My Antonia

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Summary: My Antonia
Review: Willa Silbert Cather strongly conveys the theme of desire in My Antonia. The book is easy to read and takes the reader on a journey through life in Nebraska with Jim and Antonia. Cather does a wonderful job of providing the reader with a theme we can all relate to, wanting something we cannot have. Cather does a superb job of allowing the reader to experience the life of Jim Burden in My Antonia.

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Summary: Willa Cather captures the theme of desire in My Antonia
Review: Willa Cather sucessfully captures the theme of desire in the novel, My Antonia. The narrator, Jim Burden, tells the story of his love for a Bohemian girl, Antonia. Jim's loves lasts a lifetime but is never satisfied through marriage. Taking place in the farmlands of Nebraska, My Antonia, honestly depicts love and growing up in the Great Plains.

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Summary: Oh, Antonia!
Review: Willa Cather's MY ANTONIA is perhaps the best novel that I've read about the western pioneer families. The two families that the novel focuses on are the Burden's (of whom the narrator Jim is a part) and Antonia's Bohemian household. The story follows the relationships of these two families (in particular the relationship of Jim and Antonia) through jubillant, wonderous, sad, haunting, and even pathetic times. It shows the need for humans to reach out and contact others --the necessity of the bonds of friendship.

Perhaps the relationship between Jim and Antonia is more important within the story than that of the families as a whole. They are the unbreakable links that hold the two families together (especially in times of quarrelling). They are the victory of friendship over all the aesthetic and cultural barriers that keep people apart. The story follows their progression together from children playing in the fields, to scandalous young adults who partake in weekly dances, to their eventual acceptance of adulthood. Throughout the novel there is that wistful (perhaps nostalgic) sadness that tends to follow such a progression. Tangled in this progression is Jim's love (not altogether brotherly) for Antonia. He comes to see her as a sort of embodiment of womanhood; that by which others are judged. However, I'll let you get into that aspect of it, if you decide to read this book (which you should).

For me, the best part of this novel was Cather's writing. She illuminated the landscape, and brought each of the character's to life. Many of the scenes in this novel will be forever imprinted in my mind because of their immense beauty, their grotesque horror, and their profound sadness. Perhaps the best example of this is the short tale of a group of people returning from a wedding on dog-pulled sleds when they are set upon by a large pack of wolves (this short story takes place in Eastern Europe, by the way). This scene is written so well that it inspires a sense of horror, as well as exhileration. This is how much of the book is; it reaches out powerfully to the reader.

Honestly, I would recomend this novel to anybody whose in the market for good fiction. However, I think that those who are interested in the family life of the west should take a look at this one (in particular, those who like the writings of Wallace Stegner, and John Steinbeck).

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Summary: a beautiful book
Review: I first read My Antonia, against my will, it was assigned in my 10th grade english class. I figured that it would be a "book for chicks", and I would probably get nothing out of it. Well needless to say from my rating I totally loved this. I was hooked in the first 20 pages. Cather has a very simple style, beautifully descriptive, (if that makes sense)and against the backdrop of the Nebraska plains this book flows beautifully. The relationship between Antonia and Jim was complex and not your run of the mill "praire romance novel", and the end made a big bad high school guy like myself cry like a baby. This is a book that I have reread multiple times and I always enjoy it. One of my favorite books for sure.

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Summary: Is it possible for a book this bad to exist
Review: I had to unfortnatly read this horrid book for my Honors English class, it is a by a cross dressing, lesbian named Willa Cather. This is supposed to be her best book, I'd hate to see how bad her other books are. The book is about a boy named Jim Burden who we end up knowing nothing about by the end of the book. It is also about an immigrant girl named Antonia who we end up knowing nothing about by the end of the book. Their are a few other characters thrown in to make this already boring book even more boring and we end up knowing nothing about these characters by the end of the book. I think you get the point that their is no character development in this at all. Willa Cather describe the land more than the characters and half of the chracters thrown in aren't explianed for more than a paragraph. You will end not caring what happens to the "main characters" and just want the book to end. Well if the book isn't character driven it must have an excellent plot right? Wrong! This book has no plot worth mentioning. So what does this book offer? Nothing what so ever. I don't understand how this book can be considered a classic. All this book has done is discouraged me from reading books even more. When we read books they should at least be relavent to our lives, have at least some meaning, or be entertaining this book has none of these above things. One thing this book does offer is that it is going to get you asleep in ten minutes its that bad.

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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.

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Summary: "My Antonia"
Review: Willa Cather's, "My Antonia," is a brilliant book. It illustrates the warmth of a wonderful friendship. "My Antonia" takes you back to a desolate Nebraska where this beautiful friendship takes place. Willa Cather describes life on the prairie so vividly that one can even imagine themselves being there. This book touched my heart. It made me laugh and it also made me cry!
I would definately recommend this book to a friend.

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Summary: the most wonderful character in literature
Review: This book is too good for words, really! A masterpiece of literature. Antonia is a character that will always stay with me.

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Summary: A Work of Art
Review: Jim and Antonia represent Animus and Anima. When they meet again, just before Jim leaves for Havard and Antonia has had her first child, is one of the most beautiful scenes ever written in literature. Jim wanted to be everything a man could be to her: father, son, lover and friend. He always loved her in everyway. She was part of his soul. She was his light. Hearing him say those words to her gave Antonia the momentum to keep going. They gave each other strength. They did not marry each other but that is how it often is in life. They were each other.

This novel gives so much to the reader. I only wish young high schoolers could see the wisdom in it.

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Summary: A masterpiece, if ever there was one.
Review: My Antonia is one of the most beautiful books I have ever read. No, it's certainly no John Grisham novel, and so you cannot go into it looking for cowboys and guns. What you can look for, however, is romance, the most amazing and masterful writing/capturing of sentiments involved in growing up, great joy and great sorrow, and a vivid group of characters that will burn themselves into your memory for all time. It may be slow, but life is slow, and amazing in so many respects that this book grapples with.
This novel could very well be the story of someone's life; beautiful, sad, true- poignant, in a word.