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3.8 AVERAGE
3.8 AVERAGE
I have always been fascinated by pioneers (and loved Little House on the Prairie growing up), and this book truly brought the landscape to life. My ancestors were German and Dutch immigrants/farmers in Wisconsin in the 19th century, and though I don’t know much about them this book allowed me to picture some of what their lives may have been like.
I loved the many beautiful quotes that personified the landscape.
My only issue was I don’t like how Alexandra responded in the end. It may be that I am still young and around their age, and I suppose it was how Alexandra was raised and the time period, but blaming Emil and Marie seems very wrong to me. They were pursuing happiness, especially in a time when I imagine it would be difficult for a woman to get a divorce, and they were planning on ending all ties to avoid infidelity. Hardly a justification for a murder! I was glad Carl brought this up, but it bothered me.
I loved the many beautiful quotes that personified the landscape.
My only issue was I don’t like how Alexandra responded in the end. It may be that I am still young and around their age, and I suppose it was how Alexandra was raised and the time period, but blaming Emil and Marie seems very wrong to me. They were pursuing happiness, especially in a time when I imagine it would be difficult for a woman to get a divorce, and they were planning on ending all ties to avoid infidelity. Hardly a justification for a murder! I was glad Carl brought this up, but it bothered me.
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
4.5 stars. A wonderful read for Cather fans but it didn't capture me quite the way My Ántonia did.
It’s hard for me to believe she wrote this in 1913. Her style is refreshing, and I loved the storyline. Beautiful and heartbreaking.
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
The thing I like about Cather is her nature writing. The bits where she’s writing about the plains and the prairies are beautiful and compelling, and I’ll read another Cather book just for that. I love that she lived in the world that she writes about, on the cusp of the move to industrial farming. In this book, most people are farming with horses, but one or two families have an ‘engine’. There’s a real sense of risk to the land, but also companionship and care. It’s a world that is all but lost now.
And as for the plot, I liked the characters and the drama in this book, but I felt that the focus was slightly misplaced. The big drama turns out the be about the love between Marie and Emil, but it feels like they’ve been a subplot throughout the novel until they’re murdered. Their story is compelling and believable and heartfelt, but it was strange to me that they were a subplot until 10 pages before the end, and then suddenly there’s huge drama. It wasn’t quite balanced somehow. I think that critique kind of extends across the novel, there are a few scenes of which I wasn’t sure the purpose. So overall the ‘plot’ is slightly unclear. Reading this book is a bit more like inhabiting a world and living through the goings-on in people’s lives than reading a constructed novel.
In terms of ‘about’ness, I think it’s about what it means to be ‘good’ and the sacrifices entailed therein, and the extent to which being good is really a good thing. (Maybe that’s just my modern scepticism of overly Christian values). It’s also about the pioneering spirit and the American dream, working the land until you make it, etc. And it’s about how greed and jealousy and drunkenness can ruin people. There’s definitely a touch of that Black Beauty-esque piety about this book.
I wish I could give it more stars but there was just something lacking here
And as for the plot, I liked the characters and the drama in this book, but I felt that the focus was slightly misplaced.
In terms of ‘about’ness, I think it’s about what it means to be ‘good’ and the sacrifices entailed therein, and the extent to which being good is really a good thing. (Maybe that’s just my modern scepticism of overly Christian values). It’s also about the pioneering spirit and the American dream, working the land until you make it, etc. And it’s about how greed and jealousy and drunkenness can ruin people. There’s definitely a touch of that Black Beauty-esque piety about this book.
I wish I could give it more stars but there was just something lacking here
O’Pioneers, by Willa Cather, tells the story of a woman who has a lot of faith in the prairies of Nebraska, called the Divide. The book begins with John Bergson, who is dying, telling his children that he has entrusted his land to his oldest daughter, Alexandra. The father dies, and Alexandra is able to bring the farm through drought and depression. Alexandra’s childhood friend, Carl Linstrum, and his family move away during this time. The story resumes again 16 years later, where Alexandra has the most prosperous farm in the area. Her brothers, Oscar and Lou, are both married and own their own farms. Carl returns to the Divide to visit. Lou and Oscar are upset by the relationship between Alexandra and Carl and drive him out of the Divide. Meanwhile, Emil, Alexandra’s youngest brother, recently graduated from the State University, leaves for Mexico. He has to leave because he is beginning to fall in love with Marie Shabata, who is trapped in an unhappy marriage. When Emil returns, his close friend Amedee dies. At the service he realizes that he must say goodbye to Marie again and goes to find her. He finds her in her orchard, and lies down next to her. Marie’s husband, Frank, finds them like this and shoots them both dead. A few months after the murders, Alexandra is able to overcome her grief enough to visit Frank in prison. She is exhausted with life at this point. She returns, and finds that Carl has returned to the Divide. Carl and Alexandra, happy to be together again, decide to get married. The theme of O'Pioneers is that land has a lot of power.
I really enjoyed O’Pioneers. It was a very beautiful book and I really liked the character Alexandra. She was a very empowering person and she always tried to do the right thing. The story itself was very sad, mainly because of the deaths of Marie and Emil. Throughout the book Marie is such a happy person, but as the book nears her death it is very sad to see her give up as she gets more worn down from her marriage. In the book, the Divide itself seems to be just as prominent a character, because it rules most of the way Alexandra lives. Alexandra and the land have a very unique relationship because she seems to listen to it and try to understand it, while Lou and Oscar just seem to see it as a profit maker. O’Pioneers is an AP book, which makes sense because there are a lot of themes that are important to the plot of the story, and it can be hard to understand all of them. I recommend O’Pioneers to someone who likes to read about life on the prairie and the hardships farmers at the turn of the century endured.
I really enjoyed O’Pioneers. It was a very beautiful book and I really liked the character Alexandra. She was a very empowering person and she always tried to do the right thing. The story itself was very sad, mainly because of the deaths of Marie and Emil. Throughout the book Marie is such a happy person, but as the book nears her death it is very sad to see her give up as she gets more worn down from her marriage. In the book, the Divide itself seems to be just as prominent a character, because it rules most of the way Alexandra lives. Alexandra and the land have a very unique relationship because she seems to listen to it and try to understand it, while Lou and Oscar just seem to see it as a profit maker. O’Pioneers is an AP book, which makes sense because there are a lot of themes that are important to the plot of the story, and it can be hard to understand all of them. I recommend O’Pioneers to someone who likes to read about life on the prairie and the hardships farmers at the turn of the century endured.
I have been on a bit of a prairie/western reading kick this winter, and "O Pioneers!" was a perfect addition. I know I read "My Antonia" in high school, but I can't remember if I ever read "O Pioneers!" before. It was lovely. Each section was perfectly crafted. Each character felt full and lifelike. The writing is so good that the simple interactions of everyday life held as much interest to me as the climactic . I was sad when the book was over and disappointed to find that Cather's "prairie trilogy" does not follow the same characters at all. But I look forward to reading the next book in the trilogy all the same!
Spoiler
double murder
emotional
informative
slow-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
Un libro discreto. Una storia che non cattura mai davvero ma che allo stesso tempo è piacevole da leggere. Ha un buon ritmo, anche se i salti temporali (anche piuttosto lunghi) spezzettano un po’ la storia.
La cosa che mi è piaciuta di più è stata sicuramente la capacità di questo libro di portarmi in un tempo e in un luogo diversi, trasmettendo l’amore e la riverenza che l’autrice prova nei confronti della terra e della natura. La trama in sé l’ho trovata un po’ frammentata, si percepisce secondo me che sono due racconti slegati intrecciati insieme a posteriori. La protagonista mi è abbastanza piaciuta e ho trovato tenero il finale, sebbene dolceamaro.
Un buon libro per un viaggio libresco degli USA, ma non molto di più.
La cosa che mi è piaciuta di più è stata sicuramente la capacità di questo libro di portarmi in un tempo e in un luogo diversi, trasmettendo l’amore e la riverenza che l’autrice prova nei confronti della terra e della natura. La trama in sé l’ho trovata un po’ frammentata, si percepisce secondo me che sono due racconti slegati intrecciati insieme a posteriori. La protagonista mi è abbastanza piaciuta e ho trovato tenero il finale, sebbene dolceamaro.
Un buon libro per un viaggio libresco degli USA, ma non molto di più.
emotional
inspiring
reflective
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
As someone who has lived in Nebraska for almost my whole life, I somehow never read anything by Cather. Which is too bad, because O Pioneers! was a treat to read and experience what life may have been like for folks in my family just a few generations back.
Beyond the enjoyment of the historical nature of the book and setting, the characters are really what makes the book wonderful. Alexandra and the others are full of life, which makes the struggle and the loss of all the characters hit harder. It's hard not to empathize and understand the motives of all the characters, especially when knowing the harshness of the land doesn't help.
Overall, I'm glad I read this one and am thankful for the connection to my own personal history it has.
Beyond the enjoyment of the historical nature of the book and setting, the characters are really what makes the book wonderful. Alexandra and the others are full of life, which makes the struggle and the loss of all the characters hit harder. It's hard not to empathize and understand the motives of all the characters, especially when knowing the harshness of the land doesn't help.
Overall, I'm glad I read this one and am thankful for the connection to my own personal history it has.
emotional
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