The Plain Sense of Things

Reviews / Votes

"A moving family saga full of memorable characters whose struggles to survive the hardships of rural Nebraska life will haunt the reader."-Jonis Agee, author of The River Wife "There is a lovely solemnity to the lives of these characters-a hardness that Joern knows is alloyed with an abiding tenderness. That undercurrent is carried along in deceptively simple prose, writing that is stunningly clear."-Jane Hamilton, author of The Book of Ruth and A Map of the World "Pam Joern works her quiet, penetrating magic to tell a deeply moving story of endurance and family love and loyalty. The Plain Sense of Things is a novel with a capacious heart. Joern depicts a hardscrabble Midwestern world whose simplicity and starkness are deceiving. Her characters are complex, passionate, memorable. We grow to love them because Joern loves them, and this is clear in how beautifully and quietly she listens to their lives and their silences. Nebraska has found its chronicler and the world a first-rate storyteller."-Julia Alvarez, author of In the Time of the Butterflies "Set against the backdrop of the Nebraska prairie, Joern's powerful second offering follows three generations as they navigate the greater part of the 20th century. . . . Evocative prose elevates Joern's excellent portrayal of the family's evolution and brings a warmth and richness to a stark landscape."-Publishers Weekly "The clarity and honesty of Joern's prose impart a quiet intensity to this novel about three generations of a family enduring a hardscrabble existence in western Nebraska. Shaped by place and by each other, strong, flawed characters struggle through love and pain to create rich and dignified lives well worthy of our attention."-Tripp Ryder, Carleton College Bookstore, Shelf Awareness "Joern has a gift for illuminating a character's inner life without speaking over much of it. She adeptly mixes past and present tense, effectively linking past and present, story and memory. . . . Kudos to the University of Nebraska Press' Flyover Fiction series for bringing Joern's work to light. May there be more forthcoming."-Pamela Miller, Minneapolis Star Tribune "Immerse yourself in her novels and discover the truths she writes about."-Glenda Martin, Minnesota Women's Press "As with Joern's previous novel, The Floor of the Sky, Joern's writing is evocative and riveting, revealing her deep respect for those who live, and even thrive, on the plains."-Helene Williams, Historical Novels Review "With clean, polished and illuminating prose, Joern takes us through the highs and lows, marriage, divorce, children, disappointments, triumphs and sibling rivalries of several generations of one Nebraska clan. . . . It's a saga to be read again and again by an author who's already made a name for herself."-Barbara Rixstine, Lincoln Journal Star