Looking Back... In an effort to transfer my book journal entries over to this blog, I'm going to attempt to post (in chronological order) an entry every Friday. I may or may not add extra commentary to what I jotted down in these journals.
O Pioneers! by Willa Cather
Fiction
1988 Houghton Mifflin Company (first published in 1913)
Finished on May 5, 1997
Rating: 4.5/5 (Excellent)
Publisher's Blurb:
In O Pioneers!, Willa Cather introduces Alexandra Bergson, the daughter of Swedish immigrant farmers, whose devotion to the land sustains her against the hardships and suffering of prairie life. With Alexandra, Willa Cather created the model for a series of remarkable, spirited heroines. This vivid portrait of the American frontier reveals Cather's powerful themes as it enthralls new generations of readers.
Willa Cather was born in 1873 in Virginia, but at the age of nine, she moved with her family to Nebraska; this landscape later provided her with the setting for many of her finest stories. After graduating from the University of Nebraska she worked as a journalist, a teacher, and as an editor at McClure's magazine, until deciding to write full-time. Winner of the Pulitzer Prize, Willa Cather is the author of more than fifteen books, including My Antonia and The Song of the Lark.
My Original Notes (1997):
Excellent! A great novel. Similar in some ways to My Antonia. I felt strongly connected to the characters and didn't want the story to end. Beautiful descriptions of the landscape as in My Antonia. Grabbed my attention from the very start.
My Current Thoughts:
As I recall, I wound up liking this novel better than My Antonia. I wish I had taken more detailed notes in my reading journal because now I only have a slight recollection of the plot and cast of characters. I guess it's time to read it again.
You know I love Cather. You sent me postcards from Nebraska of her homestead. My favorite is My Antonia.
ReplyDeleteJanet, I remember both that you love Cather and that I sent you some NE postcards. She was an amazing writer!
DeleteI think "My Antonia" was one of the first adult novels I ever read. I was probably in the 6th grade. I loved it and it has remained by favorite Cather novel, maybe for fond memories of my childhood. I've read several Cather novels since and bios of her. A few months ago I visited Old Quebec. I wanted to see the place Cather wrote about in "Shadows on the Rock." She did for Quebec what she did for New Mexico.
ReplyDeleteLucysky, how wonderful to visit Old Quebec. I was born in Canada, but haven't been back to that part of the country since I was a small child. I'm not sure if I've ever read Shadows on the Rock, but it sounds familiar. I'll have to look it up! Thanks so much for visiting and leaving a comment.
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