An intimate story of young man's life. Claude Wheeler's stormy youth, his enigmatic marriage, and the final adventure which releases the baffled energy of the boy's nature, are told with almost epic simplicity. World War I offers him even more, but he may crave excitement more than life itself can allow. Wanting it as much as he does can't protect him from the consequences of personal bravado in an age of killing machines. But behind the personal drama there is an ever deepening sense of national drama, of national ...
Read More
An intimate story of young man's life. Claude Wheeler's stormy youth, his enigmatic marriage, and the final adventure which releases the baffled energy of the boy's nature, are told with almost epic simplicity. World War I offers him even more, but he may crave excitement more than life itself can allow. Wanting it as much as he does can't protect him from the consequences of personal bravado in an age of killing machines. But behind the personal drama there is an ever deepening sense of national drama, of national character, working itself our through individuals and their destiny.
Read Less
I rarely venture into to the classics but I had this strange urge to try to read a Pulitzer Prize winner. This is the one I picked up. I have never read a Willa Cather novel before. I can now say that I would have no problem picking up one of her books again. I really enjoyed this novel. It can't say it was an exciting novel (so if you're into twist and turns this is not for you) but a plain story on how events affected the main character's decision to join the army in the midst of WWI. There is less about the war as one expects from the synopsis and more about the character's home life and relationships in Nebraska. Cather's writing is very straightforward and not flowery (which I greatly appreciate).
vincenzo
Jun 8, 2007
1 of ours
Great book. you can't go wrong tih cather's writing. Poignant novel. A real tear-jerker!
