Plains Song: For Female Voices

by Wright Morris, Charles Baxter (Introduction)

Overview

"Nowhere in [Morris's] fiction does emotion emerge from detail so beautifully as in this precise and vivid book. . . . The triumph of the book, in terms of craft, is that we experience the sense of the slow passage of time so necessary to such a story. . . . The heart of the book is its tactful rendering of the emotional history of several women. . . . Precise, satisfying, and complete."—New York Times Book Review

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780803283312
Publisher:	UNP - Bison Books
Publication date:	01/01/2013
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	229
File size:	987 KB

About the Author

Wright Morris (1910–1998) wrote thirty-three books, including The Home Place, also available in a Bison Books edition, and Field of Vision, which won the National Book Award. Charles Baxter is a professor of English at the University of Michigan and the author of numerous works, including The Feast of Love.

Editorial Reviews

Morris snagged a National Book Award for this 1980 novel. LJ's reviewer observed that it "is at once a song of the Plains and plainsong melody which illuminates the beauty and complexity of human life." The plot follows the female members of a family living in Nebraska from the late 1800s to modern times. It remains "rich in sensory detail, controlled in style, and powerful in impact" (LJ 1/1/80). Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.

Library Journal

"Wright Morris knows the embattled regions within his people as well as the harshly beautiful landscapes that surround them."—New Republic

New Republic

"Nowhere in [Morris's] fiction does emotion emerge from detail so beautifully as in this precise and vivid book. . . . The triumph of the book, in terms of craft, is that we experience the sense of the slow passage of time so necessary to such a story. . . . The heart of the book is its tactful rendering of the emotional history of several women. . . . Precise, satisfying, and complete."—New York Times Book Review

New York Times Book Review

"This is a beautiful, subtle novel that accomplishes the rare effect of presenting history from the inside out. . . . As the title suggests, this is a melody without accompaniment, music of the simplest and most beautiful kind. Perhaps it is because Morris sketches his characters so sparingly that they seem so indelible. They are such a real presence that it's hard to think they haven't actually lived."—Christian Science Monitor

Christian Science Monitor