And not all dried up in body and spirit" (147). That it turns out we’re not finished with changes and excitements. At the end of that conversation, Addie says, "Who would have thought at this time in our lives that we’d still have something like this. Why do you think Haruf slipped this into the story? 17. Addie and Louis discuss the fact that it’s set in Holt, the fictional town in which they live. On page 145, Addie mentions the Denver Center for the Performing Arts production of Benediction, based on the author’s own novel. Why did Addie buy new clothes for her trips to Denver that she never wears in Holt? What signal does it send to the reader? 16. How does that influence their relationship with Jamie? 15. Addie and Louis both have regrets about the way they raised their children. When Louis confesses that he wanted to be a poet, what effect does it have on Addie’s opinion of him? And on your opinion? 14. How does Jamie’s arrival deepen the connection between Addie and Louis? 13. Even at our ages." Why does he feel freer with Addie than he does alone? How does his behavior become more uninhibited as the novel progresses? 12. On page 52, Louis describes his relationship with Addie to his daughter, "It’s some kind of decision to be free. Why did Addie refuse to move after Connie’s death? How did this decision color Gene’s reaction to his mother’s late-in-life love affair? 11. In describing his affair, Louis says, "I think I regret hurting Tamara more than I do hurting my wife. How does that sense of propriety, of loyalty, influence their relationship with each other? 9. Addie and Louis both had troubled marriages, but stayed married until their partners died. What does Addie’s friendship with Ruth show us about Addie’s character? 8. Both Louis and Addie have to contend with gossip about their relationship. How does her attitude influence Louis’s? 6. The alley makes it seem we’re doing something wrong or something disgraceful, to be ashamed of" (8). Addie says, "I made up my mind I’m not going to pay attention to what people think. When Louis comes over for the first time, he knocks on her back door in the name of discretion. What do you think propelled her to do it? 5. It takes a considerable amount of courage for a woman of Addie’s generation to invite a man she hardly knows to sleep in her bed. How does the modest action in Our Souls at Night open onto larger insights about getting older? 4. Kent Haruf was known for using simple, spare language to create stories of great depth. The novel begins with the word "and": "And then there was the day when Addie Moore made a call on Louis Waters." What do you imagine came before it? 3. He had an unusual method of writing, for his first draft he would "write blind" by pulling a wool cap over his eyes so he wouldn’t be distracted by spelling, syntax or punctuation.ĭiscussion Questions 1. Faulkner and Hemingway are sited as two of his influences. He went on to publish his most acclaimed novel, Plainsong, his novel about the connected lives of two aging brothers and the pregnant girl they agree to take in. He is the author of six novels, all set in the fictional town of Holt, Colorado, the first being The Tie That Binds published in 1984. Before becoming a writer he worked in a variety of places including a chicken farm, a rehabilitation hospital and a presidential library. Kent Haruf was born in 1943 in Pueblo, Colorado. After being diagnosed with an incurable lung disease Haruf decided not to “just sit around waiting” for the end, instead he picked up his pen and Our Souls at Night is the result. Our Souls at Night is Kent Haruf's final novel, finished just days before he died in 2014, it was published posthumously. ( From the publisher.For our discussion we will be discussing Our Souls at Night by Kent Haruf In my preparation I have gathered the following material to enhance our discussion. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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.
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