O Pioneers!

by Willa Cather
Scott County Library audiobook 5 CDs
read by Betsy Bronson
genre: realistic fiction (Cather lived 1873-1947, so it seems to be Historical Fiction)

I loved this! Cather is amazing. It makes me want to re-read My Antonia. From the back of the case: "Alexandra Bergsons, the daughter of Swedish immigrants, inherits her family's ailing farm in Hanover, Nebraska, upon the death of her father. Over the years, she turns the farm into a successful enterprise. However, success has not brought peace, as passion and love intervene."

Alexandra is an admirable main character. The story opens with her baby brother Emil mournfully trying to get his kitten back. Alexandra, Emil, Carl, Marie, . . . I was drawn into these characters' lives. What a powerful, heartachingly good story.

The reader's voice bothered me. The accents seemed fakey, especially on the deeper male voices. Swedish? Norwegian? Alien? It was hard to tell. It made me wonder if Cather wrote the story in a foreign language and had it translated. . .

When their dad died, Alexandra was the oldest. Her brothers Lew and Oscar were 19 and 17. Emil was much younger. Their mother didn't play an important role in the story.

I loved Evar! He was fascinating, albeit odd. The part about why he went around barefoot made me smile!

Alexandra's wisdom, wise investment, and willingness to try new ideas made me admire and respect her. "Puissant"  is the word Cather used. Right now, Blogger is indicating that I've misspelled it. I double-checked. Puissant means "having great power or influence."

The Marie and Frank portion of the story was so frustrating! How could she be so clueless about Emil's true feelings?!?! Then when she opens her eyes, how can she be so stupid and selfish?!

Carl was another favorite character for me. What a wonderful man!

I wasn't sure about "The Divide." Why was the land called this? Did I not listen carefully enough? Probably. One of the hazards of audiobooks.

My Antonia

by Willa Cather
Dakota County Library, audioCDs, 8 hours
read by Patrick Lawlor
genre: Pioneer America fiction

I'm so glad I grabbed this! It's one of those classics that I'd heard of but never read. I had to return it to the library before I finished, so I've got a copy from PRMS to finish the story of Jim Burden and his friendship with Bohemian Antonia. This narrator was fantastic! He brought the characters, the ethnic nuances, and the era to life. I wish I would have shared this one with my dad before it was due. I think he'd really enjoy it. Wonderful, lyrical, beautiful story.

Added 12/7/10:
My Antonia – print version PRMS
I enjoyed listening to the audiobook, but almost wish I’d read the print version. Unfortunately, I have more to do than time to do it right now. I got the book from my library, but want to put it away. I DID find time to read the introductory material, and found it very interesting. I didn’t really know much about Willa Cather earlier. She was quite an intellectual. How interesting that she’s best known for “pioneer” and “prairie” writing.


Added 12/31/2019:
Got the audiobook again (Scott County Library this time). Finally finished it! Took me a while (no driving during knee replacement surgery), but I finally got done. I think I prefer O Pioneer to this, but they're both quite good. It sure took me a long time to find out that I like Willa Cather's writing!

Antonia Shimerda and Jim Burden -friendship, potential romance . . . I was a little surprised at the way their stories turned out. Lena Lingard was a fun character, but I was glad when Jim left for Harvard. Tiny Soderball also surprised me, becoming an enterprising business owner and then a Klondike gold rush gal. The three young women had different personalities and life trajectories, but worked well together.

The part of the story where the "Russians" - Peter and Pavel - had their back story told was really creepy. The wedding party beset by wolves in Russia and them throwing the bride and groom off the sled to save themselves . . . No wonder bad luck followed them to the new world!

Listening to this, I had to remind myself that it is set in the 1880s to early 19teens . . . post Civil War. Beautifully written. Glad I spent the time.