You’d have to be stone-hearted not to respond to this beautiful little novel about late-in-life love and companionship.In a small Colorado town, widowed neighbours Addie Moore and Louis Waters, who've known each other for decades, agree to share their nights together rather than sleep alone. This arrangement doesn’t involve sex, although gossiping neighbours assume it does; it’s more about sleeping in the same bed, talking, revealing stuff they don’t tell anyone else. This is how Addie explains

"I do love this physical world. I love this physical life with you. And the air and the country. The backyard, the gravel in the back alley. The grass. The cool nights. Lying in bed talking with you in the dark." These simple yet sublime words expressed between two lonely souls managed to evoke such a feeling of peace in me. Addie and Louis, both widowed for some time, wish only to spend the remainder of their lives in companionship and quiet pleasure. What more can we really ask for in this lif...

Readers took their time finding Kent Haruf, but he was a patient man who didn’t care much for the trappings of fame anyhow. His popularity swelled quickly, though, when he published his third novel, “Plainsong,” in 1999 at the age of 56. The book was a bestseller for months and a finalist for the National Book Award, which meant he had to dress up for the ceremony in New York and wear a medal on a ribbon around his neck and feel genuinely uncomfortable. Afterward, he told the New York Times, “We...

This novella by the author of Plainsong (1999) may be short, but it is large enough to contain two “souls” and enough of the small town of Holt, Colorado to bring it vividly to life.The story is a simple one. One evening Addie Moore, a widow of seventy, makes a visit to widower Louis Walters—a longtime neighbor, but not someone she knows well—and makes him a “kind of proposal”: “I wonder if you would come and sleep in the night with me and talk.” It’s not about sex, she adds—she thinks she lost

“We're still talking. For as long as we can. For as long as it lasts.” To paraphrase, Marshall McLuhan, to what extent is the medium the message?Before I read this, and for most of the time I was reading it, I thought it was about the visceral human need for communication and company. And it is. But as I approached the end, I realised it was at least as much about how the emotional impact and engagement of conversations are affected by the medium used.Situation (not Plot)Addie (70) and Louis (si...

Well I guess we should have done this little gem of a book as a "sister read" as my thoughts are very similar to that of Brenda's! I listened to the audio version of OUR SOULS AT NIGHT by KENT HARUF and the narrator was absolutely wonderful! His voice was so gentle and soothing!I don't think I can say anymore or anything better than Brenda......so let's just call it a "sister read".BRENDA'S REVIEW BELOW:Our Souls at Night is a simple, graceful and tender story of elderly Louis and Addie who whil...

This is an absolutely beautiful story of two people who give comfort to each late in life. I laughed and I cried! I just loved this novel! It is so well written and so lovely!Louis and Addy are living in Holt, Colorado. They've known each other for many many years. One day 70 year old Addy approaches Louis and asks him if he will come stay with her at night to sleep with her. This is not a sexual thing. Addy is having trouble sleeping. Louis ends up going along with this. I loved the stories tha...

Stop for a moment and take stock of the simple things in life. Talking with someone who is truly listening. Holding hands and not talking at all. Warmth and companionship. This quiet, unassuming story will make you consider the value of such things. Gold.

As you’d expect from an author who knows he is dying this is a tremendously wise novel about the pursuit of everyday happiness and all the petty and ingrained obstructions such a pursuit can meet when it’s unconventional. Some of the things he did really well – showed us how much responsibility we have as parents but also how many handicaps, because it’s virtually impossible to escape from stifling generational patterns of behaviour; showed us how similar a censorious view of unconventional rela...

And then there was the day when Addie Moore made a call on Louis Waters. Louis and Addie are both getting on, in their 70s, Louis having lost his wife a year back, Addie a widow for some time. Both are lonely and could do with some company. While they have known each other for a long time, they have never been close. Acquaintances more than friends. Until Addie suggests that it would be a great help, given her trouble sleeping, if Louis would consent to sleep with her, not hide-the-salami sle

Growing up, the earliest years of my childhood, my paternal grandparents lived close by, my father was a pilot and was frequently gone for days, and I spent many days in my grandparent’s tiny caretaker apartment. I would follow my grandfather around while he polished the pews of the church, spruced up the grounds, sat by his side and “helped” him write his poetry, or just “sit a spell and ponder’ with him. With my grandmother I’d help piece her quilts together, or help her in their tiny kitchen

Kent Haruf wrote Our Souls at Night under a death sentence. Despite knowing his life was coming to a sooner end than it should, or perhaps because of this, he created a story about finding love in the final chapter. Our Souls at Night is simply, profoundly, an exquisite homage to love. And it broke my heart. Because, the story. Because, there will be no more. I read Our Souls at Night in one sitting and wept in the final pages. Even now, thinking of endings, of the ending of this book, the endin...

There are a few contemporary writers who will make a lasting mark and Kent Haruf is most certainly one of them . His quiet stories in their simplicity are meaningful , thoughtful stories reflecting the complexity of the human condition. In his final novel , published posthumously, Haruf has given us another gift . I fell in love with this book from page one , the first sentence and then the perfect description of Cedar Street in Holt , Colorado the place where all his books take place . I fell i...

Haruf’s writing is like a soft breeze on a warm summer day. A simple yet superb story where 2 people - Adie and Louis - find each other in their twilight years and share their life’s passions, regrets, sorrows and desires nightly. Beautiful and bittersweet as it is Haruf's last novel, but what a message he delivers. 5 ★

Engaging and touching. A 70-year old widow in a small Colorado town goes over one day to a neighbor’s house. He’s a widower, a nice guy she knew from the days when she used to be good friends with his wife. She makes an audacious proposal: We’re both lonely; why don’t you come over at night and sleep with me - no sex - we’ll just talk. It works.Of course the local gossips get wind of this, but at their age, neither of them cares. They decide to flaunt their relationship, going together to the bu...

Only a few people can say they attended their grand-mother’s wedding. I am one of them. My Grannie was a widow for 15 years, met Gramps at a church outing and they married about 2 months after Grannie’s 70th birthday. Grannie was a joy in our lives – lots of stories, songs, and best of all for me, a wonderful correspondent. She was my most faithful pen pal for years. Gramps was about a year and half younger than Grannie and she would tease us about her marrying a ‘younger man’.Gramps was a gentl...

A tender and touching story .....for that phase in life we might face ourselves one day. This book could be a little preparation. Simple Brilliance!

I’ve come to believe in some kind of afterlife. A return to our true selves, a spirit self. We’re just in this physical body till we go back to spirit. Mr. Haruf, I wish you were still alive so I could tell you how, regardless of the 3 stars, you've managed to make me believe in love.Last year, around this time, my dad asked my brother's girlfriend "If your mom told you she met someone, what would you say?" and she said "I wouldn't give her permission." My dad then said "Who are you t

A slow-moving plot with rich characters, this story felt exactly like real life - simple in its day-to-day actions and conversations. I can relate to the small-town attitude. When people get together after death or divorce, there is sure to be gossip, whether you like it or not, but it will eventually go away. Like my mom used to say, "Flies will land on a manure pile until a fresher one comes along." Boy! I miss her witticisms!This story got very personal for me. Although my dad is a recent wid...