Plainsong is set in Holt, Colorado, a rural community well outside Denver; the setting is timeless, with only the occasional, fleeting reference to VCRs or pop culture indicating that the book takes place closer to "now" than "then." Tom Guthrie is a high-school teacher left raising two young sons after his depressed and disappointed wife moves to the city. His children bake cookies, ride horses, and run a paper route, but at the same time they almost consciously seek out a cool, hardened, cowboy sense of maturity.

Meanwhile, another teacher helps a pregnant teen disowned by her mother find love and acceptance in two hilariously well-intentioned elderly brothers. The two tentatively take the girl on as a boarder on their cattle farm even though they barely know how to communicate with anyone but each other.

Not a lot happened in this book that was unpredictable, but it was so beautifully written that I didn't care. Plain Song is just a wonderful novel.

A very nice book, populated with good, reliable people. A good book for reaffirming one's faith in humanity, but the characters seem so idealized that it's hard to buy.

A novel about life in a western Colorado town, tole mostly in the POV of a teen-ages boy. But the story is filled with compelling characters -- the boys' mother, 2 old cattlemen, a pregnant teen-age girl, the horses, dogs & cows that are still share the daily lives of the people & the harsh land itself & the demands it makes on the lives of people.

Two bachelor farmer brothers, a pregnant high school girl, two young brothers, and two devoted high school teachers--this is the interesting group of people, some related by blood but most not. Set in the plains of Colorado, east of Denver, the novel comprises several story lines that flow into one. Tom Guthrie, a high school history teacher, is having problems with his wife and with an unruly student at school--problems that affect his young sons, Ike and Bob, as well. Meanwhile, the pregnant Victoria Roubideaux has been abandoned by her family. With the assistance of another teacher, Maggie Jones, she finds refuge with the McPheron brothers--who seem to know more about cows than people.

This is an interesting concept and was well put together. I especially liked the two bachelors and their compassion for Victoria. Growing up, there were two farmer bachelors who lived nearby (sweet, nice gentlemen) and I used their faces as I read this book so it brought the story to life for me.