Actually, the lack of quotations works quite well, IMO, in Plainsong. The characters sort of become one with the background and narrative. I'm glad I'm not in the minority at least and will now start on Plainsong. Again, I agree with you.
Patience is a virtue.
I am 28 years old and I still drool over this man. Janet H. - another aging boomer also born the same year as Gere. I think you make a good point, Stephen in stating that This Side of Brightness is not so much about race but about the outmoded idea of race. We see the progression of ideas of race throughout the book starting with Nathan Walker as a black man working with immigrant white men. Thanks for the info on the ironworkers though I have to admit it burst my bubble of racial harmony on the girders.