Rating: 
Summary: Well written with one problem...
Review: All who have read this book: I have enjoyed this book immensely, however, there is one thing that plagues me about it. The title of the book is "My Antonia", which would lead one to believe that the book is about someone's Antonia. There is very little mention of the charismatic Antonia in this book, rather, it seems to be an autobiography of the "main" character, who should not be the main character, Jim Burden. I was surprised and a little disappointed when I found out this information as I progressed through my reading. I wonder if anyone else has noticed this?
Rating: 
Summary: Timeless piece of work
Review: My Antonia is a timeless beautiful work of art. Cather cronicles the life of an immigrant girl through the eyes of innocence. She shows us, through Antonia's life, success and riches come in different forms to each individual. This rings as true now as we reach the year 2000 as it did in 1918.
Rating: 
Summary: So boring it'll make you cry!
Review: THIS BOOK HAS NO PLOT! Even my English teacher admitted it. Maybe it has beautiful writing, but I honestly fell asleep while reading it. For me, it defines the word dull.
Rating: 
Summary: This book needed a more captivating plot
Review: Though the narrator shared wonderful memories of his childhood to express the happiest times of his life, this book lacked a significant plot. Instead, it seemed to be just a bunch of old recollections thrown together. By the middle of the book, the story was already monotonous. I felt I had to push myself to read on, and if I wasn't assigned to read this book for a class, I don't think I would have continued with it at all.
Rating:
Summary: love story? plot? resolution?
Review: My Antonia was a beautiful book, however, I felt that it lacked a plot and resolution. I did not feel like it was a love story. To me, it was a story about a boy that was infatuated with the "hired girls." This story also seemed more historical than something I would read for pleasure.
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Summary: Reflects many of the veiws and thoughts of the time period.
Review: My Antonia stands as a monument in Literature. It is well written and contains many unanswered questions and foils. It speaks to the soul of America, and protest that america is losing this spirit by decreasing morals and moving away from rural communities to cities where the individual is lost amid the rush of big business. This theme is a representation of Willa Cather's veiw on this subject. The story reflects her life and is superbly written to display her life and values into an audience that is unaware of this. However it also contains many prejustices and displays many of the dislikes of the time period it was written about.
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Summary: I love this book. Taught to H.S. Sophs for 6 years.
Review: As a high school English teacher, I have used My Antonia as a book for my sophomores to read for six years in a row. It is personally one of my very favorite books. I love the book, and teach the book, for three major reasons: the way it treats the landscape; the episodic structure; and the early feminist tendencies of Antonia herself.The trees being visited like they are people. The undulating fields of prairie grass taller than the head of a man. The huts carved out of the sides of the hills, with walls made of the turf itself. The footpaths becoming roads as the population increases. The mystery of the multitude of stars in the Heavens at night. The essential nature of mother earth, and the connection of man and woman to the earth, cannot be ignored here, even by jaded modern teenagers. Instead of a plot to "drive" the novel, many episodes combine to let the reader form a complete picture in his or her own mind. The spaces in between the episodes allow for some imagination and conjecture on the part of the reader. In the end, the story of two lives--one woman and one man--feels vivid and complete, though some may find it bittersweet. We know much of where Jim and Antonia end up their lives as adults, and there is a sense of completeness, despite having no plot present to guide the reader. And Antonia herself. If ever there was a strong personage, for my money it is Antonia. In another later era, she would have been Rosie the Riveter, or in an earlier one, Knut Hamsun's Inger. Antonia is supportive of her family, even as she moves off the prairie into town to live at the Harlings. When Mr. Harling's concerns about her dancing come to a head, she makes a bold decision to leave her comfortable service with them for a less certain future, one where her independence remains intact, unchecked. And in her relationship with Jim, she could easily have let him possess her. She knows in her heart, though, that Jim is destined for brighter lights. She even warns Lena to leave him alone. Antonia propels him on to his destiny, thinking that she will not be a part of it. Read the book if you want to find out if she was right!
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Summary: The book points out how life should be lived positively.
Review: I found that this book was artistically set up. The fashion in which she describes the characters and their emotions is beautifully done. I could not put the book down. I was very fond of the way that she spoke about Antonia and the othet main character Jim. Wonderfully written!!!!
Rating:
Summary: A high school girl's point of view.
Review: This book is like reading the diary of somone who has lead the most boring life imaginable. The imagery however is pretty good. On the whole, I couldn't wait to finish this book, and throw it out the window.
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Summary: A moving story of the frontier and those who peopled it
Review: Willa Cather's novel is the most beautiful story of the lives of plain people that I have ever read. Her strength as a novelist lies in her ability to weave a wonderful story around the lives of ordinary characters; ordinary in the sense that everything they feel, every word that they speak, and all that they do, is perfectly understandable to the reader. Every time I read My Antonia, I wish I could find, like young Jim Burden does, a warm yellow pumpkin to lean my back against, and feel the sun warm my face as I watched the wind push the prarie grass in rolling waves of shimmering green. I am sure that in doing so I would find real happiness. Cather is an artist, and the full, rich landscape of the frontier prarie is her canvas. On it she creates beautiful images of sunsets and prarie flowers; disturbing pictures of suicide and infidelity; brushstrokes of true friendship and true hardship and determination and strength. The reunion of Jim and Antonia is beautifully unforgettable, and tells the whole story: when Jim's success as a big city attorney is squared against the humility of Antonia's existence - her fruit cave and orchard trees and grape arbour, and her wriggling, giggling flock of children, it fades down and disappears like a setting sun. In finishing the story with this visit, Cather preserves the magic of the land, the strength of those who tamed it, and the unbreakable bond between the two.
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