Where You Once Belonged

The red Cadillac pulled down Main Street and sat by the tavern for hours, unnoticed. Then Ralph Bird of the Men’s Store recognized the driver as Jack Burdette and bolted to the sheriff’s office. The prodigal son of Holt, Colorado, had returned—and he was far from welcome.

In Where You Once Belonged, acclaimed novelist Kent Haruf tells of a small-town hero who is dealt an enviable hand—and cheats with all of the cards. In prose as lean and supple as a spring switch, Haruf describes a high school football star who wins the heart of the loveliest girl in the county and the admiration of men twice his age. Fun-loving, independent, Burdette engages in the occasional prank. But when he turns into a man, his high jinks turn into crimes—with unspeakable consequences. Now, eight years later, Burdette has returned to commit his greatest trespass of all. And the people of Holt may not be able to stop him. Deftly plotted, defiantly honest, Where You Once Belonged sings the song of a wounded prairie community in a narrative with the earmarks of a modern American classic.

“Taut and deadly. . . . A terse and beautifully wrought narration.” —Los Angeles Times

“A beautifully told parable—simple and stark and true.” —Newsday

“Where You Once Belonged speaks with the authenticity of . . . Hemingway and Faulkner.” —The Denver Post

“Haruf’s brooding, pondering style translates into first-class writing.” —Rocky Mountain News