The final novel in Willa Cather's acclaimed Great Plains Trilogy, that includes O Pioneers! and The Song of the Lark. WITH AN INTRODUCTION BY SARA WHEELER My �ntonia tells the story of Jim Burden, a young orphan sent to live with relatives in the plains of Nebraska, and the life of his neighbour and friend, �ntonia Shimerda. While Jim is a native Virginian, �ntonia's family are recent immigrants from Bohemia, and they grow together as Jim tutors �ntonia in English. While their childhoods are shared, ...
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The final novel in Willa Cather's acclaimed Great Plains Trilogy, that includes O Pioneers! and The Song of the Lark. WITH AN INTRODUCTION BY SARA WHEELER My �ntonia tells the story of Jim Burden, a young orphan sent to live with relatives in the plains of Nebraska, and the life of his neighbour and friend, �ntonia Shimerda. While Jim is a native Virginian, �ntonia's family are recent immigrants from Bohemia, and they grow together as Jim tutors �ntonia in English. While their childhoods are shared, however, their paths soon begin to diverge, spurred on by the effects of dire poverty on the Shimerda family. And while Jim enjoys academic success and a white-collar job, �ntonia remains in the fields that raised them, dedicating herself to her land and domestic duties. Cather's novel was met with instant acclaim: in it she paints a portrait of the beautiful, unforgiving Nebraskan landscape and honours the lives of ordinary people during a pivotal era in American history. 'One of the warmest, most quietly rousing books that I know; a clear-eyed salute to the resilience of the human spirit' Guardian
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I enjoyed Antonia very much. It was recommend by
David McCullough I would recommend lt to anybody.. Loved it.
DT
Bookwit
Apr 2, 2010
My Antonia
So enjoyed this book both for its historical detail re. 19th century life in Nebraska but also for her very fluid style of writing.An excellent but quite short read.
pawkitt
Jul 24, 2008
All time favorite book
I love this book, I just can't say it enough. Willa Cahter writes with such beauty. I felt like I was there when she would describe the parries and the people that lived there. She really has a way of telling a story, you can almost smell and hear what is going on in her books. This is a very good look at what it was like to settle on the parries, she dosen't sugar coat how hard it was to live there. One of the familes even lives in a sod house. What I hard life that must have been. This is a story of a young boy and his journey into a first love. He falls for Antonia, who is from Europe and very difrent from him and the people he has grown up with. I think he is so taken with her beacuse she is so diffrent. This is really a coming of age stroy told with beautiful pros. I will never forget how she describes the sun flowers I felt like I was there.
Dolores
Jan 17, 2008
my antonia
Must have been avant-garde when it was published. An unusual perspective on telling a story.
Johnny2read
Jun 21, 2007
Good Solid Book
This is a book that really gives one the "feel" of the midwest of that specific time. The characters are well-drawn and varied, and the story line keeps the reader interested and not quite sure of what the ending will be.
There is pain, joy, fun, and tragedy all woven into the story, which deals with life on those hard bleak plains of Nebraska many years ago, when life was simple, but hard.
I gave it a three-star rating, because I feel it was not THE MOST exciting book I have ever read, nor did the prose "grab" me, as the prose of some authors has. It is, however, a wholesome read, and gives the reader real insight into the life and times of people who make up such a large part of the USA.
