Paula’s grandfather has just died. As she goes through some of his journals/writings, she tries to piece together his life.

I think the story was fine, but I didn’t like the way it was written. No chapters, no dialogue. I don’t think this part really bothered me, but, as an fyi, it was written like Paula was talking to her grandfather in what she wrote, using “you”. It also jumps around in time, constantly back and forth, which is something that normally doesn’t bother me, but there seemed to be no rhyme or reason to the jumping around, so I didn’t like the way it was done in this book. I did like the history covered in the book (it was set in Alberta and much of it in my city, Calgary). I did not like the person her grandfather was (or who Paula thought she was or who she wrote him to be) – he was a horrible person! ( )

Plainsong is the story of four generations of a family on the Canadian prairie, with a focus on Paddon. It took me a while to get into the story because it is told largely in the form of a monologue. Paddon has died, and his grand-daughter Paula has inherited his papers. From these, and from memories and stories her mother told her, Paula reconstructs her grandfather's life.

Once I got into the flow, I found myself drawn very deeply into the story, as I usually am with Nancy Huston's books. She is a remarkable writer with a sharp edge for portraying the foibles of human nature.

Through Paula's eyes, we see the story of a family that lived through the depression and World War II -- and realize that neither of these major events had as much effect on them than the daily interactions among them and their ability (or inability) to follow their hearts and dreams. ( )