Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.8 AVERAGE
3.8 AVERAGE
ebook.
this was a powerful but quiet story of a strong female living and running a homestead on the prairie. the book is carefully written...concise yet elaborate. cather says just enough to give you the full picture of alexandra's life, struggles, joys...but doesn't go over the top with unnecessary detail or description.
of course i love alexandra. her spirit, her brains, her determination...she's a classic character that warrants attention.
this was a powerful but quiet story of a strong female living and running a homestead on the prairie. the book is carefully written...concise yet elaborate. cather says just enough to give you the full picture of alexandra's life, struggles, joys...but doesn't go over the top with unnecessary detail or description.
of course i love alexandra. her spirit, her brains, her determination...she's a classic character that warrants attention.
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
relaxing
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This was a lovely book. And I love Cather's style of writing. Her writing makes you long for a time and a place that doesn't exist anymore. I wish I could've been in the fields through all the seasons that she writes about. I could feel it, sense it and smell it whilst I was reading.
She has her niche - early 20th C Plains. But really, most of her description is purple prose and her dialog is just horrible. But I did enjoy going back to this on my own after many decades.
O Willa Cather! How is it that you have made me love Nebraska?! Another reviewer here called this "prairie tragedy" & I can't improve on that, so there you have it. I just love Cather's writing, which is deceptively simple & full of grass & earth & wind & apples & sky. I love that she can make you hum along with the nature thing & beautiful, smart, sad Alexsandra (yes I checked the spelling) & the Bohemian girls & Italian boys & the big lunkhead brothers & just when you think you kind of know where this is going, WALLOP! Isn't that so American?! We have so many beautiful, smart people & so much diversity & a few lunkheads but they're not so bad, & then....we've got...well, that would spoil it. I loved it.
I have been awkwardly pretending to have read this book for years. Now I understand why everyone thought I would have read it! The Nebraska prairie, the immigrants who farmed the land, the strong female protagonist, the limited omniscient storytelling. I’m here for it. Moving on to the next two books in this (loose) trilogy.
Straight forward tale of the prairie. I thought she could have SHOWED more and TOLD less, but maybe I'm being too picky. Looking forward to Song of the Lark and My Antonia.
It's always fascinating to me when I read a book written in 1913 and find it as well written and captivating as any book written today. This story is so poignant in it's telling of life in Nebraska as it was being farmed and tamed. Alexandra was a strong woman, a lonely woman and one who continually fought the men's idea of what a woman should be. I had no idea this was the first in a series with [b:The Song of the Lark|48214|The Song of the Lark|Willa Cather|http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1348328431s/48214.jpg|1385675] being the second and [b:My Antonia|17150|My Antonia|Willa Cather|http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1348295344s/17150.jpg|575450] being the third. I've read the first and third, I guess it's time for [b:The Song of the Lark|48214|The Song of the Lark|Willa Cather|http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1348328431s/48214.jpg|1385675]!
I saw this made for TV movie years ago and really enjoyed it. Willa is a wonderful writer! The movie followed the book very closely and I am sure (from my best recollection) that a lot of the script in the movie came directly from the book. I really Ms. Cather's method of writing and I enjoyed the book a lot.