Colorado, January 1977. Eighty-year-old Edith Goodnough lies in a hospital bed, IV taped to the back of her hand, police officer at her door. She i...
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May 09, 2011
Debby
rated it: 
This is Kent Haruf's debut novel written in 1984. I figured snce I've read and really enjoyed his third and fourth books, I'd check out his first book. Boy am I glad I did!
The book opens with 80-year-old Edith Goodnaugh lying in a hospital bed and guarded by police as she has been chargged with murder. On the basis of what evidence? Who died? What happened?
The Tie That Binds is the life story of Edith Goodnaugh, her brother and her parents. It's the story of decisions More...
The book opens with 80-year-old Edith Goodnaugh lying in a hospital bed and guarded by police as she has been chargged with murder. On the basis of what evidence? Who died? What happened?
The Tie That Binds is the life story of Edith Goodnaugh, her brother and her parents. It's the story of decisions More...
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Dec 28, 2011
Ron
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Not my favorite Haruf novel (see Plainsong and Eventide) but often compelling although also quite depressing. I don't mind depressing yet struggle when the depressing stuff happens even before I can care about the characters and then just continues throughout. Still an interesting narrative structure with a first-person account from one of the main characters, Sanders Roscoe; also, innovative while also frustratingly the mystery introduced at the beginning of the novel is not fully explained unt
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Jul 28, 2011
Sarah
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Apr 18, 2009
Paul
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If you enjoy Willa Cather, chances are you enjoy Haruf. This novel is the third one of his I've read. The others were "Plainsong" and "Eventide."
"Tie that Binds" was his first novel, and he got off to a flying start. It is smooth, convincing, and packed with quiet, compelling emotional issues. Like his other novels, it is set in and around the tiny town of Holt, Colorado, during the first half of the last century, and the characters are agricultural typ More...
"Tie that Binds" was his first novel, and he got off to a flying start. It is smooth, convincing, and packed with quiet, compelling emotional issues. Like his other novels, it is set in and around the tiny town of Holt, Colorado, during the first half of the last century, and the characters are agricultural typ More...
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Aug 20, 2009
Kathy
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I imagine that listening to The Tie that Binds on a long trip in the car would be a wonderful experience - I hear the voice of Paul Harvey narrating it in my mind. It is a slow, rich, retelling of a story from someone who clearly cares deeply about the people involved. Sanders Roscoe is Edith and Lyman Goodnough's neighbor and closest friend. Not husband and wife, but brother and sister who grew up with an emotionally abusive father who stunted their emotional maturity so much that they didn'
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Apr 29, 2009
Mark
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Slow to develop, this tells the tale of a woman in her eighties accused of murder and who has lived a hard-scrabble life on the eastern plains of Colorado. As with all of Haruf's novels, the characters become fully fleshed by the narrative until, by the end, we feel like we know these people. The story is told from the point of view of the next door neighbor who witnessed a great deal of the pain inflicted on Edith and her brother Lyman by their tyrannical father whose legendary rage was directe
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Apr 11, 2010
Deb
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Other reviewers have compared Haruf to Cather, and while, I disagree, as his narrative voice is so male compared to Cather, he does create strong women characters. Edith Goodnough actually reminds me of the protagonist of "Trifles" a short story written by Susan Glaspell long before this book. Similar circumstances, similar ending. I think Plainsong and Eventide are much better than this first novel by Haruf, but he certainly knows his territory. When he is describing the tan lines
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Oct 15, 2010
Rebecca
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loved! this was a bit of a different read for me. a heart-wrenching family saga set against the bleakness and desolation of the great plains - the subject matter drew me in and the unique narrative style kept me hooked. told from the perspective of a clichéd old cowboy and with a glaring amount of foreshadowing, i still found it utterly charming... probably because i'm so unfamiliar with and thus easily enchanted by hard times in the midwest, i was okay with this reading like a grim storybook. i
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Aug 07, 2009
Marvin
rated it: 
Like Plainsong, Haruf's later book that I liked a lot, this novel is set on the plains of eastern Colorado, a ways east of Denver, and that's an important element here again. Darlene recommended that I read this, but I thought it was pretty mediocre. It's the story of a woman whose life is defined by her obligation to first her abusive father & then, late in life, to her brother who suffers from a form of dementia. The story is narrated by her neighbor, a generation younger than her, whose fathe
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Mar 28, 2009
Liz
rated it:
I like this author, too! I read Plainsong, and liked it a lot. This is his first book, and I enjoyed it very much. The style of the narration evokes the kind of life people must live on the plains, and the families that grow up out there without a lot of conversation, happiness, or rewards - other than eking out their survival in the difficult climate on the difficult land. To me this was a story about love - the love of a man and a woman, the love of a man and the land, the love of a son an
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May 25, 2009
Irene
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I love everything I've read by Kent Haruf. This book was his first novel, set as the others are in Holt, Colorado. His voice and style seemed to have been fully formed from the outset, because this book is as strong as the ones that followed. The pacing, imagery, characters, dialogue, and trajectory are confident and familiar. If anything, his characters in this book are stronger than in the others, but in no way are they hard to imagine in his fictional community of Holt. If you've enjoyed Haru
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Jul 28, 2007
Anne
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Years ago I read a novel by Haruf called Plainsong. I can't remember the plot, but I remember really enjoying it. So, I picked up Haruf's first novel The Tie That Binds, without really even reading the back cover. The book starts out with an old woman lying in the hospital, charged with murder. It's unclear who she's allegedly murdered or how, but it is clear that the narrator doesn't think she's guilty. And so he tells the story - the story of life on a farm in Colorado, and a woman tied to her
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Apr 11, 2009
Timmy
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The Tie That Binds was much heavier on voice and slightly lighter on dramatic interest than Plainsong, though the two are ultimately a lot alike. Chances are if you liked one, you'd like the other. I felt that Plainsong whittled each story down to the bare essentials - almost every scene was a revelation and crackled with drama. Since it followed just one storyline, TTTB was much more up and down in terms of intensity, though some of that was offset by the charm of the narrator.
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Mar 29, 2009
Francine
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The best Kent Haruf book so far, this book kept me up way past bedtime. You will fall into this story and never want to climb out. There is tragedy, there is acceptance, there is love and hate beyond anything most people would ever tolerate in their lives. I love the way he writes and can only say this: We all have access to every word that is out there and how we choose to use them makes us what we are. Kent Haruf is brill. Sit down.
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Oct 14, 2011
Swanbender2001
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The author offered great characters; fleshed out so I want to know them better, or not, in some instances. He presented the community and land in a descriptive way that allowed me to easily create the imagery through his words. I was given a strong sense of place, both physically and emotionally. I loved this story and could never make the sacrifices these characters made and still turn out as good as Edith or Sanders did.
Aug 25, 2010
Jen
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I really liked this novel. And I don't say that very often, as I don't read them all that often, I prefer non-fiction usually. But boy, this book reminded me not to be a martyr. Not to live vicariously through other peoples dreams. That humans are dynamic creatures, all who have walked a different journey with a different perspective. Can't wait to read Plainsong!
Jul 14, 2011
Abby
rated it:
Well written, like the narrative of the story. I imagined I was sitting on a front-porch rocking chair, looking over the fields next to the narrator as he told me the story. It is a depressing read and I found Edith's father to be atrocious and unbearable. Being a modern-day woman I would not have put up with it! But I suppose that's what made it a good novel.
Oct 06, 2009
Mindy
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I didn't like all the bad language and sometimes it was a little crude for my taste, but I fell in love with the characters. This book made me think a lot about the blood ties that we have with people we might not otherwise choose to be bonded to, and the bonds that we form with people we might as well be blood related to because we love them so much. It you can stand the bad language and the crude parts, I think you'll really love the characters in this book (well, most of them, but probably
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Apr 19, 2009
Tracey
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I love Kent Haruf. I am from a small town just like Holt and he writes about life in a small Colorado town very authentically. I love how his "simple" characters are really very deep. In this book, I loved the complicated relationships between the characters and the way the book begins at the end (and doesn't get wrapped up with a pretty bow at the end!)
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Aug 02, 2010
Diane
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I liked this book but not as much as I liked Haruf's Plain Song. The author writes with elegant simplicity, which I enjoy. The story is really Edith's as narrated by the son of her former beau, the narrator's father. I can't imagine a life much harder or a life as joyless as Edith's, yet her spirit somehow survives.
Oct 02, 2011
Meegan
rated it:
I adore Haruf's understated style, and his portrayal of hard-working, decent characters muddling through the hardships life throws. Both of the main characters live lives defined by hard work and heartbreak, but they're never bitter. They endure. It's quiet writing, but very moving.
Jul 06, 2011
Katherine
rated it:
One of the best lines in the book:
"He (Roy) was about enough of a fox terrier to trot into a territory that belonged to somebody else, and once he got there, raise his hind leg to it, claim it for his own, without thinking twice about prior claims or possible consequences."
"He (Roy) was about enough of a fox terrier to trot into a territory that belonged to somebody else, and once he got there, raise his hind leg to it, claim it for his own, without thinking twice about prior claims or possible consequences."
Jul 15, 2011
Joanne
rated it:
This was a good story, interesting characters, but got too wordy and repetitive.
When I was a kid on the farm, I caught my hand in a mowing machine. Nothing like the injuries in this book, but it certainly brought it back, reading about it.
When I was a kid on the farm, I caught my hand in a mowing machine. Nothing like the injuries in this book, but it certainly brought it back, reading about it.
Apr 13, 2011
Melissa
rated it:
Refreshing narrative style, but depressing as hell. Also broke my "animals get hurt" rule, sadly. The ending was almost worth it, but mostly? Depressing. If you're in the mood for that, though, the storytelling is good stuff.
Aug 08, 2009
Michelle
rated it:
This is the first Kent Haruf book I've read, and I'll be reading more. The Tie that Binds was slow-going in the beginning and not entirely unpredictable, but I still couldn't help being drawn into the characters' world, which Haruf does a great job creating.
This is one of those books in which the story can be explained in about 50 words, but the journey is more important than the destination, and this one is worth taking.
This is one of those books in which the story can be explained in about 50 words, but the journey is more important than the destination, and this one is worth taking.
Jan 30, 2012
Margot
rated it:
What a haunting, beautifully written novel-every bit as good as Plain Song and Eventide. The narrative technique works brilliantly and the tragic consequences of a life held captive by the needs of others, play out in a fascinating chain of events.
Feb 20, 2009
Meredith
rated it:
Only good. Not great. Interesting but a little slow. 80 years of a life recalled by a friend and neighbor of the main character, Edith. The end is not an end at all but the end of the narrator's story. We are left to wonder how Edith's life concludes.
Feb 22, 2009
Kishwar
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
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Oct 09, 2011
Zanybert
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really like this author - i'm surprised none of my reader friends talk about him. i'm talking about him - great characters, good style, give you the feeling of "wanting to get back to that book..."
Jun 25, 2010
Glenda
rated it:
Deeply disturbing in so many ways yet compelling... Would I read it again? Yes. Would I recommend it? Only with caution. It would be a great book club book in that there is so much to discuss.
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