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The Wilder Life: My Adventures in the Lost World of Little House on the Prairie by Wendy McClure
jkn303's review
1.0
perhaps i'm just not enough of a laura ingalls wilder fan, but this book bored me to tears. quit 3/4 of the way through when i just couldn't take it anymore. get over it ... the books were largely fiction. so what.
beate251's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
informative
lighthearted
reflective
3.0
I have recently reread all the Laura Ingalls Wilder books in order plus rewatched The Little House on the Prairie TV series and films. So when I typed in the Wilder name into the Libby app and this came up, I downloaded it, not exactly knowing what to expect. It turns out a journalist found something to write about that feels like one of those fluffy documentary travelogues for Superfans.
I had no idea there were so many Wilder museums and sites, and as a European likely never to grace these parts of America with my presence it was interesting but also bewildering (see what I did there) to see how obsessed some people are about the good ol' times they call Lauraland. Why would anyone aspire to live like that again? It was a hard life, household chores took ages, and many never made a living from the land because they came in, drove the Native Americans off and arrogantly thought they knew better how to get a harvest. Let's face it, Laura's beloved Pa was a bit of a loser. The Long Winter is nothing but harrowing.
We also know that the TV show has not much to do with reality - entire people and sensational plots were invented for ratings, with not a care in the world that some of them contradict each other (Albert's fate and Royal Wilder's children/ages comes to mind). Yet some people visiting the Wilder sites seem to have never read the books but happily take part in some weird costume competitions.
So I guess it takes all sorts and the author shows that, but sadly she then falls into the trap of making the trip all about her and her mother, something I really wasn't interested in. I expected more facts about the Wilders and fewer facts about herself and churning butter.
I had no idea there were so many Wilder museums and sites, and as a European likely never to grace these parts of America with my presence it was interesting but also bewildering (see what I did there) to see how obsessed some people are about the good ol' times they call Lauraland. Why would anyone aspire to live like that again? It was a hard life, household chores took ages, and many never made a living from the land because they came in, drove the Native Americans off and arrogantly thought they knew better how to get a harvest. Let's face it, Laura's beloved Pa was a bit of a loser. The Long Winter is nothing but harrowing.
We also know that the TV show has not much to do with reality - entire people and sensational plots were invented for ratings, with not a care in the world that some of them contradict each other (Albert's fate and Royal Wilder's children/ages comes to mind). Yet some people visiting the Wilder sites seem to have never read the books but happily take part in some weird costume competitions.
So I guess it takes all sorts and the author shows that, but sadly she then falls into the trap of making the trip all about her and her mother, something I really wasn't interested in. I expected more facts about the Wilders and fewer facts about herself and churning butter.
littlelady_28's review against another edition
3.0
I felt like this book had the potential to be really good, but it didn't quite live up to my expectations. I hate to go after any author, but I feel that maybe someone else could have done better with the material.
McClure rediscovers her love for the Little House books and decides to "find Laura" by recreating some of the aspects of Laura's life and visiting her home sites across the country. It was interesting to read about her churning butter and making food from a Little House-themed cookbook, but I felt like the first half of the book was scattered and had no logical order to it.
The second half of the book talks more about her travels to Laura's homesites. I felt like she focused too much on the other people there instead of the sites themselves, which is what I personally wanted. At the end, she realizes that her quest to find Laura was less about her feelings towards this historical figure/character and more about dealing with the grief she felt over losing her mother. I felt like this was really just touched on at the end, so it seemed to come out of the blue and didn't feel like it belonged in this particular book.
I also had the same "don't meet your heroes" feeling that I had when I read [b:Prairie Fires: The American Dreams of Laura Ingalls Wilder|33911349|Prairie Fires The American Dreams of Laura Ingalls Wilder|Caroline Fraser|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1499741011l/33911349._SY75_.jpg|54876814] since this book also discussed things like how Pa made some bad decisions for the family and Laura and Rose had a tumultuous relationship. You want all the people/characters to get along and live happily ever after, but that's not reality, and it left me feeling sad, which is the opposite of what the book series means to invoke.
All in all, not a bad read by any means, but it just wasn't what I wanted. I give it a C+.
McClure rediscovers her love for the Little House books and decides to "find Laura" by recreating some of the aspects of Laura's life and visiting her home sites across the country. It was interesting to read about her churning butter and making food from a Little House-themed cookbook, but I felt like the first half of the book was scattered and had no logical order to it.
The second half of the book talks more about her travels to Laura's homesites. I felt like she focused too much on the other people there instead of the sites themselves, which is what I personally wanted. At the end, she realizes that her quest to find Laura was less about her feelings towards this historical figure/character and more about dealing with the grief she felt over losing her mother. I felt like this was really just touched on at the end, so it seemed to come out of the blue and didn't feel like it belonged in this particular book.
I also had the same "don't meet your heroes" feeling that I had when I read [b:Prairie Fires: The American Dreams of Laura Ingalls Wilder|33911349|Prairie Fires The American Dreams of Laura Ingalls Wilder|Caroline Fraser|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1499741011l/33911349._SY75_.jpg|54876814] since this book also discussed things like how Pa made some bad decisions for the family and Laura and Rose had a tumultuous relationship. You want all the people/characters to get along and live happily ever after, but that's not reality, and it left me feeling sad, which is the opposite of what the book series means to invoke.
All in all, not a bad read by any means, but it just wasn't what I wanted. I give it a C+.
asurges's review
3.0
If I could give this book 3-1/2 stars, I would. It's kind of a neat idea: woman who, as a girl, geeked out over the Laura Ingalls Wilder books goes to all the real-life sites and finds out details about the family that are pretty interesting (Rose, Laura's daughter, had depression; Pa skedaddled from one town in the middle of the night to avoid paying his rent; the land where they live in Little House on the Prairie was actually in another state, etc.). Meanwhile, the author churns butter (which, she reports, tastes just like the butter you buy in the store) and makes Vanity Cakes from On the Banks of Plum Creek and apples 'n' onions from Farmer Boy.
But the story turns into more. The author explores what kind of people really get engulfed by the books and/or the TV show. And she finds out that some are crazy, hoping to live only off the land because of the End of Days, and she finds out a lot of parents use them for home schooling. But what I like most is how she talks about how much we think those times were simpler--and of course they weren't, as no past really is.
But the story turns into more. The author explores what kind of people really get engulfed by the books and/or the TV show. And she finds out that some are crazy, hoping to live only off the land because of the End of Days, and she finds out a lot of parents use them for home schooling. But what I like most is how she talks about how much we think those times were simpler--and of course they weren't, as no past really is.
captkaty's review
4.0
If you think you will like this book, then you will love it and should read it. If you don't get the premise, then move on. If any of you want to go on a sunbonnet road trip, I'm so game.
brighteyes1178's review
5.0
I thought this book was terrific, though I must admit that I'm drawn to books where the author is traveling based on some sort of theme (I'm looking for all of the ways that Americans pay homage to Lincoln! We're driving around America looking for typos on signs! I'm going to all of the Laura Ingalls Wilder sites!). This is particularly good because the writing is smooth and easy to read, and the author is fully able to discuss reality (lots of fundamentalist Christians appropriate Laura as their own, most of the actual Laura stuff is gone, most of the Laura tourists are fans of the show not the books, the books were pretty fictionalized, etc.) instead of just mythologize about Laura Ingalls Wilder. I remember reading Donald Zochert's biography "Laura" in 8th grade as a project for Mrs. Brey's class and this was like bringing that book to life, updating and personalizing it. Highly recommended for anyone who loved the Little House books as a kid - or adult, of course. :)
lifeand100books's review
3.0
Growing up I developed a healthy appetite for reading from a series of books you may have heard of before: Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder. If you aren’t familiar, let me enlighten you. They were a series of books that were the memoirs of Laura’s life as a child growing up on the American frontier.
The Wilder Life chronicles Wendy McClure’s journey to, as she puts it, live the “Laura experience”. Retracing the steps of the Ingalls family as they moved across a growing America, McClure attempts to put herself literally in the shoes of Laura Ingalls and her family. She visits Wisconsin looking for the “Big Woods” that Laura grew up in, as chronicled in Little House in the Big Woods. She finds the real Plum Creek, and even seeks out the annual summer pageants held in Laura’s hometown. From churning butter to standing in a hail storm in South Dakota, McClure goes beyond traditional fandom to totally immerse herself in what it must have been like for Laura to grow up in the late 1800′s. McClure, like Laura, faces trying times, and physically and emotionally must deal with hardships along the way. However, she emerges a new person, having a greater appreciation for Laura and the pioneers like her that braved the wilderness of America to settle and prosper.
For those of you that are intrigued by this book I must warn you that even as a lover of the Little House books I still found myself confused and lost at parts. McClure is obviously a huge fan of the novels as she remembers details both large and small from the series. This attention to detail in a series that I haven’t read in over 15 years had me missing some of the connections that were trying be made. I understood the greater meaning of the connections, but unfortunately wasn’t able to take as much pleasure from them as I would have liked.
I found a lot of repetition in the book as well. McClure writes of an overall disappointment in continuing to meet people in the Little House world that confuse what happened in the TV series versus the books. It’s almost as though she can’t understand that not everyone around her has their memories of the books and TV series separated. I’ll be the first person to admit that I was a fan of both, and sometimes forget what happened in which story.
McClure is an extremely funny and poignant writer and ties all of her thoughts on modern-day living to a Little House on the Prairie themed point. This made me begin to look at the things around me in my own life, and ponder what Laura would have thought about them if she were alive today. The novel as a whole is an interesting look at the Little House fandom and what’s become of the places that you come to know and love in Laura’s books.
Kimberly (Reflections of a Book Addict)
http://wp.me/p18lIL-rR
The Wilder Life chronicles Wendy McClure’s journey to, as she puts it, live the “Laura experience”. Retracing the steps of the Ingalls family as they moved across a growing America, McClure attempts to put herself literally in the shoes of Laura Ingalls and her family. She visits Wisconsin looking for the “Big Woods” that Laura grew up in, as chronicled in Little House in the Big Woods. She finds the real Plum Creek, and even seeks out the annual summer pageants held in Laura’s hometown. From churning butter to standing in a hail storm in South Dakota, McClure goes beyond traditional fandom to totally immerse herself in what it must have been like for Laura to grow up in the late 1800′s. McClure, like Laura, faces trying times, and physically and emotionally must deal with hardships along the way. However, she emerges a new person, having a greater appreciation for Laura and the pioneers like her that braved the wilderness of America to settle and prosper.
For those of you that are intrigued by this book I must warn you that even as a lover of the Little House books I still found myself confused and lost at parts. McClure is obviously a huge fan of the novels as she remembers details both large and small from the series. This attention to detail in a series that I haven’t read in over 15 years had me missing some of the connections that were trying be made. I understood the greater meaning of the connections, but unfortunately wasn’t able to take as much pleasure from them as I would have liked.
I found a lot of repetition in the book as well. McClure writes of an overall disappointment in continuing to meet people in the Little House world that confuse what happened in the TV series versus the books. It’s almost as though she can’t understand that not everyone around her has their memories of the books and TV series separated. I’ll be the first person to admit that I was a fan of both, and sometimes forget what happened in which story.
McClure is an extremely funny and poignant writer and ties all of her thoughts on modern-day living to a Little House on the Prairie themed point. This made me begin to look at the things around me in my own life, and ponder what Laura would have thought about them if she were alive today. The novel as a whole is an interesting look at the Little House fandom and what’s become of the places that you come to know and love in Laura’s books.
Kimberly (Reflections of a Book Addict)
http://wp.me/p18lIL-rR
serenitylive's review
5.0
I thought this was a beautiful journey of one fan's exploration to discover not so much every real-life detail of the Little House books but to discover herself within her adoration of them. It rang so true for me with my own deep connection to a different series of books (Anne of Green Gables). Why do we love the books we love? Why do we want to see ourselves within them? And can we? I learned so much about the real Laura Ingalls Wilder - things I had not even wondered and which might have been disappointing if I had had a stronger feeling for her books. If you subscribe to a particularly evangelical/Christian view of the Little House story, you may be disappointed at times with this author's approach to them. But whether you are a fan or just a casual observer who actually prefers the fictional TV show to the (apparently) fictionalized books, THE WILDER LIFE is so worth the ride.
libraryrobin's review
1.0
Love LHOTP but did not love this book. Reading it was grueling and often put me to sleep. Forced myself to finish it.
meghan111's review
3.0
If you’ve ever found yourself up late at night, buying a replica working butter churn on eBay, you should relate to this. In her mid 30s, a woman in Chicago finds herself revisiting her favorite childhood books, the Little House on the Prairie series. Fueled by nostalgia, she embarks on a Laura Ingalls Wilder obsession and tries to discover what it was about the books that so captivated her as a child. This leads her to visit several sites– from the homesteads to the museums – accompanied by her long-suffering, kind of disinterested husband. She’s exploring her interest in the historical objects and the pioneer way of life that is described with such attention to detail in the series. Along the way, she talks about the difficult character of Rose Wilder, Laura’s daughter and co-author, whose life was very different than Laura’s childhood on the prairie and who was in some ways an adventurer, but also a deeply unhappy woman. The difference between the Laura of the books and the TV show also bothers McClure – but really, the appeal of this book is revisiting your childhood pleasures as an adult, seeing them differently and letting them shed light on your current life.