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3.8 AVERAGE
3.8 AVERAGE
A compact family saga taking place in the Great Plains of Nebraska. Amazing how a writer can be so inexorably tied to a place. She writes a strong female protagonist here and effectively describes the drama that can arise in a place that one might think of as quiet and idyllic. Would recommend.
emotional
medium-paced
Loveable characters:
Yes
love but felt mixed about the ending. Love willa Cather but have mostly stuck to her short stories. This short novel was fabulous. The setting in the plains of Nebraska is its own character in the novel and one she describes so well. The characters are realistic and the plot awarding. I didn’t love a few of the wrapping up details, but it didn’t diminish my enjoyment of the book.
adventurous
hopeful
inspiring
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
emotional
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
relaxing
sad
fast-paced
emotional
lighthearted
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
emotional
hopeful
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Historical fiction at its best – nuanced characters, an engrossing plot (two love stories!), and rich description bring to life a particular time and place: immigrants from Sweden, Norway, Bohemia, and France settling the Nebraska prairie around the turn of the 20th century. At the center of the book is Alexandra Bergson, a strong and independent Swedish-American woman with an almost mystical connection to the prairie. When her father dies and times get hard, her brothers want her to sell the family homestead on the Divide, but she resists. The land “seemed beautiful to her, rich and strong and glorious. Her eyes drank in the breadth of it until her tears blinded her. Then the Genius of the Divide, the great, free spirit which breathes across it must have bent lower than it ever bent to a human will before. The history of every country begins in the heart of a man or woman.”