Rating: 
Summary: Surprised
Review: I am always surprised when such a classic novel disappoints me since it happens so rarely. Cather's ability to describe scene is excellent. I am not familiar with many of the plants she describes, so some of the description is lost on me, but this is a small quibble. The characterizations are the problem. The narrator, Jim Burden, borders on being a complete person, but does not quite get there. It would have been better to either use him as a device or to make him a fully developed character. As it is, there is too much left to explain. For example, why does Burden fall in love with Antonia but then do nothing about it? If his heart is in Nebraska, why does he leave? These questions may be answerable, but they are left unresolved. The other characters are also flat, probably due to the lack of dialogue. I find it hard to focus on continuous descriptive narrative, though this may just be the style of the period. In spite of all I've said, the novel does make an impact, so I've given it three stars.
Rating: 
Summary: A TIMELESS CLASSIC...
Review: I first read this book when I was in junior high school. I admit that, at the time, I did not appreciate the strengths of the book and the quality of its writing. I am quite glad that I decided to give it another chance, as I now understand why it is considered to be a classic in literature. It is simply a beautifully written book, covering many of the themes that one stumbles across in life and coalescing them into a work of extraordinary breadth.The book is the story of two young people, Jim Burden and Antonia Shimerda. They meet for the first time when Jim is ten years old and Antonia is fourteen. Recently orphaned, Jim has moved to the Great Prairie to live with his grandparents in Nebraska. Antonia, on the other hand, has been wrenched from her homeland in Bohemia, emigrating with her parents to the United States and finding herself in Nebraska. Jim and Antonia's chance encounter on a train sets the stage for the forging of a friendship and unconditional love that time will not diminish. The book relates the harshness of immigrant life through the eyes of Jim, who narrates the events contained in the book. There is a relentless stoicism about the book, which is written in spare, clear prose. With intense imagery and descriptive exactitude, late nineteenth century Nebraska comes to life. It also relates the paths that each of the characters choose to follow, as well as the vicissitudes of life that mold and shape them in ways that no one would have imagined. The focus of the book, which is also a coming of age tale, seems to be on the female characters and their strengths. Consequently, the book has a faintly feminist undercurrent to it, as all the women in it seem to be survivors, despite the hardships that they encounter. This is, without a doubt, a life affirming book, wrought with great feeling and a decided sense of time and place. Yet, despite its poignancy, the book is surprisingly unsentimental and straightforward. It is a testament to the author's literary talent that this book has emerged as a timeless classic. Bravo!
Rating: 
Summary: review of My Antonia
Review: I personally found this book to be very good. I really enjoyed the elaborate descriptions given by Willa Cather that allow you to feel a part of the story yourself. She paints a vivid sketch of the old Nebraska terrain in her text as she describes the assimilation of an immigrant family into western culture. In doing this she explains the roles each of the characters takes on as the immigrant family settles in and tries to begin a new life. These characters mainly include Antonia, Jim, and their families. The relationship between Jim and Antonia through each stage of their lives serves as the focus of the novel, starting from when they both arrive at the train station and ride off into the night heading towards their new homes and ending with Jim's return visit to Nebraska as an adult. It is a very readable book with captivating descriptions and an easy to follow plot, which makes it a quick and pleasant read.---Nicole Fisher (Minneapolis, MN)
Rating:
Summary: uhhhhhhh
Review: I'm a sophomore in high school and am currenty reading this book for AP Language and Composition. It's very slow reading, but has some good themes and ideas. The characters are kind-of boring, but I can get along. I recommend this book to anyone who likes a historical fiction-type novel with many diverse characters and some interesting themes.
Rating:
Summary: Worth Your Time
Review: In the book My Antonia, Jim Burden gives an account of his life as he grows up in the prairies of Nebraska. You follow him through his friendship with his Bohemian friend named Antonia who he cares for dearly. As they both move forward in life the friends are forced to go their separate ways. But somehow they always keep a strange connection.
I feel that My Antonia is a very well written book. Though it is not my favorite novel, I am glad that I read it. If you enjoy love stories or stories set in the pioneer times, this will be a good book for you. There is a great amount of detail about the hardships the people of this time had to deal with, making it very interesting. You also see a conection between people on a different level.
Rating:
Summary: My Antonia
Review: My Antonia is a book that is written in a rather quiet, not overly exciting manner while avoiding the extreme dullness that many books of this type (sappy love stories) display. This great novel is based on one boy/man (Jim) and his thoughts and memories that revolve around "his" Antonia. Antonia is a hard working farm-girl who is friends with Jim, and they always seem to find each other after one or the other moves along, either by choice or by situation. Taking place mostly in the still undeveloped western expanse of yesteryear, much attention is given to the lives and hardships of farmers and immigrants alike. Despite all of the hard times that the characters go through, they always manage to stick together and/or find each other and be able to reminisce about previous times with each other. This is a well-written book that has the ability to find the heart in anyone, no matter what their testosterone level!
Rating:
Summary: "A coming of age story in the 'Pure American heartland'"
Review: Pure American heartland, this story of immigrants settling the great prairie is a staple of 20th century American literature. A coming of age story with the requisite violence that followed the great migration, the novel, is the story of young Antonia as seen through the eyes of her childhood friend, Jim Burden. Plenty there that anyone can relate to, from themes of romance, social integration and American myth-making. If you are going to read Cather, this is the place to start: both she and the critics generally agree that it is the pinnacle of her body of work.
Rating:
Summary: Jim Burden's Story
Review: Rural Nebraska came alive through the characters of Jim Burden and Antonia Shimerda. This was the first Willa Cather book read by anyone in our Family Book Club, and I speak for all of us when I say we really enjoyed this book. Cather has a way of pulling you right into the story from the first words, and she brilliantly wove anecdotes and mini-stories into the tale of two young people growing up. The version of the book we read contained two introductions: the original introduction which had been placed at the end of the book and an introduction Cather wrote later. Our Book Club was divided; personally, I liked the re-write of the introduction better. But it was intriguing to see them both in such a way.
Read My Antonia, and the next time you are driving through the country, past the red grass and into the rattlesnake plains, you, too, will remember Mr. Shimerda at the crossroads. And maybe also you will recall the thrasher story, the wedding couple and the wolves, and Mrs. Shimerda's secret cow.
My Antonia is the sort of story that you feel sad to put down, as if the characters you've known are real people and you are forced to say good-bye to people you care about.
Rating:
Summary: Take My Breath Away
Review: Taking place in Nebraska in the late 1800's, Willa Cather portrays life in the prairies. She covers issues such as immigrants surviving life in the Midwest farmlands as well as a boy, Jim Burden, who adjusts to his new home with his grandparents after his parents pass away. He develops a friendship with a daughter of a naive Czech family who just moved to America. Their friendship goes up and down and takes twists and turns. It is exciting to see how their friendship grows and changes throughout the years. It is also interesting to notice how two very different people can be so alike. The difference in class is also displayed between immigrants and the people they work for, as later shown in the story when Jim is in school while Antonia works for his neighbor. But through any conditions the relationship between Jim and Antonia is very well worth knowing. This novel is wonderful to read because it shows that regardless of whom or what people are; they are just as human as everyone else is. They are not flawless. They will have problems. They will be different. They will have feelings. The relationship between Jim and Antonia portrays that very well. Part of this story reminds me of Barbara Kingsolver's book, The Poisonwood Bible because it also shows the survival of a family from a foreign country dealing with loss and going through struggles. Both novels are very well written and an absolute page-turner. I love the way they make their characters so lively that I can sympathize or go through a rush with them, and just overall feel everything they go through. I saw, thought and felt with the characters. It was very fun and stimulating. Anyone could enjoy this novel, especially those that would like to read an original, romantic, American novel. I most enjoyed Cather's creative and simple descriptions of nature throughout the book. I felt as if I could see the land and its people. Jim Burden describes, "I used to love to drift along the pale-yellow cornfields, looking for damp spots one sometimes found at their edges, where the smartweed soon turned a rich copper colour and the narrow brown leaves hung curled like cocoons about the swollen joints of the stem." There is nothing I dislike about this novel. It is well animated, lively, and perfect in every way.
Rating: 
Summary: Horrible
Review: The narration for this book is by some monotone robot voice that is at once annoying, incomprehensible, and distracting. They should use a human being next time. Additionally, the sound constantly glitches and skips. I returned this item. I wouldn't recommend it to anyone.
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