Willa Cather

[Dollypop]

Posted: 9/23/08 at 6:59pm

I've recently been reading the works of this remarkable writer, namely "My Antonia" and "Death Comes For the Archbishop". I am absolutely in awe of the manner in which she makes the setting such a viable part of the story that the reader actually gets to FEEL the ambiance. Her characterizations are nothing short of brilliant.

Why didn't I discover this writer earlier?

[Unknown User]

Posted: 9/23/08 at 9:31pm

I read My Antonia when it was chosen as Chicago's "One Book" program- sort of a city wide book club. I LOVED IT.

If you are looking for something similar, check out So Big by Edna Ferber. WONDERFUL book!

[best12bars]

Posted: 9/23/08 at 10:15pm

Dolly, at least you discovered her now. There's a certain pleasure and satisfaction in finding "buried treasure" later in life. You appreciate it more, I think.

Cheers!

[sweetestsiren]

Posted: 9/23/08 at 10:18pm

I hated My Antonia, but I suppose I should give the author another chance. Well, hated is an overstatement, but I didn't care for it at all. That novel felt very thin aside from the setting descriptions. Updated On: 9/23/08 at 10:18 PM

[jasonf]

Posted: 9/23/08 at 10:26pm

I didn't like My Antonia either and had to read it THREE times in three different classes between highschool and college! I appreciated what Cather was doing, but I didn't find it to be an even remotely interesting read.

[Raspberry]

Posted: 9/24/08 at 12:53am

I remember I hated My Antonia when I had to read it at age 14. It was the first time I was ever forced to read a book over my summer vacation for a class that didn't start until the fall, and I've had an intense, irrational aversion to Willa Cather ever since.

I wonder what I would think of that book if I read it now...

...meh, the world will never know.

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 9/24/08 at 1:04am

I read "My Mortal Enemy" 28 years ago after reading an essay by Truman Capote included in "Music for Chameleons." He had a list of must-reads and I systematically went through them all and was greatly rewarded by the process. He also included details of an encounter with Cather and opined that she might well be the greatest American lesbian writer we've yet seen.

[Borstalboy]

Posted: 9/24/08 at 10:59am

High school is a little early to gain an appreciation for the pleasure that is Willa Cather.

[Dollypop]

Posted: 9/24/08 at 2:42pm

Not only is "Death Comes For the Archbishop" beautifully written, but I visited Santa Fe last summer and visited the Church of the Sisters of Loretto, rang the bell of San Miguel and spent some time in Taos--all of these play large parts in Cather's novel. I had no idea that the novel contained these references.

I don't think I've been so engrossed in a single author's work since Maupin's "Tales of the City" series.

Updated On: 9/24/08 at 02:42 PM

[BigFatBlonde]

Posted: 9/24/08 at 9:37pm

I discovered MY ANTONIA in my mid-twenties. I couldn't put it down. One of my all time favorite books.

This is the first time I've ever heard of anyone hating it.

[wonderfulwizard11]

Posted: 9/24/08 at 10:40pm

I've never read MY ANTONIA, but I had to read O PIONEERS! for high school and loved it. Her use of imagery is brilliant.

[Dollypop]

Posted: 9/25/08 at 3:14pm

O PIONEERS is next up on my reading agenda.

I'm absolutely loving these books. Too bad my local library has a limited--and tattered--selection of Cather's works.