Eventide

Continuing the story of 'Plainsong', Kent Haruf's fourth novel is a big book about a small town.

With Victoria Roubideaux now at college, the McPheron brothers are alone on their farm once again, yet struggling to settle back into old ways and routines. Tom Guthrie and Maggie Jones, meanwhile, are finding their future together more assured, even while they're still finding their feet as a couple.

Alongside these familiar faces and places, however, are new characters and their stories: Betty and Luther, who are struggling to keep their heads above water and their children Joy Rae and Richie out of care; eleven-year-old DJ who has spent much of his supposedly carefree childhood caring for his cantankerous grandfather Walter; DJ's friend Dena, her mother and sister, all of whom are trying to adjust to life and a home without the girls father.

Eloquent and evocative, 'Eventide' paints a convincing, compelling picture of small-town life in Holt County, Colorado.