Little Town On The Prairie (2007) - Plot & Excerpts
De Smet, South Dakota, Sommer 1881. Kaum ist der lange Winter überstanden, zieht Familie Ingalls wieder in ihr provisorisches Heim auf der Farmparzelle, denn sie müssen 7 Monate des Jahres auf dieser leben, wenn sie sie vom Staat erhalten wollen. Wie immer ist das Geld knapp, dennoch wollen Ma und Pa Mary auf ein College für Blinde schicken. Da heißt es zusammenhalten, wenn man das Geld für 7 Jahre College zusammenbringen will. Laura nimmt einen Job als Hilfsnäherin in der Stadt an für $1,5/Woche, um etwas dazuzuverdienen, obwohl sie nähen hasst, und ihr Geld ist auch bitter nötig, denn die Krähen fressen fast die ganze Ernte.Alle für einen, so last sich das Ziel der Familie Ingalls wohl zusammenfassen. Alle halten zusammen, damit Mary nach Vinton ins College für Blinde gehen kann. So arbeitet Laura nebenbei als Näherin und lernte jeden Abend nach dem Abendbrot, bis es Zeit ist, ins Bett zu gehen, weil sie ihre Lehrberechtigung bekommen muss, damit Mary in Vinton bleiben kann. Dabei hasst Laura das Unterrichten, sie will keine Lehrerin werden und hofft möglichst bald zu heiraten, damit sie das bald nicht mehr zu tun braucht. Gestört hat mich der Hurra Patriotismus zum vierten Juli, wie toll doch die USA sind, wie toll und frei die Amerikaner doch sind… Das war mir teilweise ein wenig zu viel. Auch werden wieder die Schwarzen verunglimpft (watch those darkies dance!) und Ma sieht Amerikaner als etwas Besseres als dahergelaufene Fremde an, ihre Töchter müsste nicht auf dem Feld arbeiten. Überhaupt wird mir zu oft erwähnt, dass Ma Indianer hasst, das mag damals so gewesen sein, heutzutage stößt es übel auf.Dieser Teil der Reihe ist das, was man in Deutschland als klassischen Backfischroman bezeichnet. Laura ist fünfzehn, sie geht zur Schule und hilft daheim mit. Die Schulepisoden nehmen in diesem Band einen großen Raum ein, wie sich das für einen richtigen Backfischroman gehört und natürlich muss es einen fiesen Widerpart geben, an dem Laura sich messen kann: Nelly Olsen ist zurück!Auch diesmal hat sich die Übersetzerin (Eva Zahn) so einige Freiheiten herausgenommen. So wurde die Scharade (Commentators on the ac’s) nicht übersetzt und erklärt sondern kurzerhand gestrichen, vielleicht weil sie diese Scharde nicht verstanden hat (OK, ich auch nicht, aber genau deswegen wäre ein Kommentar und eine Übersetzung wirklich hilfreich gewesen). Auch in diesem Band fielen einige, von der Übersetzerin wohl als nebensächlich als zu viel lästige Beschreibung angesehene Nebensätze wie „an pinned ist bib under her chin“ kurzerhand weggekürzt.
I always read the last 4 Little House books right in a row. Because mostly I love the narrative of Laura and Almanzo falling in love, which is dragged out across all four books. This book is truly momentous. First, Mary goes away to college. Which I was shocked to notice is for 6 years, not 4 (also, she's only 16 when she leaves if I'm doing my math right.) This was the first time it occurred to Laura that a part of growing up is leaving home, which she suddenly swears she's never going to do. And that's precisely when Almanzo shows up, asking if he can walk her home.Laura also goes to work in this book, and works doggedly, as she's obviously just like Pa. It's funny that Laura, like Scarlet O'Hara before her, thinks incessantly about how much she wants to be good like Ma (and Mary), when she's just like her father. In fact, it's the gutsy, hard-working, occasionally temper-prone among us who make good book protagonists. Not the earnest, good types with no sense of humor (sorry Ma, you're great in every other way but neither you nor Mary laugh very much at all. You even chide Pa sometimes for his puns.) First Laura sews, and at the end she is offered a teaching job.Interestingly, starting in the previous book, Laura the author fudges on Almanzo's age. In The Long Winter he is 19, and Laura is 13. In real life, they were 10 years apart in age, but it just doesn't sound right for a 25-year-old to be courting a 15-year-old, even if the 15-year-old is a teacher. But Pa trusts Almanzo and we trust Pa.In this book we are get - ugh - the return of Nellie Oleson. Seriously, in the whole of the Western US, why did she have to come to DeSmet? It is comforting that she is now a country girl while Laura is the town girl, but she's definitely one of the more unpleasant girls out there. Mostly in this book Laura starts to blossom as a young lady. She goes to a sociable and gets name cards. She wants to cut bangs in her hair and wear long dresses. She likes to be fashionable and she has several friends. She doesn't realize it but she's gaining people skills, social skills, and learning to be more comfortable in crowds. This will serve her later, teaching.This book,with relatively few winter storms, almost makes one long to be back in the 1880s Dakotas. With the exception of having to memorize the whole of American history from Columbus through John Quincy Adams. The books definitely take a turn towards YA from here on out.
What do You think about Little Town On The Prairie (2007)?
This was the one I read over and over again. After the harrowing account of the Long Winter, it is a relief to read this book, with its summer days of plenty. It is not all joy: Laura works most of a summer sewing, Mary leaves to go to college, Miss Wilder and Nellie Oleson are horrible, and what the mouse does in the night gives me chills ... but it is astonishing what entertainment people made, in the days when they genuinely did have to make their own entertainment.By the end of the book, Laura (a mildly rebellious teenager for most of it) is officially a grown-up - qualified to teach school, and with the seeds sowed for her romance with Almanzo. It is a wholly believable transition.But it is the vivid detail that captivated me as a child, and which I still love most now. The clothes and the food (tomatoes with sugar and cream? Really? But then, Carrie's favourite fireside snack is thinly-sliced raw turnip. Maybe I should try that with my kids, as an alternative to crisps). The hairstyles and the hats. The buildings, the furniture, the beauty of the landscapes ... and the lessons. My word, children had to learn a lot in those days.
—Deborah
I think this is my favorite book in this series yet. After the long, cold winter, Laura and her family are settling back into life at the homestead. Laura worries about Mary being able to attend college and helps the family save by taking a job sewing, there are "literaries" in the winter evenings that have everything from spelling contents to songs, and Laura is struggling to work toward being a teacher while fighting with her rival Nellie Oleson, who's moved to the same town.The writing in this book seemed a lot more polished than in the previous ones. There wasn't one giant overall plot, but I really liked all the details about how time passed in this town and what life was like; so much happened in here that the pace never seemed to drop. The descriptions about the literaries were fun and gave you a sense of how the entire town came together for entertainment. I also really liked the parts about Laura's rivalry with Nellie, who's easy to dislike but makes a good counter to Laura and her more likable friends. Also, now that Laura is older, she makes more poignant observations, such as the fact that Ma hates sewing but won't ever complain about it because it needs to be done.One things that struck me while reading was how these books really do reflect a different time and a different culture. Obviously, I knew this before starting to read and evidence of this has been plentiful in the previous books, but it was interesting to see all the stuff that happened in here that's no longer considered acceptable: townspeople in blackface, singing songs about "Darkies", more talk about Indians, and even the idea that everyone had to go to a Revival or else be painted as an atheist - which, of course, was completely unacceptable at the time. These things are all so odd by today's standards, but they were clearly par for the course back then. It was very interesting to read about, and I imagine it'd make for some excellent discussions too.
—Sara
I flew through this one, maybe because I was so happy not to be stuck in a blizzard anymore, freezing and starving. Things are really looking up for the Ingalls family--they get a kitten, Mary finally goes off to college, there are parties in town, and by the end of the book, Laura gets her teaching certificate. The most extravagant thing is when Pa allows Laura to buy name cards (they're the latest thing and cost 25 cents!). I actually squealed, "Oh, Pa! Letting Laura buy name cards!", eliciting an eyeroll from my husband. Laura always works so hard and tries to be so good, so it's nice to see the little rewards.There are a couple of moments that make you stop and think as an adult. One, Pa and some buddies in town put on a show wearing blackface, which is pretty cringeworthy. Two, as much as we all love Laura, you start to wonder about how Laura writes about herself--is she this good? That whole thing with Nellie and Miss Wilder kind of makes you wonder who really is the petty person. Another thing, I love Almanzo as he begins to court Laura (maybe I squealed more). But as Ma exclaims, Laura's only 15! And Almanzo's 10 years older. I know at the time that was fine, but you could say the same for blackface. Of course, Laura doesn't marry him until she's 18, so I guess that makes it less creepy? Also making it less creepy, Laura's maturity--she even helps Ma and Pa get the money to send Mary to college. Making it creepy again--Laura's innocence. She can't figure out why Almanzo wants to walk her home after the church revival. We see more of their slow courtship in the next book (more squeal-worthy moments).
—Michelle
