I think there is a deeper symbolism beneath the surface of this story, but really I just found it a very captivating narrative style, and so I found myself not really thinking about that very deeply. There is a certain stoicism here, which makes this story set in the early 80s feel as though it was written about the Wild West of a hundred years earlier. And yet the story is not without a real wealth of feeling, not exactly expressed but not exactly repressed either. Probably exhibit A in this category is the strange relationship between the Guthrie boys and the old woman on their paper route, or the reverse, more comical relationship between Victoria Roubideaux and the McPherson brothers. Both of these stories speak to a real desperation to connect with someone else, and to the visceral importance of motherhood.

Apparently “plainsong” is a musical term, essentially connoting monophonic melodies. It’s a very fitting title for this narrative style, and quite fascinating to explore.