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The Tie that Binds |
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| The Tie that Binds by Kent Haruf Random House Canada (Vintage Books) 246 pages, May 2000 ISBN 0375724389 Reviewed by Andrea Collare Winner of the Whiting Foundation Award. Special citation from the PEN/Hemingway Foundation. Sanders Roscoe welcomes us into the High Plains of Holt County, Colorado as if we were his long lost friends. As Edith Goodnough lies in the hospital recovering from the brink of death, her neighbor Roscoe colorfully reveals the story of her life, through the eyes of two men who loved her. In an attempt to explain the sheriff stationed to guard her hospital room, he journeys us from the unfortunate union of her parents to the very day we sit and listen to his tale. The desolate North Eastern Colorado country quickly took its toll on Edith's mother. An unwilling transplant from Iowa, she quickly faded into death, leaving her husband with a son and daughter to raise. Edith's father dedicates himself to making his children's lives as miserable as his own. Edith's only solace from the never ending brutal labor of the farm is the joy of her simple-minded brother's company and the visits from the boy next door - Sanders Roscoe's father to be. In The Tie that Binds, Kent Haruf takes us into the life of a woman who seemingly had no reason to wake up each morning. The sacrifices Edith made for her land and for her family left her devoid of everything - except for a few brief moments of happiness that skimpily sustained her existence. Award-winning author Kent Haruf shows how a little hope for the future and fond memories of the past can provide the will to survive. With colorful attention to detail, Kent Haruf successfully brings the reader to relax on the front porch of Sanders Roscoe, as he relays the life of Edith Goodnough. I found the storytelling witty, compassionate and entertaining, and thoroughly enjoyed my visit to the High Plains of Colorado. I look forward to other travels with Haruf as my guide. -- Kent Haruf is also the author of Plainsong and Where You Once Belonged. Plainsong (1999) was a finalist for the 1999 National Book Award in fiction. - Editor |
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