Overview:
The Tie That Binds is a novel of bleak simplicity, it’s almost as stark as the Colorado prairie in which it takes place. Haruf’s debut novel opens with a scene that is reminiscent of a mystery: Eighty-year-old Edith Goodnough lies in a hospital bed, IV taped to the back of her hand, police at the door. She is charged with murder. But the story, written in first person and told by rancher Sanders Roscoe, whose parents have been neighbor to the Goodnoughs for over half a century, is more human than most I have read. It begins before Edith Goodnough is born. The lives of the two families intertwine; their story assaults the reader slowly but it sneaks up on me very steadily, as Edith lives out her very constricted life.
The Tie That Binds exudes an elegiac sense as Haruf’s unadorned prose guides me through the lives of the Goodnoughs and the stoic truths of middle America landscapes. The interaction between the Roscoes and Goodnoughs evokes the simple decency of human beings, whereas Edith’s uncomplaining nature is an impeccable show of the tenacity of human spirit. The style is completely different from that in Plainsong, since it focuses primarily on one character, as seen from the perspective of a neighbor who has always been there. The language is spare but deep, steering away from sentimentality. This is a very quiet novel that contemplates the austerity and constriction of life.
ENJOYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!
Sincerelyours
And Blessed Are The Ones Who Care For Their Fellow Men!
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