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3.65 AVERAGE
3.65 AVERAGE
This completes my Little House re-read for the year; this was the 9th book in the series and by far the shortest. It covers the first four years of married life for Laura. I enjoyed it but I wouldn't call it a good book, it seemed more like a summary or a Wikipedia page about the book.
I suspect this is a lot closer to real life than the previous books, and that had she the motivation after Almanzo's death, Laura would have added a good bit more filler with more about the happy days rather than this rather emotionless retelling of those very hard years.
From my now-adult perspective, it's incredible to see what they went through, the hardships they endured and the work they had to do, all at the tender age of 19 (Laura). I wonder whether at 19 I would have had even half her maturity and strength of mind.
For those who haven't read it, this is not like the previous Little House books. It's from a handwritten, unfinished manuscript that was only found after Laura's death, and therefore didn't have the same editing and polishing. I'm not sure I'd read this to younger children, because Laura's life - though reasonably happy - is a lot harder.
From my now-adult perspective, it's incredible to see what they went through, the hardships they endured and the work they had to do, all at the tender age of 19 (Laura). I wonder whether at 19 I would have had even half her maturity and strength of mind.
For those who haven't read it, this is not like the previous Little House books. It's from a handwritten, unfinished manuscript that was only found after Laura's death, and therefore didn't have the same editing and polishing. I'm not sure I'd read this to younger children, because Laura's life - though reasonably happy - is a lot harder.
Spoiler
Some of the hardships include terrible morning sickness with her pregnancies, severe diphtheria and then a stroke for Almanzo, the death of her baby son and a house fire that means they lose almost everything.
A very solid and bittersweet ending to a special series! Definitely not my favorite of the little house books, but it had many fun moments of charm and peril. It felt like a collection of short stories throughout the first four years, but I’m very glad they published the unfinished manuscript. I now want to learn more about their daughter, rose, and her story!
informative
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Laura and Almanzo experience so much hardship in such a short time. But my heart aches even more for their friends, the Boasts, and their pitiful plea to be able to have a family.
Loved reading this book as an adult. So much perseverance in the Wilder family. There was much to talk about with the kids in this one... from overcoming hardships, saving money and to never give up on your dreams.
I wish I had stopped reading after “These Golden Years”! I liked the characters in the earlier books so much better...they’re almost unrecognizable in this last book of the series. This one is really better read as a stand-alone historical narrative of the dangers of the prairie. Not the fairytale ending I was hoping for!
Be warned! This book is very, very different from all the other books in the Little House on the Prairie series. In fact, this book makes it easy to see how embellished the other books are and the positive spin that was put on them. Because it was published after the death of Laura and her daughter, it is not quite complete as well. It was taken directly from Laura's notebooks that were found in her belongings after her death and barely any editing was done on them. That being said, this book isn't necessarily worse than the others, just entirely different. The rest of the books, for those who have no read them, detailed Laura Ingalls Wilder's childhood growing up and being a pioneer girl with her Ma, Pa, and three sisters.
The First Four Years details the first four years of Laura and Almanzo's (who she calls Manlly in this book) marriage. They set up house on his tree claim after agreeing to try farming for three years. The first year passes quickly they seem happy enough and even more so when Laura is expecting. They have a daughter, Rose, and Laura completely loves her and is quite devoted to her. They remain somewhat happy but do manage to have quite the disastourous next few years. It seems that everything bad that can happen, will happen. They have to suffer through crops being destroyed, illness and other hardships in those four years.
The characters in this are much changed from the other books. They are less like characters in this book and more like the real thing and its a little easier to see that Laura wrote from the heart and didn't try to make this an easy children's story. Its more of an outline with all the emotions she felt still showing. Manly is kind of distanced and doesn't seem to be as good with finances as he in in the other books. Laura is more mature but sadly leaves most of the decision to Manly.
The book is short and is more a series of little stories from those four years. It is still mostly appropriate for children although there are a few sections that made even me pause. This could be considered a spoiler for the book so do beware. The first thing that made me pause was the Boasts (friends of Laura's) that offered to give Laura and Manly their best horse for Rose when she was a baby. Being childless they were probably desperate but it was still a shock to read about the situation in the children's book. The next was the death of their son. Maybe it was just me, but I couldn't help but feel that Laura seemed almost relieved when it was back to being just her, Rose, and Almanzo. I'm sure she cared for the boy (who wasn't alive long enough to be named) but I just didn't get that emotion in the book. I also noticed that in the writing of this book, some facts contradicted what the other books had say, like Manly having a milk cow before Laura married him.
This book is still very important to read when it comes to the series. It is depressing and I can see why Laura never published it on her own, but it does explain a lot and continue her story. The entire series is a wonderful read and despite the tone of this book, it is vital to the collection.
The First Four Years
Copyright 1971
134 pages
The First Four Years details the first four years of Laura and Almanzo's (who she calls Manlly in this book) marriage. They set up house on his tree claim after agreeing to try farming for three years. The first year passes quickly they seem happy enough and even more so when Laura is expecting. They have a daughter, Rose, and Laura completely loves her and is quite devoted to her. They remain somewhat happy but do manage to have quite the disastourous next few years. It seems that everything bad that can happen, will happen. They have to suffer through crops being destroyed, illness and other hardships in those four years.
The characters in this are much changed from the other books. They are less like characters in this book and more like the real thing and its a little easier to see that Laura wrote from the heart and didn't try to make this an easy children's story. Its more of an outline with all the emotions she felt still showing. Manly is kind of distanced and doesn't seem to be as good with finances as he in in the other books. Laura is more mature but sadly leaves most of the decision to Manly.
The book is short and is more a series of little stories from those four years. It is still mostly appropriate for children although there are a few sections that made even me pause. This could be considered a spoiler for the book so do beware. The first thing that made me pause was the Boasts (friends of Laura's) that offered to give Laura and Manly their best horse for Rose when she was a baby. Being childless they were probably desperate but it was still a shock to read about the situation in the children's book. The next was the death of their son. Maybe it was just me, but I couldn't help but feel that Laura seemed almost relieved when it was back to being just her, Rose, and Almanzo. I'm sure she cared for the boy (who wasn't alive long enough to be named) but I just didn't get that emotion in the book. I also noticed that in the writing of this book, some facts contradicted what the other books had say, like Manly having a milk cow before Laura married him.
This book is still very important to read when it comes to the series. It is depressing and I can see why Laura never published it on her own, but it does explain a lot and continue her story. The entire series is a wonderful read and despite the tone of this book, it is vital to the collection.
The First Four Years
Copyright 1971
134 pages
I didn't know that this book was both unfinished and published so much later than the original Little House books until recently. I had never read it before. It definitely felt underwritten compared to other books in the series. Laura and Almanzo definitely have their share of hardships during the first four years of marriage. It's a bummer to see Almanzo struggling so much to be a successful farmer given how successful his father had been back in New York. His insistence on continuing is reminiscent of Pa's misguided pride and optimism. He keeps insisting that the debts he's taking on are good investments in the long run, but it's hard to see how that can be true with virtually no income. Laura becomes a mother, and even though I know they had a difficult relationship, her love for her daughter is evident. Laura also gives birth to a son who dies, and there's shockingly little reflection. I'm not surprised by this, but once again, it just feels like this book is more of an outline or quick summary of events without a deeper dive. I can understand why people rereading the series just skip this one, and I probably will do the same in the future.
This book is very different from the others in the series. It was found and published after Wilder's death. I'm glad I read it to learn about Laura's life after marriage, but it had none of the warm, hopeful feelings as the first 8 books. There is all of the descriptions of the incredibly difficult pioneer life, but without the steady and wise influence of ma and pa. It is very spare. I found myself really disliking Manly because of many of the financial decisions he made. There was no hopeful resolution, just resignation in the end.