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3.8 AVERAGE
3.8 AVERAGE
With complex and memorable characters against clear prose, it's hard not to love this novel. It goes to show that you don't need to be in the middle of bustling Times Square or thrashing about on a ship over the Atlantic Ocean to have an interesting life. The plains of Nebraska can be just as dramatic.
The portrait of Alexandra Bergson showed a compelling young woman who doesn't fit into any stereotypes of a heroine readers are used to seeing. She's not a spoiled princess growing through hardships nor is she a particularly romantic shepherdess you find in old poetry. She's Alexandra with her own flaws and features, and she defies reader expectations the same way she defies her brothers'. She's the driving force of the story, and its heart despite Cather's attempts to make the novel about the land.
Alexandra isn't the only main character in the book. While Emil Bergson (her youngest brother) and Marie Toveksy (her neighbor) are interesting in of themselves, I feel like the story lost a little of something by focusing so much on them later in the novel. Their stories, which were well-written and certainly affected Alexandra, came at the expense of Alexandra's growth earlier in the novel. Personally, I would've loved to see Alexandra grow into the formidable farmer and businesswoman she becomes after the first part. Instead, all readers see is a confident, older woman. It's as if her accomplishments mean nothing, and Alexandra herself often downplays them, instead insisting that everything she's worked for is only worth it so Emil can get work off the farm. It feels demeaning to our heroine.
In reading Willa Cather's Wikipedia page, I learned she faced criticism later in life for her conservative ideas, her disdain of how other women wrote, and her preference for male protagonists. That comes through in this novel, particularly in the ending where Alexandra seems to throw herself at the feet of men for salvation. It's of note that while Cather thought authors like the Brontes and Austen were too sentimental, her story-telling is very similar to theirs. I was strongly reminded of the ending of Jane Eyre when reading this, only switch out Jane Eyre with a young man and Rochester with Alexandra.
In spite of that, Cather's prose is clear and evocative in its simplicity. Her cast is diverse and rich. I highly recommend this Great American Novel. If you didn't like Tom Sawyer, you'll probably like this.
The portrait of Alexandra Bergson showed a compelling young woman who doesn't fit into any stereotypes of a heroine readers are used to seeing. She's not a spoiled princess growing through hardships nor is she a particularly romantic shepherdess you find in old poetry. She's Alexandra with her own flaws and features, and she defies reader expectations the same way she defies her brothers'. She's the driving force of the story, and its heart despite Cather's attempts to make the novel about the land.
Alexandra isn't the only main character in the book. While Emil Bergson (her youngest brother) and Marie Toveksy (her neighbor) are interesting in of themselves, I feel like the story lost a little of something by focusing so much on them later in the novel. Their stories, which were well-written and certainly affected Alexandra, came at the expense of Alexandra's growth earlier in the novel. Personally, I would've loved to see Alexandra grow into the formidable farmer and businesswoman she becomes after the first part. Instead, all readers see is a confident, older woman. It's as if her accomplishments mean nothing, and Alexandra herself often downplays them, instead insisting that everything she's worked for is only worth it so Emil can get work off the farm. It feels demeaning to our heroine.
In reading Willa Cather's Wikipedia page, I learned she faced criticism later in life for her conservative ideas, her disdain of how other women wrote, and her preference for male protagonists. That comes through in this novel, particularly in the ending where Alexandra seems to throw herself at the feet of men for salvation. It's of note that while Cather thought authors like the Brontes and Austen were too sentimental, her story-telling is very similar to theirs. I was strongly reminded of the ending of Jane Eyre when reading this, only switch out Jane Eyre with a young man and Rochester with Alexandra.
In spite of that, Cather's prose is clear and evocative in its simplicity. Her cast is diverse and rich. I highly recommend this Great American Novel. If you didn't like Tom Sawyer, you'll probably like this.
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
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:
Yes
I really enjoyed this female perspective on the pioneer tale. It's surprisingly (to me anyway) feminist, focusing on the capable daughter of a Swedish immigrant to Nebraska. At the start of the book her father dies and she takes on the family farm with the help (or hindrance) of her brothers. The book jumps forward in time to show how the family's fortunes play out. There is a lot made of the natural wealth of the landscape and the characters' connection or disconnection with it. It was a rather beautiful little book. Very Manifest Destiny but interesting nonetheless.
challenging
emotional
inspiring
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Loveable characters:
Yes
I read this for uni, and it was really enjoyable - follows Swedish immigrants in America, i feel like we sometimes forget that these people also had real lives and real worries and dramas, which this story explores which i found really interesting
Probably my favorite Cather novel yet--haunting, beautiful, shocking, sad, and hopeful.