When I was in high school, living in a small New Jersey town, I read a book called "Winesburg Ohio," by Sherwood Anderson. The author's careful inspection of various folks in a Buckeye hamlet made a lasting impression on me. He suggested that the people in a hideaway community might be more complex than I had imagined. And that good or impressionable literature need not only be about fiscal and sexual intrigue in large cities, or improbable Biblical figures.

Occasionally, I have found other books which confirm that - "Montana 1948" and "Billy" both come to mind, as do the novels of Richard Russo.

Add to that list Kent Haruf's PLAINSONG, recently published by Knopf. Holt is a town in Colorado, at the foot of the Rockies, about an hour's ride outside of Denver. On the surface, there is nothing extraordinary about the denizens in Holt, as chronicled by author Haruf. There is a high school teacher, his manic depressive wife and their two prepubescent sons. We become acquainted with a pair of laconic farmer brothers living on the town's outskirts, and a pregnant teenager for whom they provide shelter and acceptance. Around them are an assortment of Holt residents who flow in and out of their lives.

Skillfully, Mr. Haruf locates the dramatic kernel in their lives, though a car passing through Holt might describe it as humdrum.

The result is the most satisfying and deeply profound new novel I've read this year. If movies such as "American Beauty" pose an accurate reflection of American manners, you recognize its shallow facade when you enter Mr. Haruf's Holt.

I have been informed that PLAINSONG has been nominated for a National Book Award. It is obvious that the nominating committee has made a splendid choice. PLAINSONG is a book that will be on the library shelves for some time. Some wise English teacher might substitute it for "Silas Marner." The students would be eternally grateful.