I can't believe I never read this book before! What a lovely old-fashioned romance, and not your typical passionate romance. This is a romance not only about a woman, but also a place and a time. It's about appreciating a place for what it holds and appreciating people for who they are. Lovely descriptions of the many vibrant characters. My favorite parts are in the beginning, however, when Cather explores (through the eyes of a young boy) the death of a revered friend. Here's one of my favorite lines: "Nothing happened. I did not expect anything to happen. I was something that lay under the sun and felt it, like the pumpkins, and I did not want to be anything more. I was entirely happy. Perhaps we feel like that when we die and become a part of something entire, whether it is sun and air, or goodness and knowledge. At any rate, that is happiness; to be dissolved into something complete and great. " Someone should read this at my funeral. It's a wonderful story about how difficult life was for Scandinavian and Slovakian immigrants at the turn of the 20th century in the U.S. Midwest, but the real beauty of this narrative lies in the economically crafted rural landscapes with silver slivers and yellow hues, creates vibrantly minimalist and scented fields of wheat, flowers and insects. The one downside to this novel is the racist caricature of the blind African American musician written with such condescension.
What do You think about O Pioneers! & My Antonia (2013)?
One of my all-time favorites. Was good to do a re-read after many years.
—southport
Beautiful, poetic.Heard her voice very clearly.
—Laila
