My Antonia

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: A classic that reads like modern lit
Review: This is a book that sat on my shelf for several years. I was almost daunted by its 'classic' status; I've often been disappointed by some of the American lit greats like Twain and Steinbeck.

But I shouldn't have waited. This book is a wonderful, textured story. The main and supporting characters are three-dimensional people who are both complex and realistic.

The plot is basically the coming-of-age story of a boy and a girl on the Nebraska prairies at the turn of the century. It is told in the first person by a young man. Cather does an amazing job of capturing the voice of a boy as he becomes an adult.

But it's also about the struggles of early farmers against the harsh land and climate of their adopted land. It's about the difficulties of immigrants, particularly women immigrants, who came to make their fortune in a new place. The subplots within the story are not distracting, but they are complex enough, (like the story of Russian Peter, or of Tiny) that they are almost worth a novel themselves.

Considering that the story takes place over 100 years ago, it reads like a very modern book. Both the language and the motifs remain relevant today. I whipped through this story in only a couple of days and it kept me up past my bedtime on both evenings. Willa Cather's humour, straightforward style, and detailed sense of place all make this an extremely enjoyable read. I will definitely read more of Cather in the future.