My Įntonia | Litsy

so-so

I enjoyed the writing style and everything flowed nicely, kept me interested, and stayed engaging with great descriptions of the land. But I guess the characters and story weren‘t enough to bring me back to it again.

9 likes

CoffeeNBooks

My Įntonia | Willa Cather

pick

I really enjoyed this story of Jim and Antonia, and their lives in Nebraska in the 1800s. #ReadTheUSA2020 #Nebraska

94 likes2 stack adds

LatrelWhite

My Įntonia | Willa Cather

?Spending this first ?fall feeling day on the couch in jammies, Lady Grey Tea ā•ļø¸and my day book of prayer!?Trying to finish up My Antonià.

Hazel2019 Ooh where did you get the cool mug š¨ 5y

LatrelWhite @Hazel2019 Got it at Marshall‘s it‘s the Rae Dunn. collection.š 5y

Hazel2019 Love it! š’• š 5y

8 likes3 comments

jmtrivera

My Įntonia | Willa Cather

An #OrangeCover still on my TBR. But who can resist this gorgeous volume for long? #FallisBooked

Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks So pretty š§�š§�š§� 5y

25 likes1 comment

Graywacke

My Įntonia | Willa Cather

Book V - Cuzak‘s Boys and the end of the book.
#catherbuddyread

Jim waited 20 years! The rest of this sections is a kind of epilogue of what Antonia became. For most of the book I thought Jim was a device to see Antonia, someone we never really see. But now we finish and I‘m wondering more about him than Antonia. Share your thoughts on him, Antonia, the others, what Cather might have been doing and the book overall.

Graywacke @catebutler @crazeedi @Lcsmcat @Tanisha_A @CarolynM @batsy @Caterina @squirrelbrain @Hooked_on_books @jewright 5y

Graywacke My favorite quote from this section: I did not want to find her aged and broken; I really dreaded it. In the course of twenty crowded years one parts with many illusions. I did not wish to lose the early ones. Some memories are realities, and are better than anything that can ever happen to one again. 5y

Cathythoughts Love this quote ā™�ļø¸š’” 5y

See All 32 Comments

Lcsmcat @Cathythoughts Me too! @Graywacke Like you, this section made me wonder about who the story is really about - Jim or Antonia. Perhaps the title is a clue? ā€Myā€¯ Antonia, as Jim amended his manuscript. Authors show themselves through their work. Perhaps Cather is using this as a literary device to show us Jim? 5y

Lcsmcat And I can‘t believe Jim waited 20 YEARS! 5y

jewright I thought the last lines of the book tie Jim and Antonia together. ā€For Antonia and for me, this has been the Road to Destiny; had taken us to those early accidents of fortune which predetermined for us all that we can ever be. Now I understood that the same road was to bring us together again. Whatever we had missed, we possessed together the precious, the incomunicable past.ā€¯ 5y

jewright Jim does just seem like a literary device. His life seems kind of empty compared to Antonia‘s here, especially at the end. The first time I read this I was disappointed they don‘t end up together, but it‘s really better this way. I‘m annoyed it took him so long, but I‘m glad he goes to see her, and she‘s happy. 5y

Graywacke @Cathythoughts @Lcsmcat - the lines strike home, no? I felt them. 5y

Graywacke @Lcsmcat yes, he adds ā€Myā€¯ as a last thing, flipping the weight of the book from her to him. And once we start thinking about the whole book, and rethink the narrator, a lot of ideas come up. Was Jim Willa, at least in part, or not? Was he too soft for Antonia? Was he an educated cipher compared to her embrace of land and labor? And so on... He was damn passive, for sure. 5y

Graywacke @jewright thanks for highlighting those last lines. They‘re beautiful and embrace everything, and life itself in all its flaws. Also, I agree with you about Jim being empty (see my previous comment to Linda). No kids, adrift of his foundation, an orphan and so on... 5y

Graywacke @jewright and I‘m really with you on it being better they don‘t end up together, at least for Antonia. I think she would have been very frustrated with him. As soon as I saw the lines he waited 20 years, it was clear to me she knew him better than I did and she made the right decision. My thinking is ( @Lcsmcat ) regardless of their relationship, that 20 years adrift was the possibly the mistake of his life. 5y

Lcsmcat @jewright I do love those lines. Cather‘s prose again! And it shows a bit of growth on his part, because he states earlier that he waited so long to go back because he was sure her life was awful and he didn‘t want to see her that way. But she was actually thriving- more so than Tiny for all her wealth- and happy. 5y

Lcsmcat @Graywacke Was Jim Willa? Interesting question. I think he at least represents a bit of her. That part that Thomas Wolfe identified - you can‘t go home again. He was too passive for her and, I think, too soft for the land. I agree that they would not have made each other happy. And think of the years of misery he could have saved himself, thinking Antonia was miserable, if he‘d just gone to see her sooner. ā¬‡ļø¸ (edited) 5y

Lcsmcat Like his surprise at how she dealt with her first child as a joy instead of a shame, it shows that he didn‘t know her as well as he thought he did. 5y

Graywacke @Lcsmcat yes, good pickup. I overlooked his response to the baby, which you mentioned last week. 5y

CarolynM @Graywacke I love that quote and I completely understand the sentiment. The bond between Jim and Antonia was their childhood proximity, not really anything to do with who they were as people. I think Antonia understood this all along while Jim only got it at the end. Was Jim Willa? I'm sure he was, at least in part. 5y

batsy I love that quote too! And @CarolynM I think you've summed it up beautifully. For me it feels like the book was Jim's path to realisation and I was mulling over what you said last week about my question about why Jim never made an effort for Antonia, as it were. I understand what you mean: Antonia always understood what kind of connection they had. 5y

Lcsmcat @CarolynM Yes! You said what I was feeling but hadn‘t articulated. Antonia was worth more to Jim as nostalgia than individual for most of the book. And contrast that with Anton, who was a city man by his own admission, but was happy on the farm because he loved Antonia and knew that she needed to be on the land to be truly happy. 5y

Graywacke @Lcsmcat @jewright @batsy @CarolynM Taking in these last comments - and the connection to the time and place (and ā€Jim‘s path to realizationā€¯) Thanks all for the discussion here. Enjoyed the book and the trilogy. 5y

Graywacke @catebutler @crazeedi @Lcsmcat @Tanisha_A @CarolynM @batsy @Caterina @squirrelbrain @Hooked_on_books @jewright @Amiable @jmofo @saresmoore - just a note to everyone. I‘m going to keep going through Cather‘s works. Next is One of Ours, which won the Pulitzer in 1923. If you‘d like to join, let me know. Not sure if there‘s interest, or how much, and if there is enough, not sure whether to continue to do it this way or have a less formal structure. 5y

Graywacke @Tamra - see previous comment 5y

Lcsmcat I‘m in. I‘ve really been enjoying these discussions! One of Ours is also available as a free download for those with eBook apps or readers, through Project Gutenberg or Amazon. 5y

Hooked_on_books I won‘t be joining as Cather is not for me, but thank you for doing this! I like buddy reads and I‘m glad I finally read My Ántonia, even though I didn‘t enjoy it much. ??ā€¨ā™€ļø¸ 5y

CarolynM Thanks again for hosting these buddy reads. The discussions are great - very stimulating. I haven't read One of Ours. I'd love to read it with you and all the other tageesš™‚ 5y

jewright @Graywacke I‘m in. I‘ve read it before, but I love discussing with the group. 5y

Graywacke @Hooked_on_books Thanks. Glad you at least enjoyed the group and checked off a box, so to speak. š™‚ 5y

Graywacke @Lcsmcat @CarolynM @jewright four works. I wasn‘t sure what to expect, so happy for the interest. (We could still add more as others read the message) I‘ll come up with a September-ish schedule. 5y

Lcsmcat š‘¨š¸» 5y

batsy I'd love to join in for more Cather! I'm in for One of Ours š™‚ I love her writing so I'm collecting physical copies; I just placed my order at Book Depo so here's hoping it doesn't take a month to arrive š…š¤˛š¸½ 5y

Graywacke @batsy i was hoping but didn‘t want to presume. š™‚ Five works 5y

Graywacke @Lcsmcat i saw Project Gutenberg had a Kindle option and one click put it in Kindle. Easy. But it didn‘t have a table of contents or page numbers. So I spent $1 on amazon just for those extras. 5y

BarbaraBB Great discussion! I love your Cather reading. I only read (and enjoyed)

The Professor's House

47 likes32 comments

Graywacke

My Įntonia | Willa Cather

My Ántonia Book IV: The Pioneer Woman‘s Story - August 4 #catherbuddyread

Who set up this group read? āŗļø¸ Sorry all, another really short section this week. But another good one, I hope. Odd titled section as it captures the very different stories of three women. Sad and sweet for Jim and Ántonia. What were your thoughts? Should Jim have done something different? Any thoughts on these three women?

Graywacke @catebutler @crazeedi @Lcsmcat @Tanisha_A @CarolynM @batsy @Caterina @squirrelbrain @Hooked_on_books @jewright 5y

Lcsmcat Cather certainly showed three very different ways a woman of that time could be independent or non-conforming. Tiny actually made me the saddest because she doesn‘t seem to have gotten happiness out of her choices. Tony, for all that she is seen as disgraced, seems to have made her peace with her situation and have hope for the future for her daughter. 5y

jewright This section reminded me why I wasn‘t super fond of this book. I hate that often the only fact that matters for women is their virginity. Once Antonia is soiled, she‘s only good for hard labor and burying herself on the farm. I‘m also traumatized that she‘s outside doing farm labor in the summer while pregnant. I was wondering if anyone knew she was pregnant or if she hid it. I want Jim to take her away and marry her. 5y

See All 23 Comments

jewright @Lcsmcat I hadn‘t thought of that, but I completely agree. 5y

Lcsmcat @jewright I assumed she hid it. It wouldn‘t be too hard to do given the clothing of the time. My mom hid her pregnancy with me (in the early 60s) with just a girdle, so she could keep working, and didn‘t get caught and fired until her 6th month. And only then because someone ratted her out. And pregnant women weren‘t coddled then unless they were wealthy, so she would have worked anyway. (edited) 5y

Lcsmcat I was more upset by Jim‘s reaction to the photograph of the baby, saying that she should be ashamed of her instead of proud. Even if you blame Tony, the baby is innocent. And frankly, I blame the man, not her, because the power was in his hands and he got off scott free. 5y

Graywacke @Lcsmcat Tiny impresses, but doesn‘t find happiness. That‘s Cather, no? I‘m not as convinced about Antonia‘s peace. She seems to have given up on other people. She‘s still so young. (Isn‘t she tragically lonely, like Alexandra in Pioneers). 5y

Lcsmcat @Graywacke Maybe peace is the wrong word. But I don‘t see her giving up on other people. They gave up on her, but the hope she has for a better future for her daughter indicates to me that she hasn‘t given up on them. 5y

Graywacke @jewright yeah, a sh!t era for independent women, and this is an American cultural foundation (trumper dream). Very frustrating to read that. Like you I wanted them together, but I wanted Jim to get a local farm and bring Antonia and let them work it together with the baby. But then I thought about it. Jim never worked a farm... 5y

Graywacke @Lcsmcat ( @jewright ) good call on her hiding the pregnancy. See the illustration, she‘s hiding it there. Also, interesting and frustrating about your mom. 5y

Graywacke @Lcsmcat that guy was obviously no good. Interesting, your take on Jim‘s reaction. I think I was more forgiving of his judgment. Do you think he came around? 5y

Lcsmcat @Graywacke And she was married. An unmarried woman would have lost more than her job. Sometimes I think younger women (and men) don‘t realize how recent that kind of discrimination was. 5y

Graywacke @Lcsmcat I like your optimism. And also your respect and admiration of Antonia. I think like Jim I‘m disappointed she wasn‘t happier...and like Jim I‘m judging!! šš¤Ø If anything, Cather is asking us not to judge... 5y

Graywacke @Lcsmcat we see the world through our generation, no? 5y

Lcsmcat @Graywacke Good thought. I do think Cather is asking us not to judge. Maybe that‘s why she chose a male narrator? It might keep readers from dismissing the idea out of hand? And yes, we see through our generation unless we consciously try. 5y

Graywacke @Lcsmcat two constant thoughts I have when thinking about this is how does this fit into American mythology and why a male voice. 5y

Graywacke @Lcsmcat would we (readers) judge a female voice more? (Or harsher?) 5y

Lcsmcat @Graywacke I think some readers, particularly in her day, wouldn‘t listen to a female narrator justifying a female character with the same receptiveness. If a male, even a fictional one, recognized the unfairness, it would be easier for the typical reader to agree. 5y

batsy I felt bad for Tiny, too. It shows how a woman can make decisions to be autonomous & be unhappy or seen as unhappy for not having what women are "supposed" to have, if that makes sense? Society vs individual freedom. Cather's themes. I liked Jim a lot more when he described Larry. I felt so sad about the beautifully-written melancholic last part of the section, but also wondered why Jim couldn't give Antonia the happiness he thinks she deserves. 5y

Graywacke @Lcsmcat it‘s true today too, and frustrating. 5y

Graywacke @batsy ( @jewright ) I wonder about Jim there too. Very frustrating to read and see it and yet Cather holds him off without a real explanation. 5y

CarolynM @batsy @Graywacke I am a dedicated romantic, but I really like the fact that Antonia and Jim love each other without being romantically involved. If Jim had offered to marry her I am sure she would have refused. She never had any romantic feelings for him, it would be dishonest for her to marry him, and she would feel that she was holding him back from the life he should have. 5y

Graywacke @CarolynM huh. Yeah, I‘m thinking you‘re right. (See who she did fall for. Jim may not be her type, too boring, regular... ) 5y

48 likes23 comments

Graywacke

My Įntonia | Willa Cather

Book III - July 28 #catherbuddyread

Jim and Lena Lingard in Lincoln, Nebraska. A short section this week, with a touch of Virgil, performances and romance. Lena seems to accept that men all fall in love with her, even our good Jim. She blames herself. Thoughts? Does the book still live for you without the landscape? Do we miss Antonia...or do we want more Lena?

Graywacke No Benda illustration for this section, so I‘m using a photograph from 1880 of Lincoln. (Cather lived there 1883-1894) (edited) 5y

Graywacke @catebutler @crazeedi @Lcsmcat @Tanisha_A @CarolynM @batsy @Caterina @squirrelbrain @Hooked_on_books @jewright 5y

Cathythoughts Great picture ā™�ļø¸š‘¨š¸»loved this book. Need to reread .... someday 5y

See All 23 Comments

Lcsmcat I didn‘t miss the land because her descriptions are just as vivid when describing the urban landscape. I loved hearing about Lena and how independent she had become. 5y

batsy Whenever I don't hear about Antonia I do miss her, but Lena is a fascinating character in her own right. Something I loved about this section is how grounded in the real world she is, but yet Jim's narration has a hazy, dreamlike quality because of his romantic temperament and infatuation. It was an interesting study in contrasts. Probably because of how much Lena interests me, I didn't quite miss the focus on the landscape. 5y

Graywacke @Cathythoughts thanks! Found the picture on a historical society site. I think Cather has won a lot of us over. Really happy to be reading this - first time for me. 5y

Graywacke @Lcsmcat It is really nice to see her Lincoln. I‘ve been wondering about it since we started this buddy read (well group). And here we finally get a window...a snapshot and then it‘s gone. š 5y

Graywacke @batsy @Lcsmcat Lena - hmm. I like reading your responses. I don‘t, myself, know how I feel about her. I‘m happy she has some toughness underneath. 5y

Graywacke @batsy the dreamlike quality is a really nice way of describing this section. I felt here I finally had a sense of Jim as a person, as a flawed scholar his professor could appreciate and be frustrated with. And that makes his little romance a little more ... hmmm ... distinct maybe. 5y

Graywacke Side note: here we‘re reading about Jim studying Virgil‘s Georgics (better than Aeneid, imo and other opinions too). I‘m also reading Ali Smith on Rilke on Orpheus and Eurydice - original preserved version from the Georgics... (the Book I‘m reading is Spring) 5y

Lcsmcat @Graywacke @batsy That‘s a great way to describe it! I felt that too. 5y

Lcsmcat @Graywacke I‘ve not read Georgics. Do you have a particular translation to recommend? (I don‘t read Latin. š¤·š¸»ā€¨ā™€ļø¸) 5y

jewright I‘m so happy Lena has found success and happiness. She‘s such a strong character. I can‘t blame her for not wanting to marry or have kids because of what she has gone through. I thought the descriptions in this chapter focused more on the theatre instead of the landscape. It made me miss going to plays. 5y

Graywacke @Lcsmcat ... actually, I kind of do. I used L P Wilkinson, a 1982 translation. I liked it a lot. 5y

Graywacke @jewright I think Lena became another strong independent Cather woman here in this chapter. It‘s interesting to me to wonder what she becomes as a non-immigrant, or as city-raised. The farm years shaped her a lot. 5y

Graywacke @Lcsmcat Georgics and Wilkinson - I have a brief review (unless you click the link, then it becomes a long review) https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1829511763 5y

Lcsmcat @Graywacke Thanks! 5y

batsy @Graywacke @Lcsmcat Thanks for that. I was looking for a good translation of the Georgics, too. 5y

Graywacke @batsy you‘re welcome š™‚ 5y

CarolynM Sorry, I'm a bit behind. I'll catch up for the next section. 5y

Graywacke @CarolynM no worries, another catch-up friendly short section coming up. š‘¨ 5y

CarolynM Finally caught up with the group! I enjoyed the Lena section. She is a very attractive character and it's no wonder to me Jim was infatuated. I think Cather wanted to give us a woman who could say plainly that a married woman's lot at that time was often very hard and that she'd already done enough of that sort of work. I think also it reminds us that people can mature in unexpected ways. 5y

Graywacke @CarolynM yes to all that. Lena looms large fo me as I finished book iv. 5y

36 likes23 comments

Lucy.1998

My Įntonia | Willa Cather

Module: The Girl in the Book
Page: 65
Thought: Cleverly written. Although she brings a lot to Jim‘s life in Nebraska, Ántonia is reduced to just a girl in Jim‘s story; her opinions/thoughts/character is all told through Jim‘s narration. Even Ántonia‘s thoughts are his since he is the one to teach her English and how to express herself... The girl in this book is owned, literally ā€hisā€¯ Ántonia.

4 likes1 stack add

batsy

My Įntonia | Willa Cather

pick

Bad Buddy Reader strikes again š† I apologise to @graywacke & fellow readers, but once I got going with this I couldn't stop. My initial impression of this was one of frustation; I felt the narrative form of episodic events kept me at a distance. But by the time I got to the end, I could see that Cather was attempting to build a character (the narrator) through a series of formative impressions of both people & a sense of place. #catherbuddyread

batsy Antonia herself seemed both real & symbolic; an homage to the kind of people that made a life for themselves in the Great Plains as well as a symbol of a nation & of the promise & potential of youth & newness. Cather's writing is always gorgeous, but I missed some of the more indulgent, lyrical passages that made me absolutely adore O, Pioneers & The Song of the Lark. An important novel regardless about immigration, gender, & the American dream. 5y

erzascarletbookgasm Lovely review, Suba! I found a used copy of this last week, but I think it‘s too late to join the buddy read. I‘ll just place this somewhere on the top part of my TBR mountain. 5y

Lcsmcat It‘s never too late to join. Just add your comments to each section as you get to it. 5y

See All 14 Comments

Tanisha_A I am a bad buddy reader too, but in just the opposite way. Have just started reading it, and at this point not liking it as much as the other two, but I would be ultrapatient for Cather. š�° 5y

batsy @erzascarletbookgasm Thank you ā¯¤ļø¸ It's never too late to join; it's still early stages š™‚ but her prose just carries one off and I found it hard to stop! 5y

batsy @Tanisha_A A truly unique writer and I'm so glad to have started to read her work š’• 5y

Graywacke @batsy congrats on finishing. Always enjoy your commentary and appreciate your perspective. She had touches of embracing the landscape in the opening sections, but I guess Jim and Antonia won‘t get to Arizona. !! š™‚ 5y

Graywacke @erzascarletbookgasm ( @Lcsmcat @Tanisha_A @batsy ) You‘re definitely not too late. Our pace is slow and you can catch us if you like. Also the pace is just a discussion pace. You can read as you like and comment at any time. 5y

emilyhaldi Great review, as always š¤— 5y

batsy @Graywacke Thank you for hosting! All of your comments made it a richer read and I look forward to the upcoming discussions :) 5y

batsy @emilyhaldi Thank you ā¯¤ļø¸ 5y

erzascarletbookgasm @Graywacke alright, will see how things go. Thanks. 5y

Graywacke @batsy awe, thanks! @erzascarletbookgasm š‘¨ 5y

Tanisha_A @Graywacke Okey dokey! š™‚ 5y

113 likes6 stack adds14 comments

Graywacke

My Įntonia | Willa Cather

Book II - July 21
#catherbuddyread

I‘m glad I paused to reflect on this section a bit. We get a look at small town Nebraska - hired immigrant farmers daughters and bankers marking opposite ends of a spectrum, with illicit dancing and traveling performers. And while Blind d‘Arnault might make us a cringe a bit, his discovery of the piano keys makes a little parallel to these immigrants trying to farm an unfamiliar land. What were your thoughts?

Graywacke @catebutler @crazeedi @Lcsmcat @Tanisha_A @CarolynM @batsy @Caterina @squirrelbrain @Hooked_on_books @jewright 5y

Lcsmcat Obvious, I know, but I loved the symbolism of the plow silhouetted against the setting sun. 5y

Graywacke @Lcsmcat seemed like she had to get herself back to nature at the end of this section. Yes, the plough‘s momentary brilliance was beautiful. 5y

See All 30 Comments

Lcsmcat @Graywacke Well that is her strong suit. 5y

Hooked_on_books I‘ve never read Cather before, so I don‘t know if this is her style, but this section (and the whole book, really) read to me like a series of vignettes rather than a smooth narrative. It made it feel like a bit of a slog to get through it. 5y

Lcsmcat @Hooked_on_books I agree with you about the vignettes- although that didn‘t make it a slog for me. It‘s kind of a pastiche of characters connected to Ántonia. But it does show different sides of her character because it‘s not just Jim‘s version of her. 5y

Graywacke @Lcsmcat any thoughts on the role of music in this section? 5y

Graywacke @Hooked_on_books @Lcsmcat I agree, this was a slow section. Without this group here and the forced slower pace, I blow through this section and move along. But because we‘re at this pace, I‘m left to think on it. Slow, yes. But also a beautiful window. @Hooked_on_books she does episodic stuff a lot. She likes to jump time. Breaks flow, but the nature of her prose wants reflection. I think these breaks gives space for that. 5y

Hooked_on_books @Graywacke Space for reflection is a good way to think about it. I‘ll try to keep that in mind as I go forward if the style persists. 5y

jewright My main takeaway is how glad I am children are more likely to have a childhood. So many of the children in this book simply had to work to survive and help their families survive. And Mr. Cutter is horrifying! He basically assaults all the girls that work for him, and he gets away with it. Yikes. (edited) 5y

jewright @Lcsmcat I loved this too. 5y

CarolynM What I like most about this section is the way she shows the variety of human nature you find in any community. The good, upstanding people like Jim's family, the laundry people and Mrs Harling, the self important like Mr Harling, the impressively unusual like Frances Harling (who reminded me a bit of Alexandra from O Pioneers), the wicked like Mr Cutting and so many others personalities. I think she's as good with character as with landscape. (edited) 5y

Lcsmcat @Graywacke The music isn‘t as in your face in this one as in Lark of course, but there is marked contrast between Mr. Shimerda‘s violin, and his friend the trombonist, could represent the more cultured old world while Blind d‘Arnault and the dance music are the rougher new world. 5y

Lcsmcat @CarolynM Yes! This! It‘s like the story is more about the community than any person. 5y

CarolynM I think this section is also an important one for the development of Jim's character - it's his adolescence and it shows us the things that contribute to his adult self. I love that he remembered Antonia's father with such affection. 5y

CarolynM @Lcsmcat And that community influences the development of both Antonia and Jim (and all the other young people) 5y

CarolynM @Graywacke I'm sure Blind d'Arnault is based on people Cather really encountered, and I felt like she was basically sympathetic to him, although expressing it in a way we find cringe-worthy today. 5y

Graywacke @jewright I‘m kind of fascinating how much was harder then, physically, for everyone. Children too. Isn‘t it kind of interesting how tough these farm girls were? And yet their spirits stayed vibrant. As for Cutter...yeah, wow. 5y

Graywacke @CarolynM ( @lcsmcat ) See, the variety really struck me too. She doesn‘t just create a town, there is so much happening there, so many characters with their own life-stresses and their own ways of getting by, in her version of the town. And...doesn‘t feel real? (edited) 5y

Graywacke @Lcsmcat great idea about the music. It does say a lot about these young adults. 5y

Graywacke @CarolynM Oddly, I kinda felt Jim got lost in all this. He‘s just a nice kid, with some decent principles. I kind of feel he‘s very much an observer in midst of it all. (the bit about his speech and Antonia‘s father was touching) 5y

Graywacke @CarolynM I had horrified fascination with d‘Arnault. Yes, she means well with him, but yes, she also calls him a savage, but yes, she also makes him beautiful. It‘s tough to take all that in. I know when Dickens tried to be nice to Jews, I cringed at the accidental antisemitism. Here, I also cringed. But there‘s no easy answer. It was a different time and perspective. He‘s memorable though, and provides some terrific history of music, I think. 5y

batsy @Hooked_on_books I too was frustrated with the episodic narrative initially but the more I read I'm beginning to understand that it's like a cumulative effect on the young Jim Burden and how he came to be. I think it's a way for Cather to show the place and people that made him. If I pause my reading every so often I find the form rather frustrating, but if I keep going and let Cather's prose wash over me I'm more immersed in the story š™‚ 5y

batsy I love this illustration. It conveys both calmness & solidity of landscape & character. In this section Chapter IX stood out for me for how it depicted immigrant culture vs local culture, through the lens of class & sexuality. I also found Frances Harling an immediately interesting character & loved Lena's comments on marriage. 5y

batsy And yes, re: d'Arnault, the latent racism is hard to take. But I was also wondering if these thoughts/impressions are meant to be attributed to a young (thus ignorant) Jim. Reading that part was difficult for meā€”the way d'Arnault is described physically is so dehumanising, but almost immediately after she writes so astutely about how music changed him and imbues him with that sense of uniqueness and agency as an individual. 5y

Graywacke @batsy I wondered about Frances a lot too. A whole story not told there. I don‘t remember Lena‘s comments on marriage š™ 5y

Graywacke @batsy interesting your thoughts on d‘Arnault. I felt we could really picture him. Jim is inoffensive in practically every possible way. If it‘s him, it‘s meant well by Cather. It could be a Nebraska perspective. Regardless it just sucked to be black in that era and not be viewed a regular person. And that chapter brings it home a bit. 5y

batsy @Graywacke p. 128 in my edition, Chapter IV, when she says, "I don't want to marry Nick, or any other man. I've seen a good deal of married life, and I don't care for it." At the time Cather was writing it, to just have a woman say this unapologetically, is pretty great. 5y

Graywacke @batsy thanks. The line is familiar now. Lena‘s quite a character too. Do you think she stands out because of the time or because of how we imagine the time? Kind of asking myself too. Cather reinforces some stereotypes but she breaks a lot of them. 5y

batsy @Graywacke A really good question. Especially since in some of extended family circles, if a woman were to say this today there would still be some pearl-clutching. 5y

41 likes30 comments

Graywacke

My Įntonia | Willa Cather

Book I parts X-XIX - July 14
#catherbuddyread

Books I-IX seemed to look at wild Nebraska. These chapters look more at the Shimerdas, their rough transition from Bohemian to Nebraska, the stress revealing something about each member. Outside a lightning storm the landscape takes a backseat (Although along the way we lost the wild grasses of the plains). How‘s everyone‘s reading going, what are your thoughts? Hows it fit in the American mythology?

Graywacke @catebutler @crazeedi @Lcsmcat @Tanisha_A @CarolynM @batsy @Caterina @squirrelbrain @Hooked_on_books @jewright 5y

Graywacke Antonia explains this world to Jim briefly, in the last line. ā€If I live here, like you, that is different. Things will be easy for you. But they will be hard for us.ā€¯ 5y

Tanisha_A Looks like I won't be able to get to My Antonia soon! š• Very distracted right now. 5y

See All 36 Comments

Graywacke @Tanisha_A no worries, life happens. Hope all is well. 5y

batsy I'm not quite sure about the American mythology context myself, & would love to see others' thoughts on that. But while Cather's writing is lovely & always pulls me in, I'm not drawn to this book as intensely as Pioneers & Lark. Both of those swept me away with the intensity of the narration, but the episodic structure of this book is keeping me at a distance. Which surprised me, since this is the book that's frequently cited as her masterpiece. 5y

jewright I felt terrible that Antonia‘s father couldn‘t make it through the winter and the transition. The neighbors banded together to accomplish the funeral though. Antonia knows she has changed and perhaps not for the better or what her father wanted, but she doesn‘t have much of a choice, and I admire her strength. I‘m trying to figure out why I didn‘t really care for this book when I read it before. I‘m loving the descriptions now. 5y

Hooked_on_books I noticed the same narrative arc you describedā€”the initial depictions of the landscape and now the focusing in on the people and the life. I feel like Antonia‘s father‘s suicide marked a real turning point for tone and character development. I‘m also noticing an increase in anti-immigrant sentiment, which is definitely in keeping with historic US thinking (and current). 5y

Lcsmcat First, let‘s just put it out there that naming the bulls Gladstone and Brigham Young cracked me up! I love the little touches like that that Cather throws in. 5y

Lcsmcat Second, this seems a darker book to me, but probably more realistic. Not all the bright talented girls got out to get an education and follow their dreams. Is this her reaction against the romanticizing of pioneer life (a la the Little House books?) 5y

CarolynM I think the reason for less landscape in this Part is because it is largely set in a very harsh winter. I love the descriptions of the blizzard, and its consequences, for the humans and the animals. I could see and feel that tunnel to the hen house. The people in this novel are so real to me. Quite a contrast with East of Eden @batsy 5y

Graywacke I love this group and this place. These are such great posts. 5y

Graywacke @batsy first, interesting to see the contrast with your and @jewright ā€s reaction to the text. I‘ve been insecure with the idea of this building the American myth ever since someone mentioned to me. (Although I do love the idea of a non-binary woman capturing strong pioneer women being in that vein.) So, ultimately I‘m not sure either. I think it makes sense, but it‘s easier to see it _without_ having read the text. Cather just wasn‘t so simple... 5y

Graywacke @batsy second... no, 3rd... anyway, it‘s not my favorite section of Cather either. But it‘s still really good and it‘s early. (And she‘s already won me over regardless...so she gets a lot of leeway). 5y

Graywacke @jewright Antonia‘s father deserves some reflection. Glad you brought it up. Yeah, it changes a lot. (To @Hooked_on_books too) I thought it changes book completely and gives this section a core. It seems with this the book goes deeper into these characters than anything else, in terms of their religion and culture and core beliefs and, as you noted, their bonds. Also, i‘m not sure the book is working at this point without that event. (edited) 5y

Graywacke @jewright @Hooked_on_books any thoughts on suicide vs murder? (edited) 5y

Graywacke @Hooked_on_books hmm. Anti-immigrant sentiment. Actually I didn‘t pick up that. A little old-world animosity carry over - Bohemians vs ?? Any some adjustment - the awkward English, the old-world pride, the poverty immigration creates. Hmm. Actually I guess it is there...ok, I‘m going to pay more attention to that in the subtext. 5y

Graywacke @Lcsmcat I didn‘t notice to bulls names!! 5y

Graywacke @Lcsmcat hmm. Darker. Please expand on that, if you can. Personally I can‘t tell yet. Immigrant experience is tough. But the arc can go upward. But that last line of this book I think undercuts a lot the fantasy of personal merit. It helps when grandpa has done well. That, to me, is dark, in its way. 5y

Graywacke @CarolynM great point about the blizzard and what that does to their lives. Pretty crazy stuff. And, yeah, these people do feel real. (Side note - I found Jake‘s subtle heroism very interesting. A good role model for Jim within his limitations) 5y

Lcsmcat @CarolynM Great point! She‘s still showing nature, but mostly by its effects on the humans. 5y

Graywacke @batsy ā€Which surprised me, since this is the book that's frequently cited as her masterpiece.ā€ A question for you. I‘m thinking a lot about the male narrator. Do you think that might play a role in why this became her main classic? A cultural sexism? (That‘s a thing currently - women authors writing in male voice to gain more widespread acknowledgement...and awards. It‘s a big problem - the unequal public response, I mean) (edited) 5y

Lcsmcat @Graywacke Darker, hmm, an example. Even though Song of the Lark showed poverty, it didn‘t show despair. Johnny could go off on binges, but then everyone would sing and dance and it was ok. The deaths of the lovers in O Pioneers were tragic, but romantically so. There‘s nothing romantic about Antonia‘s situation. 5y

Graywacke @Lcsmcat thanks. I see it now and I‘m with you - the first time she focuses on the bitter and lethal immigrant stress. Mr. Shimerda‘s loss of music and than suicide go together and hit hard. Hmm. Which makes me wonder of we‘re overlooking the role of music and its absence here? Just an idle thought. 5y

Lcsmcat @Graywacke Ooooh, I like that thought. I‘ll have to look for mentions of music as we read on. 5y

CarolynM @Lcsmcat Yes! This one is a much closer look at poverty and also I think isolation. I would almost describe it as anti romantic (this is a reread for me) 5y

Hooked_on_books @Graywacke @batsy I think you may be on to something with the cultural sexism bit. Even in this era, our society celebrates male voices more than those of women, so I could definitely see a historical audience responding more favorably to a male voice. It was (and is) far too easy to relegate a woman‘s voice written by a women to being just for women and dismissed. 5y

Hooked_on_books @Lcsmcat I‘m not sure what was being published at the time about pioneer life so I don‘t know if it‘s a response or not. According to my edition, this book was published in 1918 and the Little House books were not out until the 1930s, so this can‘t be a response to those. But perhaps the culture at the time was romanticizing the pioneers, as we still tend to do. 5y

batsy @Graywacke That's a great question re: sexism and I agree with @Hooked_on_books but I'm also going to keep your question in mind as I read. Perhaps I'll understand more once I get to the end. But it did make me wonder why it's the book with the male narrator that's frequently held up as her best when (thus far, personal opinion) it's not really my favourite from the prairie trilogy. 5y

batsy I appreciate the responses here for making me think and I love the description above about this being Cather's anti-romantic book, in a way. I thought the way she handled Mr. Shimerda's death was brutal and stark in a way that doesn't try to explain away or moralise the death, and so it stays with you (which Steinbeck would have gone all out to do, so yeah @CarolynM I have to say Cather >>> Steinbeck at this point š™‚) 5y

Graywacke @Hooked_on_books ( and @batsy ) that‘s it! She‘s relegated as being ā€for womenā€¯ and therefore somehow less. š� What would (or did) Virginia Woolf say? 5y

Graywacke @batsy @CarolynM @Lcsmcat - anti-Romantic. !! I‘ll be thinking about that now too. 5y

Graywacke @batsy thanks for that last post š™‚ 5y

CarolynM @batsy I love that the characters are allowed to be bad in a very human way, if they behave badly it's for understandable reasons. Take Mrs Shimerda, she's persuaded her husband to leave a place where they had some social position for one where they have none because she thinks there will be more opportunities for her son. They get ripped off by someone they trust. They have nothing. I can sympathise with her jealousy even though I don't like it. 5y

batsy @CarolynM Yes. She allows her characters to breathe, as it were. There's no compulsion to have to tell the reader how to feel about them. 5y

Graywacke @CarolynM @batsy I feel bad for Mrs. Shimerda because I don‘t think she has any idea how her neighbors perceive her. She‘s obviously very proud and vain - and also very tough. Cather creates terrific characters, and the more she writes about them, the more complicated they get. Not good or bad. 5y

Graywacke Also, I think she does really well here with the immigrant stress, awkwardness and depression. I‘m always surprised when I read memoirs how much people lose upon immigration. The loss of familiar culture can really take the life and sense out of people. (I‘m not talking about expats or people moving for work. I mean those who really can‘t go back or have nothing to go back to.) It‘s more extreme here, isolated on these plains. #antiromantic (edited) 5y

40 likes36 comments

Graywacke

My Įntonia | Willa Cather

My Antonia - Book I, Parts I-IX
#catherbuddyread

Cather goes first person, in a man‘s voice - this is new and gives us a different author. Less formal, more flexible and something to think about, if you can get your mind past the wolves. And we‘re back in Nebraska - the grass - a live sea, the fur of a live beast, the burning bush of Moses with a transfiguration! (followed by Antonia‘s dad with a gun, illustrated by Benda above). Thoughts?

Graywacke @catebutler @crazeedi @Lcsmcat @Tanisha_A @CarolynM @batsy @Caterina @squirrelbrain @Hooked_on_books @jewright 5y

Graywacke Some quotes: ā€Everywhere, as far as the eye could reach, there was nothing but rough, shaggy, red grass, most of it as tall as I.ā€¯ 5y

Graywacke ā€As I looked about me I felt that the grass was the country, as the water is the sea. The red of the grass made all the great prairie the colour of wine-stains, or of certain seaweeds when they are first washed up. And there was so much motion in it; the whole country seemed, somehow, to be running. ā€ 5y

See All 52 Comments

Hooked_on_books This is my first Cather, so I may have a different perspective. I feel like she‘s working to heavily establish a sense of place. She really steeps us in Nebraska (and makes it sound beautiful) over much of the first pages. I am a little perplexed by the Russia wolf story at this point, but we‘ll see how it works in. 5y

Graywacke ā€Perhaps the glide of long railway travel was still with me, for more than anything else I felt motion in the landscape; in the fresh, easy-blowing morning wind, and in the earth itself, as if the shaggy grass were a sort of loose hide, and underneath it herds of wild buffalo were galloplng, galloping . . .ā€¯ 5y

Graywacke @Hooked_on_books Glad to have your perspective. Can you feel this place? I completely agree, she makes central Nebraska beautiful. Any sense of history or does land come across to you as new? 5y

Graywacke ā€All those fall afternoons were the same, but I never got used to them. As far as we could see, the miles of copper-red grass were drenched in sunlight that was stronger and fiercer than at any other time of the day. The blond cornfields were red gold, the haystacks turned rosy and threw long shadows. ... š‘‡š‘‡ 5y

Graywacke ... The whole prairie was like the bush that burned with fire and was not consumed. That hour always had the exultation of victory, of triumphant ending, like a hero's death ā€” heroes who died young and gloriously. It was a sudden transfiguration, a lifting-up of day.ā€¯ 5y

Graywacke This last quote arguably blends the Old Testament, the New Testament and Homer‘s bronze warriors together. ?? 5y

Hooked_on_books @Graywacke Oh, it comes across as ancients but new to humans (which of course is not reality). The way she paints it is compelling. 5y

jewright I read this in college about 2004, and I don‘t remember being super impressed, but I really enjoyed this reading. The descriptions are beautiful, and the characters are interesting. I thought the descriptions of the grandmother gazing at him and thinking how much he looked like her dead son were touching. 5y

Lcsmcat As always I love Cather‘s sense of place. She makes Nebraska seem more beautiful than I remember it from driving across it in 2000! 5y

CarolynM I just love her writing, I find it so engaging and easy to read. I'm currently reading East of Eden for another buddy read and I have to say I much prefer Cather's writing. 5y

Graywacke @Hooked_on_books i agree. I was trying to get a sense of the evicted natives. There are touches of them, but that‘s all I picked up. But I thought the land itself felt ancient. 5y

Graywacke @jewright the grandmother as mother of who lost her child made me pause. He, of course, was too young to really understand. Very cool about the then-in-college-and-now comparison. 5y

Graywacke @Lcsmcat ( @Hooked_on_books ) sense of place, yeah. Funny about the highway perspective. Having lived in KS and seen how the highways favor the flattest and least interesting places...I understand. But also Nebraska is a different place now. In Kansas those grasses were serious fire hazards and are actually hard to find now. 5y

Graywacke @CarolynM poor Steinbeck š¤£But yeah, it‘s easy to get into this. She is really a pleasure to read. I have to try avoid constantly trying to note lines. I haven‘t read EoE... 5y

Graywacke Planting seeds - the next Cather I‘m thinking about is One of Ours. A long way from now. But just something to think about for anyone interested.

One of Ours

jewright @CarolynM Have you read some of Steinbeck‘s shorter works like Of Mice and Men? Even my students love that one. I loved East of Eden, but it does wander a bit. 5y

jewright @Hooked_on_books That part was so awful! 5y

Hooked_on_books @jewright Yeah, it was a dreadful story. I hope we understand the point of it as we go along, as I don‘t think it fits right now. 5y

batsy @Graywacke Some lovely quotes there. The "prairie the colour of wine-stains" put me in mind of Homer's wine-dark sea in the Odyssey. 5y

Lcsmcat @Graywacke I‘m sure Nebraska was both more beautiful when it was wilder, and that the interstate took us through the worst bits. I wish I could have seen it then, but at least I have Cather‘s words. 5y

batsy @CarolynM An interesting and immediate contrast to me with Steinbeck is how Antonia is described in her youthful beauty and vitality by Cather vs how a young female character, Abra, is introduced in Steinbeck and how Abra's femaleness is immediately kind of a strange, sexualised thing whereas Antonia gets to just *be*. 5y

batsy I love the Benda illustrations. There's a starkness to them that kind of mirrors how Cather finds beauty in the prairies. I was so fascinated with the wolf story and sat thinking about it for some time after. Gave me some gothic Angela Carter vibes there! 5y

Graywacke @jewright @Hooked_on_books @batsy ( @Lcsmcat ) - the wolf story just doesn‘t go away. I had assumed it‘s not going to be part of the rest of the novel, that it was there for immigrant/refugee flavor. But it will be interesting if it has another meaning in the text. It‘s a tough world... 5y

Graywacke @batsy yes, on the wine-stains. I had the same thought (had to read the line twice - looking for ā€darkā€¯ š) I love all that imagery and she brings it out of the landscape. She does a lot. The garden scene where he just sits there was lovely. 5y

Graywacke @Lcsmcat imagine wandering across those planes (well... well supplied, of course... and in perfect weather, please) 5y

Graywacke @batsy I‘m enjoying the illustrations. I might use one each post (like the Van Gogh sower image in this one ) 5y

Graywacke Some lingering thoughts: For those who have read other Cathers ( @catebutler @crazeedi @Lcsmcat @Tanisha_A @CarolynM @batsy ) : do you think the male-1st person narrator changed the feel of Cather‘s writing? If yes, any sense or response? The 1st person is, I think, a big change. 5y

Lcsmcat @Graywacke Every time I drove across the country I thought of the people who did it on foot, often woefully unprepared, and averaging 10 miles a day. I don‘t know how they did it. 5y

Graywacke Also, using a male narrator frees her to some perspectives on Antonia. For example, he can fall in love (and I think he has in a way), without any š¸³ļø¸ā€¨š waving. 5y

Graywacke @Lcsmcat Yes. How tough were they? !!(Have you read Lonesome Dove? McMurtry captures the pace - albeit with crazy cowboys, not pioneers. ) 5y

Lcsmcat @Graywacke I haven‘t read Lonesome Dove, but I think I need to. 5y

batsy @Graywacke Yes, to me I can sense a difference in the narrative style with the male narrator but I haven't quite put my finger on it yet. 5y

catebutler I think one of the things I love the most about Cather is how easily I slip back into her writing. It moves you along like a gentle wave. I always find I have to read her books with a pencil and ruler in hand to mark, mark and mark some more! This is a re-read for me, and having finally read O Pioneers! and The Song of the Lark, I appreciate this even more. 5y

CarolynM Of course writing in the first person changes the style to some extent, but all the hallmarks of Cather's style are there. @batsy 's point about sexualisation is a good one I think, and leads into your point about how we fall in love with Antonia along with the narrator. I think Cather creates characters who have individual identities while Steinbeck is more interested in archetypes. (edited) 5y

CarolynM Maybe the wolf story is there to remind us that there was savagery in the land and life the settlers had left behind as well as in the new country. 5y

CarolynM @jewright I've read The Grapes of Wrath - unpopular opinion: I absolutely hated the characters and couldn't have cared less what happened to them, the chapters that were about what was happening to people generally were powerful and made me really angry. I think I just don't find Steinbeck's characters very sympathetic. I've also read The Short Reign of Pipin IV which I did like, but that was totally not serious. 5y

Crazeedi @Graywacke absolutely does! 5y

Graywacke @Lcsmcat loved Lonesome Dove š™‚ (and I don‘t like hyped books or Westerns) 5y

Lcsmcat @Graywacke Good to know. 5y

Lcsmcat @CarolynM I loved Pipin too. I remember reading it on an airplane and trying not to laugh out loud. 5y

Graywacke @batsy I have thoughts on what makes it different, but they‘re iffy, impressions. I do feel like sometimes she writes more as Jim Burden and sometimes more as herself. 5y

Graywacke @catebutler Really like how you put that, how we can slip back in and how she moves us and totally agree. (Except I don‘t write in books, so I‘m typing quotes in my phone or using Scanner Pro) 5y

Graywacke @CarolynM ( @batsy ) - I agree, it‘s still Cather despite the first person. Can‘t really comment on Steinbeck as I haven‘t read those books. But agree Cather‘s characters are individuals. (Of course, with her individuality is a theme of the prairie mindset. š™‚) 5y

Graywacke @CarolynM ( @jewright @Hooked_on_books @batsy @Lcsmcat ) - wolves. Will have to keep that savagery in mind... 5y

Graywacke @Crazeedi about the last quote? About bringing in the ot,nr,homer? Its interesting to me how and, why she might be doing that. Foundational stories 5y

jewright @CarolynM I‘m not a big fan of The Grapes of Wrath either. I really recommend Of Mice and Men. It‘s super short, and even my reluctant reader students who hated everything read it. 5y

Tanisha_A Hello hello! I am traveling this week for work, and just starting with the book. Will have to provide my comments later. š” 5y

Graywacke @Tanisha_A No worries. Life does that. Wish you safe travels and maybe some nice reading time. š™‚ If you do comment here later, you might tag some people so they‘ll know. 5y

Tanisha_A @Graywacke Thank youuu! I will do that. š™‚ 5y

42 likes52 comments

Graywacke

My Įntonia | Willa Cather

Fall afternoons: As far as we could see, the miles of copper-red grass were drenched in sunlight that was stronger and fiercer than at any other time of the day. ... The whole prairie was like the bush that burned with fire and was not consumed. That hour always had the exultation of victory, of triumphant ending, like a hero's death ā€” heroes who died young and gloriously. It was a sudden transfiguration, a lifting-up of day.

Graywacke #catherbuddyread 5y

batsy I hope to start tonight! š™‚ 5y

Graywacke @batsy š‘¨ 5y

49 likes1 stack add3 comments

Graywacke

My Įntonia | Willa Cather

Ok, I‘ve started. #catherbuddyread

Graywacke Moving ocean of grass... 5y

jewright I started tonight! I‘m loving it so far. 5y

Graywacke @jewright š‘¨ I‘m loving it too, I‘m completely taken in. 5y

44 likes3 comments

Graywacke

My Įntonia | Willa Cather

Just a reminder - My Antiona buddy read begins next week. Weā€ll discuss Book I parts I-IX Sunday, July 7. (I havenā€t actually started yet āŗļø¸)

The illustration above is from the book. I found it on the Willa Cather Archive, link here: https://cather.unl.edu/cs005_stout.html

#catherbuddyread

Graywacke @catebutler @crazeedi @Lcsmcat @Tanisha_A @Tamra @CarolynM @batsy @Caterina @squirrelbrain @Hooked_on_books @jewright 5y

Graywacke Full discussion schedule: Book I parts I-IX - July 7
Book I parts X-XIX - July 14
Book II - July 21
Book III - July 28
Book IV - August 4
Book V - August 11 5y

batsy Can't wait! Going to see if I can polish off East of Eden before I start this. Deeply immersed in American classics these few months š™‚ 5y

See All 15 Comments

jewright I‘m excited to read it again. I read it in college, and I‘m interested to see how I feel about it now. 5y

Graywacke @batsy i‘m excited too! Really have liked going through these. I wouldn‘t mind a tour of Steinbeck sometime in the future. 5y

Graywacke @jewright curious how it will come across your second time. The impact may be different, but her prose will still there, always. 5y

Tamra I‘m sorry I can‘t join. Assigned reading is interfering with recreational fun. š š‘ˇš¸¾ 5y

Tanisha_A Hello! I haven't started yet either. But will today mostly, very curious to see where it takes us. š™‚ 5y

Graywacke @Tamra no worries. (Sorry it feels assigned. š•) 5y

Graywacke @Tanisha_A me to! 5y

Tamra @Graywacke I mean my assigned course reading is interfering with fun recreational reading - like this buddy read. Otherwise I‘d love to join! 5y

Graywacke Phew š…!! Feel better now about this! Wish you well in your course. Sorry for misunderstanding. 5y

Tamra @Graywacke š‰ The troubles with online communication. 5y

squirrelbrain Started this morning - enjoying it so far! šš‘¨ 5y

Graywacke @squirrelbrain š‘¨ tonight, I will start. (Promise š¶š™‚) 5y

46 likes15 comments

Graywacke

My Įntonia | Willa Cather

My Ántonia will be the next in the #catherbuddyread and the last of The Prairie Trilogy. Leave a message if you‘d like to join (or, alternatively, if you would like off the list.)

We‘ll discuss on the schedule above, a slower pace than The Song of the Lark, but read at your own pace.

Graywacke @catebutler @crazeedi @Lcsmcat @Tanisha_A @Tamra @CarolynM @batsy @Caterina @squirrelbrain @Hooked_on_books 5y

Lcsmcat š™‹š¸»ā€¨ā™€ļø¸ I‘m in! 5y

Graywacke @Lcsmcat duly noted š™‚ 5y

See All 22 Comments

Crazeedi Yes 5y

CarolynM Looking forward to it. I'm about to settle in to finish Song of the Lark (at last!) 5y

Hooked_on_books I‘ll be joining 5y

batsy I am so in! šˇ‰ 5y

Graywacke @Crazeedi @CarolynM @Hooked_on_books @batsy yay! 5y

Graywacke @CarolynM I think The Song of Lark pace didn‘t work perfectly. If someone had one bad week, it was very tough to catch up. I‘m hoping this pace will be more forgiving of RL. 5y

CarolynM I think the schedule was fine, I just got caught up with some other things and didn't find a way to fit it in for a couple of weeks. I'm glad to be back in Thea's world for a while nowš™‚ 5y

Graywacke @CarolynM š‘¨ 5y

squirrelbrain I‘m in too! 5y

Tanisha_A Even though I have been a terrible buddy reader, I am jumping in! š 5y

Graywacke @squirrelbrain š‘¨ glad your joining 5y

Graywacke @Tanisha_A If it‘s fun, it‘s a great buddy read. Happy your jumping in š™‚ 5y

Graywacke *you‘re 5y

jewright I would like to join, please. 5y

Graywacke @jewright adding you to the list. (I have this vague memory, suddenly, of you having asked before. Did I forget?! š³ hope not! Hopefully just deja vu or confusion with another group read.) 5y

jewright @Graywacke I hadn‘t asked before today. I‘m in the Hugo read along. 5y

catebutler Please count me in! Although I‘m still working my way through, ā€Song of the Lark‘!! š™ 5y

Graywacke @jewright ok, good, I feel better. Just merely confusing stuff, you know, the usual. 5y

Graywacke @catebutler Yay! You‘re counted in. You have time yet to finish SotL before get started. š‰ 5y

45 likes22 comments

rachelk

My Įntonia | Willa Cather

pick

Willa Cather wrote this novel drawing from her memories of a young woman (Annie) that she knew while growing up on the prairies of Nebraska. In ā€My Ántonia‘, Cather uses details from her childhood but writes from the perspective of a man nostalgically recalling his past. I loved this look at pioneer life, the strong, independent women and one of the most romantic passages I‘ve ever read. Many consider this Cather‘s greatest work.

zsuzsanna_reads Such a brilliant book! 6y

Lcsmcat ā¯¤ļø¸ā¯¤ļø¸ā¯¤ļø¸ this book! 6y

rachelk @zsuzsanna_reads @Lcsmcat I totally agree! 6y

Blaire I really need to get to this one. I‘ve owned a copy for about 15 years. š¬ 6y

rachelk @Blaire I hear you! have a lot of books like that too! (edited) 6y

57 likes5 stack adds5 comments

Creadnorthey

My Įntonia | Willa Cather

pick

The events of the book flow like the seasons giving the whole story a meditative pace, where events rise and fall, and life goes on. And while the whole thing wafts of nostalgia by the end, Cather‘s writing draws me in with its intimacy and stays there to resonate deeply, I felt I was transported and satisfied at the end.

10 likes

elizabethlk

My Įntonia | Willa Cather

Finally tackling the third book in Willa Cather's trilogy. I mostly loved O Pioneers! and mostly hated The Song of the Lark, so I'm curious to see how I will feel about this one. So far it is alright, but that's how i felt towards the beginning of both the other two!

Cathythoughts I loved this one š‘¨š¸»ā¯¤ļø¸ 6y

CarolynM I loved this and O Pioneers. I didn't realise there was a third one, I will have to get a copyš™‚ 6y

42 likes2 comments

Bpsmith6176

My Įntonia | Willa Cather

pick

There is nothing earth-shattering or even exciting about this book but it is beautiful all the same. It tells the story of Antonia, a bohemian immigrant, and her family that moved to Nebraska. Antonia was based on a real person in Cather‘s life. After I finished reading this, I took a trip to see her home and fruit cellar( only a two hour drive to the middle of nowhere.) I recommend this book.

TheAnitaAlvarez I want to read this book! Largely because Antonia is my sister‘s name, but it sounds interesting too 7y

Bpsmith6176 @TheAnitaAlvarez It genuinely is a beautiful book. I love a book with a strong, resilient female in it. I can‘t wait to hear what you think of it! 7y

TheAnitaAlvarez @Bpsmith6176 it‘ll probably take me a while, there‘s a bunch of books on my TBR right now (edited) 7y

Bpsmith6176 @TheAnitaAlvarez I can very much identify with that š‚ 7y

8 likes1 stack add4 comments

offbeatfantasy

My Įntonia | Willa Cather

How does anyone hate My Antonia?

DebinHawaii Welcome to Litsy! šˇ‰š“š‘¨š†Hope you enjoy it here! 7y

RaimeyGallant Welcome to Litsy! #LitsyWelcomeWagon And here's a compilation of Litsy tips that some of us put together:
https://raimeygallant.com/2017/10/31/litsytips/
7y

3 likes2 comments

gretaalisonreads

My Įntonia | Willa Cather

so-so

This isn't something I would typically pick up, so I was excited to give it a try! It is not going to be one of my all-time favorites, but I certainly enjoyed it! #myantonia #willacather #penguindropcaps #LitsyAtoZ

Otherworld_Library I tried and was underwhelmed with this years ago as well. 8y

gretaalisonreads @Otherworld_Library yes! It was good, but not my thing! I actually think Ellie will love it though. She is reading it now! 8y

5 likes2 comments

SeeJaneRead

My Įntonia | Willa Cather

pick

Yep.

6 likes

SeeJaneRead

My Įntonia | Willa Cather

I've been reading so much about politics. This book is a breath of fresh air. Almost literally. Cather, take me away!

Ange44 I recently read this for the first time and I really enjoyed it! 8y

SeeJaneRead @Ange44 it's so gooood 8y

8 likes2 comments

LitsyFeministBookClub

My Įntonia | Willa Cather

Happy birthday to Willa Cather! (1873-1947) She's a Pulitzer Prize-winning American author from Virginia & Nebraska. She eschewed gender roles in her daily life by wearing men's clothes & hairstyles, was rumored to have relations w/women, & wrote books that have early feminist themes. She's also one of the first American authors to seriously feature immigrants in her work. š™š¸¼ #ReadWomen

Who's your #WonderWomanWednesday? Tag us so we can see!

BookishFeminist, TheNextBook, rachelm

intothehallofbooks I looove Willa C! š‘¸š¸»š‘¸š¸»š‘¸š¸» 8y

Suet624 My great-aunt was her companion for many years, Edith Lewis. 8y

JackieSmith My favorite Cather is

Death Comes for the Archbishop

See All 11 Comments

BookishFeminist @Suet624 Oh wow! It's a small world, isn't it? Do you have any fun stories that have been passed down? That's really neat to have fun stories like that in your family. 8y

BookishFeminist @Suet624 Isn't she great?! 8y

BookishFeminist @JackieSmith I haven't read that one yet but just put it on my tbr. :) I really need to read more of her stuff and reread her books too. Some are up on Serial Reader. 8y

Suet624 There were many stories but there are 2 that make me laugh. From what I remember hearing, Willa left Edith a closet full of clothes when she died. That was it. Considering how much work Edith did for Willa it seems kind of a small gesture. The other thing was listening to my mother sputter when people suggested that her aunt was gay. "She was her companion!!" Who knows what she was, but Edith was fiercely loyal to Willa. 8y

Suet624 I also loved reading letters written between Willa, my aunt, and Sigrid Undset. 8y

Suet624 Believe it or not, I also have a relative who hung out with Emma Goldman a lot. 8y

Suet624 And yes, I adore her writing. 8y

Aquedita Picked this one up from the library based on your blurb :) 8y

56 likes6 stack adds11 comments

Christine

My Įntonia | Willa Cather

pick

My first (or at least first remembered - feel like I may have read her in high school?) Willa Cather but by no means my last. Great setting/characters/story, but oh, the language... š™. Lovely.

Ange44 I just recently read this for the first time and I loved it! 8y

Christine @Ange44 Yay!! Have you read/loved any of her other books? 8y

Ange44 @Christine I haven't read any of her others yet, but I plan to soon! 8y

See All 7 Comments

Lindy My favourite Cather is

Death Comes for the Archbishop

auntie_jenn of all my assigned reading, this is the one that i keep meaning to come back to. 8y

Christine @Lindy Thanks, I will check that one out! 8y

Christine @auntie_jenn Yes, do it! 8y

44 likes6 stack adds7 comments

marathonreader

My Įntonia | Willa Cather

pick

One of my favorites. Written in 1918, the Nebraska farmland comes alive for the reader with excellent character development. Add this to your 'classic' stack!!

3 likes1 stack add

SerialReader

My Įntonia | Willa Cather

This passage caused my college professor to break down in tears in the middle of lecture.

I didn't get it. But the memory stayed with me and encouraged me to later build Serial Reader. So I could slow down, read My Antonia properly, and understand.

(And yes, now I blubber at this passage too!)

15 likes3 stack adds

cewilf

My Įntonia | Willa Cather

pick

A beautifully written story of the American West. I read this in college and it changed my views on books set in the American West--now I seek them out whenever possible. Cather deserves to be more widely read and taught. I made it a summer reading book for my advanced 8th graders.

readinginthedark I love this book so much! 8y

6 likes5 stack adds1 comment

SaraBeagle

My Įntonia | Willa Cather

2 likes1 stack add

Welcome to Litsy!

Trending Hashtags

Trending Books