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3.74 AVERAGE
3.74 AVERAGE
On the Way Home: The Diary of a Trip from South Dakota to Mansfield, Missouri, in 1894 by Laura Ingalls Wilder (1976)
informative
fast-paced
informative
fast-paced
This is Laura Wilder's daily travel log as their family traveled from South Dakota to Missouri in 1894 (which is exactly what the title says, I know) and is a great glimpse into what life was like. Really interesting!
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
relaxing
fast-paced
I have far too much emotional attachment to rate this objectively, but I did like reading a more candid piece of writing from her.
Still struggling to catch up with my backlog of Laura Ingalls Wilder-related reading that I did last summer in preparation for our tour, which I'd also like to record eventually!
This diary of Laura's trip from South Dakota to the Ozarks, as a young woman with a small daughter, in the wake of many domestic disasters that prompted the move, is one of the things that makes me totally discount the notion that Rose Wilder Lane (Laura's daughter) "wrote" the Little House books for Laura, a currently fashionable notion. Laura's voice in this diary is so strong and so honest, as is her ability to tell a good story, to capture character, and to set an incredible scene. The most frustrating thing about the book is its sudden end - explained in Rose's afterword by the emotional and financial crisis of the assumed loss of the $100 bill that was supposed to be the down-payment for the Wilder's new property. I would love to have more of this diary. (I also love Rose's memories of the trip that frame the diary entries, and wouldn't mind more of them, either.)
Here's a thing from Laura's diary:
We all stopped and looked back at the scene and I wished for an artist's hand or a poet's brain or even to be able to tell in good plain prose how beautiful it was. If I had been the Indians I would have scalped more white folks before I ever would have left it. (23 July, 1894, p. 23-24)
I love the palpable longing in her feeling of inadequacy to describe the beauty and emotional impact of what she sees. I love the glimpse we get at her understanding of the political issues that have brought her to this place, and her uncomfortable sympathy for the people who have been displaced and scapegoated in order to give her the freedom of being here. And I love that in fact she is up to the task of describing it, and does so for generations to come.
Here's another thing, from Rose's afterword, when the 5-year-old Rose has inadvertently spoiled a small surprise her father had wanted to give her mother:
You do such things, little things, horrible, cruel, without thinking, not meaning to. You have done it; nothing can undo it. This is a thing you can never forget. (p. 94)
And it's so amazing to me that this hard piece of small-child wisdom can still have power to hurt and instruct, so many years later. And it's for this reason that I love the individual writings of Laura Ingalls Wilder, and of Rose Wilder Lane, and the collaboration of these women. There's still so much to learn from them.
This diary of Laura's trip from South Dakota to the Ozarks, as a young woman with a small daughter, in the wake of many domestic disasters that prompted the move, is one of the things that makes me totally discount the notion that Rose Wilder Lane (Laura's daughter) "wrote" the Little House books for Laura, a currently fashionable notion. Laura's voice in this diary is so strong and so honest, as is her ability to tell a good story, to capture character, and to set an incredible scene. The most frustrating thing about the book is its sudden end - explained in Rose's afterword by the emotional and financial crisis of the assumed loss of the $100 bill that was supposed to be the down-payment for the Wilder's new property. I would love to have more of this diary. (I also love Rose's memories of the trip that frame the diary entries, and wouldn't mind more of them, either.)
Here's a thing from Laura's diary:
We all stopped and looked back at the scene and I wished for an artist's hand or a poet's brain or even to be able to tell in good plain prose how beautiful it was. If I had been the Indians I would have scalped more white folks before I ever would have left it. (23 July, 1894, p. 23-24)
I love the palpable longing in her feeling of inadequacy to describe the beauty and emotional impact of what she sees. I love the glimpse we get at her understanding of the political issues that have brought her to this place, and her uncomfortable sympathy for the people who have been displaced and scapegoated in order to give her the freedom of being here. And I love that in fact she is up to the task of describing it, and does so for generations to come.
Here's another thing, from Rose's afterword, when the 5-year-old Rose has inadvertently spoiled a small surprise her father had wanted to give her mother:
You do such things, little things, horrible, cruel, without thinking, not meaning to. You have done it; nothing can undo it. This is a thing you can never forget. (p. 94)
And it's so amazing to me that this hard piece of small-child wisdom can still have power to hurt and instruct, so many years later. And it's for this reason that I love the individual writings of Laura Ingalls Wilder, and of Rose Wilder Lane, and the collaboration of these women. There's still so much to learn from them.
In my quest to read all things Laura Ingalls Wilder, I decided to give this short book a try. It is basically a series of journal entries that Laura wrote on her way from De Smet South Dakota to Mansfield Missouri (where she and Almanzo would later settle).
Her entries are an interesting glimpse into frontier America in the late 1800's, but contain more facts than anything generally interesting. There is also an introduction, footnotes, and a short conclusion written by her daughter Rose to accompany the journal. However, while Laura's anecdotes are mild, somewhat entertaining, and full of description, Rose's comments are negative and seem to sour the overall feeling of the book. I think it's obvious why this short story isn't generally associated with the rest of the Little House series.
Her entries are an interesting glimpse into frontier America in the late 1800's, but contain more facts than anything generally interesting. There is also an introduction, footnotes, and a short conclusion written by her daughter Rose to accompany the journal. However, while Laura's anecdotes are mild, somewhat entertaining, and full of description, Rose's comments are negative and seem to sour the overall feeling of the book. I think it's obvious why this short story isn't generally associated with the rest of the Little House series.
I preferred Laura’s words meant to hold together her memories to Rose’s words meant to impress us. I loved Laura’s honest reflections in the basic facts she chose to keep — on dust, time with Manly and Rose, the temperatures, and the beauty of their home. I particularly love how she noted the exact time they entered Missouri. :)
Love this quick read from the Wilder's trip from DeSmet to Mansfield, MS. Great campion read to Pioneer Girl.