Take a photo of a barcode or cover
This was by far the longest of Cather's works I've read, and I prefer her more succinct novels. But there is a lot of fabulous writing in this book. Mainly, it portrays what it takes to become a true artist - natural talent, friends that are willing to sacrifice and endless drive to meet personal standards. The main character, Thea Kronberg, is first a pianist and then an opera singer. I enjoyed the coziness of the first half which chronicled her childhood from 12 to her late teens. I was a little dismayed when she steels herself to become great that this was going to be another "sacrifice goodness for artistic achievement" tale but it was so much more than that. Thea did give up a lot of the qualities I liked about her, but she gained others and by the end, I was proud of how she had turned out, as were the people who truly loved her. Not being an artist, I wouldn't have made the choices she did, but for someone determined to be an artist at all costs, Thea Kronberg went about it the right way.
Cather's writing style is different than My Antonia and O Pioneers! It's not the tight poetry those other works are but it's an episodic following of Thea's growth. Some scenes feel like perfect film scenes, for instance when Fred is playing the piano and Landry is listening and chatting in between. The dialogue is so natural and at ease that many parts feel as though we are with Cather observing the lives of these people in their natural habitat.
All in all, as with all of Cather's works, I find this a very different, fresh book unencumbered by predictability.
Cather's writing style is different than My Antonia and O Pioneers! It's not the tight poetry those other works are but it's an episodic following of Thea's growth. Some scenes feel like perfect film scenes, for instance when Fred is playing the piano and Landry is listening and chatting in between. The dialogue is so natural and at ease that many parts feel as though we are with Cather observing the lives of these people in their natural habitat.
All in all, as with all of Cather's works, I find this a very different, fresh book unencumbered by predictability.
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-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
In reflecting on this novel I have to say I really enjoyed it. I enjoyed how we were able to see so many stages of Thea’s life, and her realizations throughout her life. The character development was probably the best part of this book- it was very clear and inspiring. I also really liked the writing style of this author.
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
This is an illuminating and contradictory book. In its female-centered narrative on the rise of the singer Thea it has a feminist perspective, quite remarkable for the early 20th c, and a nice change from better known novels that often end in death or tragedy for the female protagonist; it appreciates the artistry in small town folk---like Thea's Mexican neighbors--and yet has a very elitist perspective about brilliant artists; and while it worships artistry, it ultimately paints a quite negative picture, suggesting that great artists lose their souls and lead unsatisfying personal lives. I related to this book in many ways--the leaving small town home for a bigger world, yet also the romanticizing and missing that home once liberated. Yet the dark side of Thea's life means the book took a very different turn--and as a novel the story becomes less satisfying at that point, and more didactic on Cather's part. I've read that Cather thought this novel was not a success, and that afterwards she returned to her more spare style. I've also read that she liked it and found it close to being a story of her own life. So much to digest here--this may be my favorite Cather novel to date--I need to think about it and go do some research on it. Might report back later!
Wow, so uh, I hate this.
I went into this with relatively high expectations. I read O Pioneers! and genuinely really loved it (except the very ending, which was misogynistic in a way that grated really hard). I expected this to be roughly as good, but it was way off.
First, the good. I did enjoy the Moonstone setting. I think Cather is at her strongest when she depicts that kind of rural community life. Watching the characters grow in this setting was probably the most interesting aspect. I didn't even mind when she first went off for singing lessons, as it kept a similar feel. It was also nice to see Thea achieve her goals, and have everything end happily (after the depressing end of O Pioneers!).
Now the bad. First off, from a narrative standpoint, a lot of Thea's life after Moonstone is just not interesting to read. I felt like it dragged on forever in a way that just felt boring and a bit frustrating. I know that Cather herself was less than fond of what she wrote following Moonstone, and a decade and a half later she actually rewrote large portions of the book and cut a tenth of the original content.
Second, the characters. My god. So there were definitely way too many adults lusting after twelve-year-old Thea. You can try to tell me it was normal for the time, but it was not. Even if we went that route, and you told me it was normal for the time and I accepted it (and I really, really don't, women usually married in their early twenties in 19th century USA), reading it from a modern standpoint is difficult when the plot RELIES on adult men being into this child. Thea would never have gotten her vocal education if it were not for the money left to her by a man who wanted to marry her (which he decided when she was 12 and he was an adult which is gross). The doctor is a lifelong friend of hers, and it is unclear for basically the entire novel whether he feels fatherly or loverly towards Thea. Outside of the uncomfortable age issues, it was also frustrating to follow along with a character who is the embodiment of "I'm not like other girls" and seems to hold a lot of misogynistic views about other women in her profession and in general.
Third, the racism. Racial slurs to describe plantlife and thieving servants. Describing people as sitting "still as an Indian." Describing how "Indians" throw their infants in the river to teach them to swim. Moonstone has a Mexican community where essentially every person there is a stereotype. Even when it seems like the author and characters are trying to "defend" Mexicans, they seem to be offering backhanded compliments and further stereotypes. As uncomfortable as it can be to read racial slurs today, the other phrases used seem to be far more insidious and hold up stereotypes that hold today.
Fourth, the ableism. A doctor (a main character) says a sick woman should be considered legally dead for the benefit of her husband. There is so much wrong with this heartless eugenics bullshit, but I think going into it makes it worse. The woman has general paresis, according to what the doctor says. First off, general paresis is caused by syphilis (so sexually active women should be considered legally dead?). It is worth noting that the woman is the wife of Thea's love interest. So does he also have syphilis that he would risk spreading to her? Then, consider what general paresis does. It causes neurological effects that result in chronic illness symptoms (chronically ill women should be considered legally dead?), but affects the brain in a way that also causes mental illness (so mentally ill women should be considered legally dead?). This is a character that the author intends the audience to dislike, so the intent is clearly for the audience to agree that she should be considered legally dead (rather than the responsibility of the husband who may have given her syphilis?). As someone with chronic illnesses, this is deeply offensive in a way I am used to (people often indicate that they would rather be dead than sick or disabled, or that they think sick and disabled people should be dead).
Honestly, this story was just aggressively not for me. Between the lacklustre and overlong story, the unsympathetic characters, the misogyny, the racism, the stereotypes, the vague pedophilic undertones... I genuinely have a hard time trying to see past this novel's flaws. It started out fine, but it became a chore to read, and it took me a while to finish.
I really only finished this because I am a completionist. I know that many people like or even love this novel, and I am sure I know people who haven't read it that would like it, but I honestly couldn't think of who. I don't think I'd be able to recommend this novel to them, because I don't think I could recommend it to anyone.
I actually still plan on reading My Antonia though. I enjoyed O Pioneer's enough, and I am aware that My Antonia is the most popular, so I'd like to give it a fair shot. It's shorter than Song of the Lark as well, which hopefully means that even if I don't love it, it at least won't take me months to get through.
I went into this with relatively high expectations. I read O Pioneers! and genuinely really loved it (except the very ending, which was misogynistic in a way that grated really hard). I expected this to be roughly as good, but it was way off.
First, the good. I did enjoy the Moonstone setting. I think Cather is at her strongest when she depicts that kind of rural community life. Watching the characters grow in this setting was probably the most interesting aspect. I didn't even mind when she first went off for singing lessons, as it kept a similar feel. It was also nice to see Thea achieve her goals, and have everything end happily (after the depressing end of O Pioneers!).
Now the bad. First off, from a narrative standpoint, a lot of Thea's life after Moonstone is just not interesting to read. I felt like it dragged on forever in a way that just felt boring and a bit frustrating. I know that Cather herself was less than fond of what she wrote following Moonstone, and a decade and a half later she actually rewrote large portions of the book and cut a tenth of the original content.
Second, the characters. My god. So there were definitely way too many adults lusting after twelve-year-old Thea. You can try to tell me it was normal for the time, but it was not. Even if we went that route, and you told me it was normal for the time and I accepted it (and I really, really don't, women usually married in their early twenties in 19th century USA), reading it from a modern standpoint is difficult when the plot RELIES on adult men being into this child. Thea would never have gotten her vocal education if it were not for the money left to her by a man who wanted to marry her (which he decided when she was 12 and he was an adult which is gross). The doctor is a lifelong friend of hers, and it is unclear for basically the entire novel whether he feels fatherly or loverly towards Thea. Outside of the uncomfortable age issues, it was also frustrating to follow along with a character who is the embodiment of "I'm not like other girls" and seems to hold a lot of misogynistic views about other women in her profession and in general.
Third, the racism. Racial slurs to describe plantlife and thieving servants. Describing people as sitting "still as an Indian." Describing how "Indians" throw their infants in the river to teach them to swim. Moonstone has a Mexican community where essentially every person there is a stereotype. Even when it seems like the author and characters are trying to "defend" Mexicans, they seem to be offering backhanded compliments and further stereotypes. As uncomfortable as it can be to read racial slurs today, the other phrases used seem to be far more insidious and hold up stereotypes that hold today.
Fourth, the ableism. A doctor (a main character) says a sick woman should be considered legally dead for the benefit of her husband. There is so much wrong with this heartless eugenics bullshit, but I think going into it makes it worse. The woman has general paresis, according to what the doctor says. First off, general paresis is caused by syphilis (so sexually active women should be considered legally dead?). It is worth noting that the woman is the wife of Thea's love interest. So does he also have syphilis that he would risk spreading to her? Then, consider what general paresis does. It causes neurological effects that result in chronic illness symptoms (chronically ill women should be considered legally dead?), but affects the brain in a way that also causes mental illness (so mentally ill women should be considered legally dead?). This is a character that the author intends the audience to dislike, so the intent is clearly for the audience to agree that she should be considered legally dead (rather than the responsibility of the husband who may have given her syphilis?). As someone with chronic illnesses, this is deeply offensive in a way I am used to (people often indicate that they would rather be dead than sick or disabled, or that they think sick and disabled people should be dead).
Honestly, this story was just aggressively not for me. Between the lacklustre and overlong story, the unsympathetic characters, the misogyny, the racism, the stereotypes, the vague pedophilic undertones... I genuinely have a hard time trying to see past this novel's flaws. It started out fine, but it became a chore to read, and it took me a while to finish.
I really only finished this because I am a completionist. I know that many people like or even love this novel, and I am sure I know people who haven't read it that would like it, but I honestly couldn't think of who. I don't think I'd be able to recommend this novel to them, because I don't think I could recommend it to anyone.
I actually still plan on reading My Antonia though. I enjoyed O Pioneer's enough, and I am aware that My Antonia is the most popular, so I'd like to give it a fair shot. It's shorter than Song of the Lark as well, which hopefully means that even if I don't love it, it at least won't take me months to get through.
Cather’s writing is like a nice bowl of soup on a cold day. It’s comforting, it’s nourishing and it’s easily digestible.
Willa Cather has a way of creating characters and capturing the human experience that cuts to the core:
"There were other times when she was so shattered by ideas that she could do nothing worth while; when they trampled over her like an army and she felt as if she were bleeding to death under them."
"People live through such pain only once; pain comes again, but it finds a tougher surface."
As a parent, I especially related to this:
"You and Thea will likely follow different lines, and I don't see as I'm called upon to bring you up alike."
Ratings (1 to 5)
Writing: 5
Plot: 4
Characters: 5
Emotional impact: 5
Overall rating: 4.75
"There were other times when she was so shattered by ideas that she could do nothing worth while; when they trampled over her like an army and she felt as if she were bleeding to death under them."
"People live through such pain only once; pain comes again, but it finds a tougher surface."
As a parent, I especially related to this:
"You and Thea will likely follow different lines, and I don't see as I'm called upon to bring you up alike."
Ratings (1 to 5)
Writing: 5
Plot: 4
Characters: 5
Emotional impact: 5
Overall rating: 4.75
Cather wasn’t supposed to be my theme this year, but here I am finishing a third book and committed to reading more. I always imagined her as a prairie writer, but each book has covered a different kind of atmosphere. Here we begin on the plains, in the sand hills of Eastern Colorado, in a small railroad town where we follow one of the daughters of a local minister. But then we make our way to 1890’s Chicago, the Arizona desert and the opera world of New York City. A young Thea Kronberg stands out in Moonstone, Colorado, drawing interest from a series of admirers. She doesn’t get along so well with those of her own age or of the small-town mentality. She seems to have the mindset and determination that can lead something important in her life and seems to draw those who want to help her.
Thea’s life is roughly based on the life of a Swedish-born American Opera singer Olive Fremsted, a quirky genius who grew up Minnesota and trained in Germany. In interviews, Cather was struck by her simplicity and deep focus on her work and saw parallels with the plains character she wanted to capture. So, Cather created her own variety of master opera singer, an artist of shear will and determination and focus, grounded in the plains, led by a variety of well-meaning men who all watch her move on. Not lovers, all of them, but admirers of the arts and of Thea. And then Cather throws in a detour to the Canyons of Arizona and the Anasazi cliff-dwellings. Arizona canyons…sun, sky, desert, mystery, isolation – this personal spiritual detour is the best part of this book and of anything I’ve read by Cather so far.
Cather is a writer of her time in terms of her ideas of art and culture, but she is a timeless prose artist and master at capturing the nature and experience of the landscape, the light and space and the mixture of permanence and change. She is also an especially good character builder and seems to make it her mission to create untraditional strong women characters. In the later, Thea is a classic example. This book is far more sophisticated than O Pioneers or Death Comes for the Archbishop (which are what I’ve read). Here she is trying to capture a stubborn powerful mind becoming an artist, almost always through the eyes of the beholders, her many mentors. She is there to be watched and experienced, and Cather uses a number of tricks to allow the reader to do just this. The result isn’t exactly a happy success story. There is a cost to all this. Her success depends on capricious iffy public taste. And one can feel Thea’s isolation, physical exhaustion, and her inability to bond with anyone who isn’t an admirer, her unwillingness to look around and take in the world. She is focused.
I’ve developed into a big fan of Cather. I love her prose, her characters and the landscape through her eyes. Looking forward to My Antiona. Recommended to anyone interested.
-----------------------------------------------
27. The Song of the Lark by Willa Cather
published: 1915
format: 334 pages within the ebook [b:The Prairie Trilogy: O Pioneers!; The Song of the Lark; My Antoniá|22320878|The Prairie Trilogy O Pioneers!; The Song of the Lark; My Antoniá|Willa Cather|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1401052421s/22320878.jpg|47166]
acquired: May
read: May 12 – June 8
time reading: 16 hr 28 min, 3.0 min/page
rating: 4
Thea’s life is roughly based on the life of a Swedish-born American Opera singer Olive Fremsted, a quirky genius who grew up Minnesota and trained in Germany. In interviews, Cather was struck by her simplicity and deep focus on her work and saw parallels with the plains character she wanted to capture. So, Cather created her own variety of master opera singer, an artist of shear will and determination and focus, grounded in the plains, led by a variety of well-meaning men who all watch her move on. Not lovers, all of them, but admirers of the arts and of Thea. And then Cather throws in a detour to the Canyons of Arizona and the Anasazi cliff-dwellings. Arizona canyons…sun, sky, desert, mystery, isolation – this personal spiritual detour is the best part of this book and of anything I’ve read by Cather so far.
Cather is a writer of her time in terms of her ideas of art and culture, but she is a timeless prose artist and master at capturing the nature and experience of the landscape, the light and space and the mixture of permanence and change. She is also an especially good character builder and seems to make it her mission to create untraditional strong women characters. In the later, Thea is a classic example. This book is far more sophisticated than O Pioneers or Death Comes for the Archbishop (which are what I’ve read). Here she is trying to capture a stubborn powerful mind becoming an artist, almost always through the eyes of the beholders, her many mentors. She is there to be watched and experienced, and Cather uses a number of tricks to allow the reader to do just this. The result isn’t exactly a happy success story. There is a cost to all this. Her success depends on capricious iffy public taste. And one can feel Thea’s isolation, physical exhaustion, and her inability to bond with anyone who isn’t an admirer, her unwillingness to look around and take in the world. She is focused.
I’ve developed into a big fan of Cather. I love her prose, her characters and the landscape through her eyes. Looking forward to My Antiona. Recommended to anyone interested.
-----------------------------------------------
27. The Song of the Lark by Willa Cather
published: 1915
format: 334 pages within the ebook [b:The Prairie Trilogy: O Pioneers!; The Song of the Lark; My Antoniá|22320878|The Prairie Trilogy O Pioneers!; The Song of the Lark; My Antoniá|Willa Cather|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1401052421s/22320878.jpg|47166]
acquired: May
read: May 12 – June 8
time reading: 16 hr 28 min, 3.0 min/page
rating: 4
This particular Kindle edition is the pits, poorly edited, inconsistent formatting, words break at odd places across lines, etc., etc. It wasn't even free. Pay a bit of money for an easier read. (And, I'm puzzled why this Kindle edition has only 279 pages, while print editions are +/-400 pages.)
Some lovely descriptive writing. Particularly enjoyed the early parts about a young girl discovering and fighting for her talent.
Some lovely descriptive writing. Particularly enjoyed the early parts about a young girl discovering and fighting for her talent.
I can honestly understand why some people don't enjoy Willa Cather's works. They aren't fast-paced or exciting. They honestly aren't very uplifting. I keep reading more of her novels because they put together some pieces of history (especially American history and especially the history of immigrants to the US) in a unique way. I find her slow way of telling a story very good for me as it kind of forces me to slow down and pay attention. I think this is probably the 6th novel of hers I've read and I am looking forward to reading more soon. She knits my heart to the past.