Take a photo of a barcode or cover
jdintr 's review for:
O Pioneers!
by Willa Cather
Cather's Nebraska is every bit as vivid and integral a character to her work as John Steinbeck's California is in his. Considering that Steinbeck is my favorite author, it really elevates Cather, in my eyes to one of the top five in American literature.
The key to understanding O Pioneers is knowing how the land--maybe I should capitalize, The Land--works in the novel. Considering how she basically wallops the reader with this point in the last three pages, it shouldn't be hard to miss.
Without "The Land" you have a story of a spinster, Alexandra, who survives three years of drought and the death of her father to become a very, very successful farmer. Without "The Land" you have a fleeting love affair between Emil and Marie and a tragic ending.
With it, however, Alexandra's love story is complete (with Carl Linstrum). Her marriage to the land is consummated with a fateful trip to the river and back, during which she realizes she isn't going to leave, she's going to stay an make The Land prosper under her.
With it, Emil and Carl are doomed to sadness and frustration as they wander the wide world. With it, Emil's death--as his lifeblood and that of his lover pour into the soil--is a validation. It's eternal, beautiful.
I picked up this book on a trip to Nebraska, put off reading it for a month, then devoured it. Few people would list the Great Plains in their top 10 or 50 American places to visit. But the love that Cather pours into her setting is infectious. You will marvel at the place and want to see what inspires such greatness.
The key to understanding O Pioneers is knowing how the land--maybe I should capitalize, The Land--works in the novel. Considering how she basically wallops the reader with this point in the last three pages, it shouldn't be hard to miss.
Without "The Land" you have a story of a spinster, Alexandra, who survives three years of drought and the death of her father to become a very, very successful farmer. Without "The Land" you have a fleeting love affair between Emil and Marie and a tragic ending.
With it, however, Alexandra's love story is complete (with Carl Linstrum). Her marriage to the land is consummated with a fateful trip to the river and back, during which she realizes she isn't going to leave, she's going to stay an make The Land prosper under her.
With it, Emil and Carl are doomed to sadness and frustration as they wander the wide world. With it, Emil's death--as his lifeblood and that of his lover pour into the soil--is a validation. It's eternal, beautiful.
I picked up this book on a trip to Nebraska, put off reading it for a month, then devoured it. Few people would list the Great Plains in their top 10 or 50 American places to visit. But the love that Cather pours into her setting is infectious. You will marvel at the place and want to see what inspires such greatness.