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Jun 19, 2010

Lara rated it:

I think I have an author crush. My first experience with Kent Haruf was a number of years ago when I picked up PLAINSONG, a simple and graceful story of discordant lives colliding and intersecting in the small prairie town of Holt, Colorado. He drew me in with his carefully crafted prose and did it in such a way that made beautiful writing seem effortless.

You should know that when I have a literary crush and a penchant for buying books, it's all I can do to not scoop up all of the work More...

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Jul 31, 2009

Lori rated it:

I love Kent Haruf's writing. It feels a bit like I'm visiting my hometown after being away for a very long time, and I'm sitting down with the narrator for an afternoon and gettting caught up on what's been going on while I've been gone.

Having grown up on the plains of Northeastern Colorado makes reading Haruf's books even more of a treat. I love it when he references various towns and landmarks that I know well, even if he does give some of them different names. Those of you wh More...

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Oct 13, 2009

Jrobertus rated it:

This book precedes Haruf's brilliant "Plainsong" and "Eventide". Like them it is set in the semi fictional town of Holt on the high plains of eastern Colorado. Haruf's engaging narrative style is evident in this book and the story starts strongly, but in the end is somewhat less compelling than his later masterpieces. Still, I consumed this slim novel like a box of chocolates. This story focuses on a larger than life man who is a football hero, but at his core is a self cen More...

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Apr 29, 2009

Paul rated it:

I was sorry to see this book end. Not only because I was enjoying the fictional dream Kent Haruf had folded around me, but also because I have now read all of his published novels. The last-bite syndrome, and now I await his next.

Like his other novels, Where You Once Belonged is set in the small town of Holt, in the high plains of Colorado. This time the first-person protagonist is a newspaper editor. Haruf's characters, as usual, are distinct individuals clearly portrayed, and he c More...

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Jul 30, 2009

Annthelibrarian rated it:

The narrative of small town bad boy, Jack Burdette, told by one of the fellow townsfolk of Holt, Colorado. Jack, an unruly kid goes on to become a high school football star, but trouble follows him, and as a grown man when he marries a woman he met at a weekend convention, and then later shocks the town by committing a sinister crime, he becomes the town pariah. I read this book for a book group doing genre reading. I chose this for the genre "gentle read," but it is not a very gentle More...

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Aug 31, 2010

Christine rated it:

I became a Haruf fan after reading Plainsong and Eventide. This book precedes those books, and is different. I'd describe it as a short story narrative about an event in a small, eastern plains town.

The event is actually a person - Jack Burdette - a small-town football hero who ate people up and chewed them out after their usefulness ended. He returns to Holt 8 years after some shady activity, and we learn about who he is, how he became the person he is, and the outcome of his return More...

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Jun 10, 2009

Joseph rated it:

This book was surpsing, it was also very interesting. it was about a small town village and then something happens to the people of the town because this one boy, who used to be so comfortable with everyone in town, betrays them and steals like hundreds of thousenads of dollars. this in turn runs him out of town forever. what more is that he left a family and they just hate him now. and then suddenly one day he returns, people want to kill him and take their revenge on him......youre in for a su More...

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Apr 07, 2009

H. rated it:

It's interesting how many Russian lit conceits are found in this little American book. It has all the treachery, vice and human pettiness but, sadly, none of the redemption. And it's a hell of a lot shorter.

This book predates Plainsong by about nine years and it shows, for Plainsong is a great book and this one just pretty good. Because of a few repeated tics it's obvious he was working hard at creating a certain tone. He's successful but the repetition draws attention to itself.
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Aug 04, 2011

Alisa rated it:

�I have read and enjoyed many of Haruf's books. I found the ending of this one so sad. This book, like the others, takes place in Holt, Colorado. It was fun, as before, to read a book set in your home state that mentions your town, your weather, your weeds. But I was infuriated, as before, trying to remember all the Holt characters mentioned. Is this my first intro to Jack and Jessie Burdette, or Pat Arbuckle? Who knows, I'll need to reread all the books to find out.

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Aug 19, 2011

Angela rated it:

I don't know what it is about Kent Haruf, but I can't get enough of his writing style. It feels like I'm cuddling up with a warm cozy blanket and cozy socks on a cold night with a cup of hot cocoa when I read his books. They are hauntingly beautiful. Unfortunately, this one is more haunting than beautiful, so I couldn't give it a 5. A little too devastating in the end, but I should have known it. Makes me want to go back and read Plainsong and Eventide though.

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Oct 13, 2009

Jeff rated it:

Slim but packing a punch, this terse little novel from the author of PLAINSONG puts all his gifts on handsome display. If it lacks some of the emotional tug of PLAINSONG and EVENTIDE, that seems to be no accident. A mean little tale, Haruf is less interested in the redemptive qualities of his characters than in the consequences of their actions. Or maybe the consequences of one action put out into the universe and the pain it causes on a long timeline. What is undeniable is the author's unca More...

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Feb 08, 2009

Jessica rated it:

I just read this today, and loved it. Once again, the story takes place in the same small town in Colorado as the other books, and the simplicity of life would lead you to believe that nothing can be complicated there. But drama, cruelness and love touches even the smallest and simplest of people and towns. Just goes to show that we all have our struggles and our triumphs- as cheesy as that sounds.

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Feb 25, 2011

Jeffrey rated it:

I love Kent Haruf novels, beginning with his most famous Plainsong. His books are about the heartland and the quiet people struggle with heart through the tough times of settlers through today's contemporary lives. They,and this book is no different,are populated by simple people with simple stories of making it through day to day. I don't see how anyone with a heart cannot like these books.

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Feb 13, 2010

Maicie rated it:

Haruf, author of Plainsong, is one of my favorite writers. He lives in Colorado and writes about the eastern plains and small town life.

This is a small book and a quick read. I didn't like it as much as Plainsong, which I've read 3 or 4 times, but all Of Haruf's stuff is worth reading.

Anyway, this story shows the rather ugly side of small town life.

Highly recommended.

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Jun 17, 2011

Caroljohnson2 rated it:

Wow, this book is really well written. Kent Haruf does a good job of letting you get to know the characters and having insight into their lives...not that you would agree with their choices, but you can see from their upbringing and such how things came to be. But the ending...boy, that is a doozy and I really was disappointed with it. So there you have it, read at your own discretion.

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Feb 21, 2011

Jeri rated it:

small town hero married an "out of towner", becomes the head of the local co-op, embezzles and leaves town, leaving wife and children. The local newspaper editor tells the story and eventually falls in love with the wife. Then the "hero" returns to the small town and commits an unspeakable crime. Well written; good twisdt at the end, leaving you hanging for a sequel.

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Nov 20, 2008

Diane rated it:

I have enjoyed all of the books that I have read by this author. This one was probably my least favorite so far. It is a short book so I was able to read it in about three days but I felt that the story was rushed a bit. The ending was very abrupt. It felt like the author was trying to finish the story quickly and the result was unsatisfying. The characters were not as well-developed as in his other books, but I still liked it. A definite read for Kent Haruf fans.

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Nov 22, 2008

Rob rated it:

Kent Haruf is a master storyteller.....

i love how he writes in such a simple yet beautiful way...

the story here is one that wraps u up then delivers a powerful knock-out blow....

i will not say much more than that.....

i would hate to cheat anyone the pure pleasure of this simple yet amazing story...

peace

rob

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Jun 03, 2009

Mariah rated it:

This is the first book by Haruf that I have read. Many of the other reviews on goodreads say this book is not his best. If so, I'm in for a fabulous reading future, for Where You Once Belonged has the steady and rich momentum of a coal train loaded with gold. What a find!!!

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Sep 09, 2009

Bianca.brousseau rated it:

Read this book and found that it was compelling only in its brief simple yet graphic descriptions of horrific deaths. After finishing the book I felt yucky, like I'd watched a movie that was too violent, or sad for me. The writing had a poetic edge.

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May 18, 2010

Sarah rated it:

Though the story was of enough to interest for me to continue turning the pages I did not find it wholly absorbing. I was also disappointed in the ending. However, on the plus side, Haruf is an excellent writer, I enjoy his style very much.

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Jan 24, 2010

Shannon rated it:

I love how Kent Haruf develops his characters. You really feel like you have a good sense of all his characters in the book. But this felt like a short story that he tried to drag out. The ending was also dissatisfying to me.

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Mar 22, 2010

Leah rated it:

I read this book in a week... it's easy to read because the writing is very straight forward and matter-of-fact. Not many flowery descriptions. The story is not a happy one, but it sucks you from the beginning.

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Mar 18, 2010

Andrea rated it:

Didn't love it as much as Eventide, but still, an amazing book, especially his use of POV, with a peripheral narrator that slowly becomes more central.

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Sep 14, 2009

Helen rated it:

I generally liked this book. Was an earlier effort prior to Plainsong. Enjoyed both Plainsong and successor Eventide more than this one. However, was a good read and shows how much Kent Haruf is growing in his craft.

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Aug 11, 2011

Elisabeth rated it:

The only thing I thought he missed, and maybe he did it for a reason, was the flying dirt and the sheer amount of flying dirt in Eastern CO...

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Jul 31, 2010

Eric rated it:

Not nearly as strong as Plainsong or Eventide, but reminiscent of the dry yet affecting prose and the emotions within quiet people.

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Jun 16, 2010

Sharelle rated it:

I'm such a fan of Haruf's and have PLAINSONG on my all time top ten list. But I needed more of an ending to WHERE YOU ONCE BELONGED.

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Aug 21, 2011

Stormy rated it:

This book was unsatisfying on many levels. The passivity of the characters might have something to do with it.

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Mar 16, 2009

Kristina rated it:

I only remember that I thought the book was good, but don't remember anything else about it.

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