. It is vague and implies much but the book does not deliver. I found it very dull. "Plain", as its title.

This isn't a mystery novel, it's a sketch of a certain place in a certain time. The place is Colorado. The time? Well, for me, that was part of the fun. In the opening chapters, we met young boys with paper routes, a young girl in a short skirt, teachers labouring over "dittos" in a staffroom where there's smoking and casual male chavinism. Sixties, I thought. Later in the novel, there was a mention of Nancy Reagan so I had to adjust the period. Late seventies, perhaps? She was California's "First Lady" in the sixties, but I don't think she started entering the national vocabulary of the United States until her husband entered the presidential campaign. Finally, there's a reference to a soap being taped for home viewing, so definitely eighties, although the overall mood of the book feels like a longer ago, more innocent time. This is a quick read, plenty of dry humour in a compelling story. Just the thing for a plane trip, I should think.