Rating: 
Summary: Cather's Second Best!
Review: "O Pioneers" is not "My Antonia", but it's pretty close. Anything that Willa Cather has written is great and you without a doubt want to add this one to your library.
Rating: 
Summary: O Pioneers
Review: "O Pioneers" is a book about a girl named Alexandra, who takes charge of her house and family after her father dies. She goes through so much to keep and preserve the land. she makes it dependable, workable, and profitable, while keeping in the family, like her father had wished. Along the path of childhood to adulthood, with this goal in mind, Alexandra faces many challanges. She almost gets married twice. Two of her brothers refuse to speak to her. The third brother has an affair with a married woman. But this whole journey will only make her stronger.
The book was generally well written overall. At the beginning, it was a little slow. The 1st chapter is about a girl going to the doctor and then a little boy getting his kitten down from a pole before they go home. It picks up after that though. Overall, it was a really good read.
Willa Cather wrote this book in 1913. Cather is a Pulitzer Prize winning author, for her book "My Antonia", and has written more than 15 books. Cather was one of the most distinguished American writers of the late Ninetieth and early Twentieth century.
Rating:
Summary: Cather's Second Best!
Review: "O Pioneers" is not "My Antonia", but it's pretty close. Anything that Willa Cather has written is great and you without a doubt want to add this one to your library.
Rating:
Summary: A great book
Review: After having read "My Antonia", I wanted to read more Cather, so I read this book. I was not disappointed. The writing is beautiful and the characters memorable. Alexandra is a great yet flawed protagonist and her struggles throughout her life reflect the universal struggles that occupy us all. Some reviewer called this book "dated" and I strongly disagree. There is something here for all human beings living in 2004.
Rating:
Summary: Good book
Review: Before I review the novel, I want to point out that most of the reviews that have given it one star seem to be coming from, perhaps, immature audiences..."it was totally uncoool!" Now, this book is not the best thing you'll ever read, but it IS very worthy of reading. Don't be discouraged by the title, as I once was. Basically, the story talks about Alexandra, a Swedish woman who has to take care of the family once her father dies at the beginning of the book. I didn't really admire her character or was interested too much in it, but that's okay because a lot of the plot involves her brother Emil and her neighbor Marie and their clandestine type of love...it's a heartwarming novel and a very entertaining read. I read the book in one night. The setting was very well depicted and had a sense of magic, evethough there's nothing of a supernatural nature in the book. The characters were very lively and realistic. I wasn't really too satisfied with the ending, but I enjoyed it greatly nonetheless. It is an excellent work ; I recommend it.
Rating:
Summary: For a Dream, there is a Price
Review: Cather published her second novel, O Pioneers, in 1913 at the age of 40. Together with My Antonia it is the novel for which she is best known. Years after writing the book, Cather wrote of it " Since I wrote this book for myself, I ignored all the situations and accents that were then thought to be necessary."The book takes place on the plains of Nebraska in the late 19th Century as the Prairie is settled be Swedish, Bohemian, and French immigrants trying to eke out a living from what appears to be a harsh, inhospitable land. The heroine of the book is Alexandra Bergson who inherits her father's farm as a young woman, raises his three sons and stays with the farm through the harsh times to become a successful landowner and farmer. The books speaks of being wedded to the land and to place. In this sense it is an instance of the American dream of a home. It also speaks of a strong woman, not in cliched, late 20th Century terms but with a sense of ambiguity, difficulty and loss. This is a story as well of thwarted love, of the difficult nature of sexualtiy, and of human passion. There is also the beginning of what in Cather's works will become an increased sense of religion, Catholicism in particular, as a haven and a solace for the sorrow she finds at the heart of human endeavor. Above all it is a picuure of stark life in the midwest. There is almost as much blood-letting in this short book as in an Elizabethan tragedy. Cather's picture of American life on the plains, even in her earliest books, is not an easy or simple one. Some readers may quarrel with the seemingly happy ending of the book. I don't think any will deny that Alexandra's happiness is dearly bought or that it is bittersweet. I tendend to shy away from this book in favor of Cather's later novels. I feared that it would be conventional and trite. The stereotyping was mine,however. This is a thoughtful, well written story of immigrant life on the plains and of the sorrow pain, and strength of the American experience.
Rating:
Summary: Good book - but I love this era anyway
Review: I have always been fascinated with the pioneer time period. So anything I pick up that reflects those days is always gripping for me. As far as the story itself, I must admit it took me awhile to get into it. The beginning has much background info - needed info, but I was so ready to read about the daily lives and struggles and successes of the people.
Rating:
Summary: Not what I expected
Review: I vaguely remembered the name Willa Cather from my high school days, but I don't think I ever read anything by her. Maybe a poem. However, I decided to get one of her books after reading a recommendation in a recent National Geographic Magazine article on the Great Plains. It stated that she was known for writing books on the Plains and of the hardships the farmers faced there especially during the dust storms. But not in this book. Cather stresses that hardwork and scientific farming will lead to prosperity, and in fact most of the farmers we meet are prosperous. The book begins as we meet Alexandra, the next to youngest and only daughter of four offspring of an immigrant Swedish farming couple in Nebraska. Alexandra is in town to bring back the doctor to treat her ailing father. He refuses to come, because her father is hopelessly dying. Her father, knowing his fate is sealed, calls the family together and beliving that his daughter is the only one with intelligence and grit, installs her as the head of the family and orders his three sons to follow her advice on all matters. This is a unique situation, especially since the boys readily agree. Beyond the situation, the subject of the book is totally different from what is expected from a female author at the turn of the 20th Century. At that time, women wrote of well-to-do ladies whose lives revolved around parlors and social teas, not a common farmer. The father's wisdom proves sound as the family amasses the largest acreage in the area and the respect of their Swede and Bohemian neighbors. There is enough local color and description of daily activites included in the book to give a good flavor of the time and place. The story continues as Alexandra's best friend and neighbor, Carl, finds farming unsatisfactory and leaves to earn his fortune elsewhere. This leaves Alexandra facing spinsterhood. She sells Carl's farm to a young hard-working couple. The farmer's wife and Emil, Alexandra's youngest brother, form a fast friendship whose passion is headed out of bounds. Realizing this, Emil plans to move away for good. But, before he can leave, a shocking incident disrupts all of their lives. The event is made even more astounding because of the simple telling of the story to that point. The incident comes out of nowhere and, to me, was totally unexpected although believable. It's even more astounding when you realize it was created by a woman more than 90 years ago. Although the book didn't deliver what I expected, it did deliver the goods, and I will seek out more books by this ground-breaker author.
Rating:
Summary: O what a classic!
Review: In "O Pioneers!", her classic novel first published in 1913, Willa Cather wrote, "The history of every country begins in the heart of a man or a woman." By revealing to us the hearts of those pioneer immigrants in this book, Cather offers a moving meditation on United States culture and history. "O Pioneers!" tells the story of a community in Nebraska farm country. Her main character, Alexandra Bergson, is a Swedish immigrant. Cather creates a marvelous portrait of the community and its rich mix of European ethnic groups: Norwegian, Swedish, French, etc. It is especially fascinating to see the multicultural, multiethnic world they created in the United States. Cather also depicts the cultural and linguistic "shift" that takes place along generational lines. Cather's story deals with issues of economics, gender roles, and sexuality. In addition to the formidable Alexandra, she creates a cast of compelling characters. And her luminous prose style evokes all of the sensations of Alexandra's world: the smell of ripe wheat, the chirping of insects in the long grass, the golden play of light in an apple orchard. But this is Alexandra's book. She is a great American heroine who reminds me of such beloved characters as Zora Neale Hurston's Janie (from "Their Eyes Were Watching God") or Alice Walker's Celie (from "The Color Purple"). Like those great characters, Alexandra will break your heart, deeply touch your soul, and ultimately leave you feeling richer for having known her. Finally, as an interesting companion text to "O Pioneers!" try "Anna Christie," the 1922 play by U.S. writer Eugene O'Neill. O'Neill's life and career were contemporary with Cather's, and "Anna Christie," like "O Pioneers!", deals with a Swedish immigrant woman in the United States.
Rating:
Summary: THE LAND TO WHICH WE BELONG...
Review: In this, the author's second published work, the author writes about that which she knew best, early pioneer life in Nebraska, the place to which she and her family moved in 1883 when she was a mere slip of a girl. She eventually attended the University of Nebraska, graduating in 1995, at a time when most girls did no such thing.
In this work, the author was on very sure footing. Her clear, straightforward prose lends itself capably to the story of early pioneers who went to Nebraska and set down roots, weathering the exigencies that often plagued a newcomer to a particular region. It is a surprisingly unsentimental look at pioneer life.
This thematically complex, but simply written story focuses primarily on Alexandra Bergson, the intelligent, independent, resourceful, and strong-willed daughter of pioneer, John Bergson. Upon his death he did what was then the nearly unthinkable. He left his land in the hands of his oldest child, his daughter, Alexandra, rather than in those of his sons, recognizing in his daughter those qualities that would ensure that his land would prosper under her stewardship.
This then is the story of not only Alexandra but of that land and those whose sustenance depended upon its fruitfulness. The reader follows the Bergson clan as they live their lives and interact with their neighbors. Under Alexandra's skillful management, the Bergson farm prospers. As the farm prospers, so does its environs. The area becomes a bustling center of activity with more and more settlers developing the land around that of the Bergsons.
Thematically, the book explores the vicissitudes of life, as well as its life-affirming moments. As in all lives, the characters in this book experience moments of high drama and great tragedy, as well as memorable moments of love and hate. All this is grounded within the context of pioneer life, with all its hardships and privations, as well as its occasional abundance. The author skillfully re-creates a melting pot of the many nationalities that cultivated the land known as Nebraska.
This is a book that those who like reading about pioneer life will certainly enjoy, as will those who simply like a well-written book with a tale to tell. This classic novel was also adapted for a Hallmark Hall of Fame film, starring Jessica Lange in the role of Alexandra Bergson.
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