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ms_aprilvincent 's review for:
O Pioneers!
by Willa Cather
I never had to read this book in high school, but my sister did, and it's her book that I've got. She drew a flip book on the pages.
Cather's descriptions of the land are beautiful but not too flowery. Her words show just how much Alexandra loves and is connected to her land.
I didn't know much about the novel going in, so I was surprised to find that it's really an excellent feminist novel: a woman (no more than a girl, really) inherits her father's farm, because he recognizes that she is the one who can make it a success. Then she does, because she uses non-traditional methods; after all, a woman running a farm is unusual enough, why not keep the unconventional theme going?
She becomes very successful and her stupid brothers resent her, and they are very worried that she is going to throw over her fortune for a man, instead of giving everything to them. They forgot that they would still be out chopping rocks or something if it hadn't been for her. And, because she is FABULOUS, she cuts them out of her life. Yay! A woman who doesn't bother trying to be nice all the time!
Alexandra sees the potential in her younger brother, Emil, to become something better than a farmer. In this way, she is like a typical immigrant parent, wanting more for the children than she had herself.
I really liked the protagonist, though the secondary characters were sometimes annoying. The book's not all hearts and flowers; there's some tragedy, but not any more than would happen in real life.
I think it's great to see a novel in which the woman accomplishes everything she wants to, and THEN gets married; it's a nice change from the normal schedule of events.
Cather's descriptions of the land are beautiful but not too flowery. Her words show just how much Alexandra loves and is connected to her land.
I didn't know much about the novel going in, so I was surprised to find that it's really an excellent feminist novel: a woman (no more than a girl, really) inherits her father's farm, because he recognizes that she is the one who can make it a success. Then she does, because she uses non-traditional methods; after all, a woman running a farm is unusual enough, why not keep the unconventional theme going?
She becomes very successful and her stupid brothers resent her, and they are very worried that she is going to throw over her fortune for a man, instead of giving everything to them. They forgot that they would still be out chopping rocks or something if it hadn't been for her. And, because she is FABULOUS, she cuts them out of her life. Yay! A woman who doesn't bother trying to be nice all the time!
Alexandra sees the potential in her younger brother, Emil, to become something better than a farmer. In this way, she is like a typical immigrant parent, wanting more for the children than she had herself.
I really liked the protagonist, though the secondary characters were sometimes annoying. The book's not all hearts and flowers; there's some tragedy, but not any more than would happen in real life.
I think it's great to see a novel in which the woman accomplishes everything she wants to, and THEN gets married; it's a nice change from the normal schedule of events.