Our Souls at Night: A novel
(Libby/OverDrive eBook, Kindle)

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Average Rating
Contributors
Haruf, Kent Author
Published
Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group , 2015.
Status
Available from Libby/OverDrive

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Titles may be read via Libby/OverDrive. Libby/OverDrive is a free app that allows users to borrow and read digital media from their local library, including ebooks, audiobooks, and magazines. Users can access Libby/OverDrive through the Libby/OverDrive app or online. The app is available for Android and iOS devices.
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Description

A spare yet eloquent, bittersweet yet inspiring story of a man and a woman who, in advanced age, come together to wrestle with the events of their lives and their hopes for the imminent future. In the familiar setting of Holt, Colorado, home to all of Kent Haruf’s inimitable fiction, Addie Moore pays an unexpected visit to a neighbor, Louis Waters. Her husband died years ago, as did his wife, and in such a small town they naturally have known of each other for decades; in fact, Addie was quite fond of Louis’s wife. His daughter lives hours away in Colorado Springs, her son even farther away in Grand Junction, and Addie and Louis have long been living alone in houses now empty of family, the nights so terribly lonely, especially with no one to talk with. Their brave adventures—their pleasures and their difficulties—are hugely involving and truly resonant, making Our Souls at Night the perfect final installment to this beloved writer’s enduring contribution to American literature.

More Details

Format
eBook, Kindle
Street Date
05/26/2015
Language
English
ISBN
9781101875902

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NoveList provides detailed suggestions for titles you might like if you enjoyed this book. Suggestions are based on recommendations from librarians and other contributors.
These books have the appeal factors bittersweet, moving, and character-driven, and they have the theme "second act"; the genres "literary fiction" and "love stories"; and characters that are "flawed characters," "complex characters," and "sympathetic characters."
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These books have the appeal factors character-driven, and they have the genre "book club best bets"; the subject "family relationships"; and characters that are "flawed characters," "complex characters," and "authentic characters."
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While Our Souls has a spare eloquence and Major Pettigrew a dense, amusing style, readers will savor both late-life love stories for their charming poignancy and well-portrayed characters who bond in loss and are renewed by a slow-growing love. -- Jen Baker
With similar spare styles and literary eloquence, yet different story lines, these character-driven novels both emphasize people's need for each other, the dangers of loneliness and the bittersweet nature of late-life love. -- Jen Baker
A widow and widower (Our Souls) and a pair of exes (A Forty-Year Kiss) find a second chance at love in both character-driven novels about late-in-life romance. -- Kaitlin Conner
Though these reflective novels incorporate different themes, both take place in well-depicted rural small town settings, and feature ordinary older people dealing with real problems within their families, which have lasting effects. -- Shauna Griffin
Lonely seniors form an unexpected connection in these touching novels about finding love and friendship when life seems to offer few surprises. Tinged with poignancy, both stories feature well-drawn characters and insight into life's foibles. -- Halle Carlson
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Similar Authors From NoveList

NoveList provides detailed suggestions for other authors you might want to read if you enjoyed this book. Suggestions are based on recommendations from librarians and other contributors.
Willa Cather's calm, evocative style may appeal to readers of Kent Haruf. Cather writes both of the High Plains and of other historical settings, using the narrative to indicate the characters' psychological depths. -- Katherine Johnson
Both Molly Gloss and Kent Haruf write evocative, inspiring stories of rural communities featuring an unhurried pace and sympathetic characters, sensitively portrayed. -- Joyce Saricks
Tom McNeal and Kent Haruf have a feel for small-town life and a strong sense of romance. Their sharply drawn characters and skillful evocation of life's ordinary, but truly important, dramas make their work both moving and thought-provoking. -- Mike Nilsson
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Although Wright Morris writes darker stories, both he and Kent Haruf employ spare prose to describe their richly detailed rural Midwestern settings. Characters and lyrical language dominate their novels of life on the plains. -- Joyce Saricks
Although Ivan Doig may put more emphasis on story, both he and Kent Haruf write novels that evoke rural landscapes in the Midwest and West and create a richly described sense of place. Both also compassionately portray sympathetic characters and rural life, often adding a touch of humor. -- Joyce Saricks
Robinson's and Haruf's literary, psychologically focused novels compassionately portray interactions among their characters while believably illuminating their inner lives; along with the internal landscapes, their writing evokes a strong sense of place. -- Katherine Johnson
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These authors' works have the appeal factors bittersweet, melancholy, and spare, and they have the genres "psychological fiction" and "mainstream fiction"; and the subjects "brothers," "fathers and sons," and "people with cancer."
These authors' works have the appeal factors moving, bittersweet, and leisurely paced, and they have the genres "psychological fiction" and "literary fiction"; the subjects "single men," "brothers," and "single women"; and characters that are "flawed characters" and "authentic characters."
These authors' works have the appeal factors bittersweet, melancholy, and spare, and they have the genres "psychological fiction" and "literary fiction"; and the subjects "brothers," "twin brothers," and "mother and adult son."

Published Reviews

Booklist Review

*Starred Review* The latest novel by the highly regarded author of Plainsong (1999), Eventide (2004), and Benediction (2013) is also, sadly, his last novel; Haruf died in November 2014. It will occur to readers that even one more word added to this short and spare narrative would break Haruf's perfect harmony of place (a small town on the relatively empty Colorado plains), population (no-frills people just trying to maintain a decent existence), and plot (centering on two senior citizens seeking companionship). Addie Moore has lost her husband, and one day she boldly invites a neighbor, widower Louis, whom she does not know well, to come spend the night sleeping with her (chastely, just so that she may have someone to talk to and confide in during those particularly lonely early-morning hours). Meanwhile, Addie's grown son is in a troubled marriage, and because of that, he dumps his son on her. Her grandson's boyish energy attracts Louis even more than it does Addie, and once Louis gets the boy a dog, the three no, the four, including the delightfully affectionate new pooch form a new family unit from the spare parts surrounding them. The joy of love and togetherness drove Haruf to write his beautiful fiction in this novel as in previous ones, and his especially tender voice got his point across in quiet, intimate tones. High-Demand Backstory: The high critical and popular regard in which Haruf was held will guarantee library interest in his last novel.--Hooper, Brad Copyright 2015 Booklist

From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
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Publisher's Weekly Review

Within the first three pages of this gripping and tender novel, Addie Moore, a 70-year-old widow, invites her neighbor, Louis Waters, to sleep over. "No, not sex," she clarifies. "I'm talking about getting through the night. And lying warm in bed, companionably." Although Louis is taken off guard, the urgency of Addie's loneliness does not come across as desperate, and her logic will soon persuade him. She reasons that they're both alone (Louis's wife has also been dead for a number of years) and that, simply, "nights are the worst." What follows is a sweet love story, a deep friendship, and a delightful revival of a life neither of them was expecting, all against the backdrop of a gossiping (and at times disapproving) small town. When Addie's six-year-old grandson arrives for the summer, Addie and Louis's relationship is tested but ultimately strengthened. Addie's adult son's judgment, however, is not so easily overcome. In this book, Haruf, who died in 2014, returns to the landscape and daily life of Holt County, Colo., where his previous novels (Plainsong, Eventide, The Tie That Binds) have also been set, this time with a stunning sense of all that's passed and the precious importance of the days that remain. (May) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
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Library Journal Review

In this last novel written before his death in November 2014, acclaimed novelist -Haruf (Benediction) captures small-town life to perfection in his signature spare style. -Addie Moore and Louis Waters have been neighbors in the eastern Colorado farming town of Holt for over 40 years. Now, alone except for visits from their grown children, Addie has asked Louis to come over every evening and to stay with her in bed, just to get through the lonely nights. Louis is not a risk taker, but he's lonely, too, and so begins their companionable routine, as they talk not only about trivial matters but also about important things in the past: his affair with a local teacher, her daughter's death at age 11. Unfortunately, Addie's bullying son Gene interferes. After leaving his son Jamie with Addie for the summer, during which time the troubled boy's behavior improves markedly, Gene sees what is going on and issues an ultimatum that forces Addie to make a difficult choice. VERDICT Haruf gives a delicate touch to Addie and Louis, their enjoyment of simple pleasures, their disappointments and compromises. Poignant and eloquent, this novel resonates beyond the pages. Don't miss this exceptional work from a literary voice now stilled. [See Prepub Alert, 11/25/14.].-Donna Bettencourt, Mesa Cty. P.L., Palisade, CO © Copyright 2015. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
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Kirkus Book Review

A sweet love story about the twilight years. If Haruf (who died in November at age 71) hadn't titled his previous book Benediction (2013), that might have been perfect for this one. It's a slim novel of short chapters, and it would seem to bring the cycle of books about small-town Holt, Colorado, to a close. This isn't a dark night of the soul but one filled with hope and with second chances. Here's how it opens: "And then there was the day when Addie Moore made a call on Louis Waters." Addie is 70, a widow, and she was close with Louis' late wife. She and Louis don't really know each other that well, other than as nodding acquaintances, but she has a novel proposition: she wants him to sleep with her. Not to have sexual relations, but just to have someone with whom she can talk and share and make it through the night. He appreciates the risk she's taken in making the request, and he agrees, though on their first night he's filled with thoughts of "How strange this is. How new it is to be here. How uncertain I feel, and sort of nervous." Word gets out, and those who will gossip do, assuming the salacious details. Addie and Louis both have adult children who aren't enthusiastic about the arrangement. And they each have a back story about the sorts of disappointments and perseverance that mark any longstanding marriage. Through Addie's initiative, she and Louis find an emotional intimacy beyond anything either has previously known, and both come to recognize that they "deserve to be happy," no matter what friends and family think. The author even has a little metafictional fun with his premise, as the characters comment on those "made up" books about the (fictional) Holt and how they'd hate to be in one of them. Those who have been immersed in Holt since Plainsong(1999) will appreciate one last visit. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
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Booklist Reviews

*Starred Review* The latest novel by the highly regarded author of Plainsong (1999), Eventide (2004), and Benediction (2013) is also, sadly, his last novel; Haruf died in November 2014. It will occur to readers that even one more word added to this short and spare narrative would break Haruf's perfect harmony of place (a small town on the relatively empty Colorado plains), population (no-frills people just trying to maintain a decent existence), and plot (centering on two senior citizens seeking companionship). Addie Moore has lost her husband, and one day she boldly invites a neighbor, widower Louis, whom she does not know well, to come spend the night sleeping with her (chastely, just so that she may have someone to talk to and confide in during those particularly lonely early-morning hours). Meanwhile, Addie's grown son is in a troubled marriage, and because of that, he dumps his son on her. Her grandson's boyish energy attracts Louis even more than it does Addie, and once Louis gets the boy a dog, the three—no, the four, including the delightfully affectionate new pooch—form a new family unit from the spare parts surrounding them. The joy of love and togetherness drove Haruf to write his beautiful fiction in this novel as in previous ones, and his especially tender voice got his point across in quiet, intimate tones. High-Demand Backstory: The high critical and popular regard in which Haruf was held will guarantee library interest in his last novel. Copyright 2014 Booklist Reviews.

Copyright 2014 Booklist Reviews.
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Library Journal Reviews

The recently deceased Haruf laid claim to impressive awards (e.g., Whiting Writers' Award) and nominations (the National Book Award), and his Plainsong, Eventide, and Benediction have sold 1.4 million copies combined. Here he has continued his winning meditative-cozy approach in another novel set in Holt, CO. Widower Louis Waters is initially thrown when the widowed Addie Moore suggests that they spend time together, in bed, to stave off loneliness, but soon they are exchanging the confidences and memories that form the rich undercurrent of this work.

[Page 70]. (c) Copyright 2014. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Copyright 2014. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
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Library Journal Reviews

In this last novel written before his death in November 2014, acclaimed novelist Haruf (Benediction) captures small-town life to perfection in his signature spare style. Addie Moore and Louis Waters have been neighbors in the eastern Colorado farming town of Holt for over 40 years. Now, alone except for visits from their grown children, Addie has asked Louis to come over every evening and to stay with her in bed, just to get through the lonely nights. Louis is not a risk taker, but he's lonely, too, and so begins their companionable routine, as they talk not only about trivial matters but also about important things in the past: his affair with a local teacher, her daughter's death at age 11. Unfortunately, Addie's bullying son Gene interferes. After leaving his son Jamie with Addie for the summer, during which time the troubled boy's behavior improves markedly, Gene sees what is going on and issues an ultimatum that forces Addie to make a difficult choice. VERDICT Haruf gives a delicate touch to Addie and Louis, their enjoyment of simple pleasures, their disappointments and compromises. Poignant and eloquent, this novel resonates beyond the pages. Don't miss this exceptional work from a literary voice now stilled. [See Prepub Alert, 11/25/14.].—Donna Bettencourt, Mesa Cty. P.L., Palisade, CO

[Page 79]. (c) Copyright 2014. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Copyright 2014. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
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Publishers Weekly Reviews

Within the first three pages of this gripping and tender novel, Addie Moore, a 70-year-old widow, invites her neighbor, Louis Waters, to sleep over. "No, not sex," she clarifies. "I'm talking about getting through the night. And lying warm in bed, companionably." Although Louis is taken off guard, the urgency of Addie's loneliness does not come across as desperate, and her logic will soon persuade him. She reasons that they're both alone (Louis's wife has also been dead for a number of years) and that, simply, "nights are the worst." What follows is a sweet love story, a deep friendship, and a delightful revival of a life neither of them was expecting, all against the backdrop of a gossiping (and at times disapproving) small town. When Addie's six-year-old grandson arrives for the summer, Addie and Louis's relationship is tested but ultimately strengthened. Addie's adult son's judgment, however, is not so easily overcome. In this book, Haruf, who died in 2014, returns to the landscape and daily life of Holt County, Colo., where his previous novels (Plainsong, Eventide, The Tie That Binds) have also been set, this time with a stunning sense of all that's passed and the precious importance of the days that remain. (May)

[Page ]. Copyright 2014 PWxyz LLC

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Citations

APA Citation, 7th Edition (style guide)

Haruf, K. (2015). Our Souls at Night: A novel . Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group.

Chicago / Turabian - Author Date Citation, 17th Edition (style guide)

Haruf, Kent. 2015. Our Souls At Night: A Novel. Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group.

Chicago / Turabian - Humanities (Notes and Bibliography) Citation, 17th Edition (style guide)

Haruf, Kent. Our Souls At Night: A Novel Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group, 2015.

Harvard Citation (style guide)

Haruf, K. (2015). Our souls at night: a novel. Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group.

MLA Citation, 9th Edition (style guide)

Haruf, Kent. Our Souls At Night: A Novel Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group, 2015.

Note! Citations contain only title, author, edition, publisher, and year published. Citations should be used as a guideline and should be double checked for accuracy. Citation formats are based on standards as of August 2021.

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