My Antonia Paperback – July 26, 2020

"My Antonia" is a very lovely novel authored by Willa Cather. It is about farm and town life in Nebraska near the end of the Nineteenth Century. The story is told through a male narrator and Antonia is a central figure throughout. Willa Cather made me love both this title character and the novel.I have been reading Willa Cather novels in chronological order. This is the third of the so call Prairie Trilogy. I have found that these stories are not depended on each other and each can be read independently. I did enjoy all of them very much and am glad to have read all of them. I would say this is my favorite, however I liked all of them, and also particularly enjoyed "The Song Of The Lark". "The Song Of The Lark" is set in Colorado and the characters are different. It is markedly lengthier than "My Antonia".I read this particular novel while at the same time listening to an audiobook narrated by Jeff Cummings. Antonia and others are native Europeans. Mr. Cummings was excellent and used accents that really added to my enjoyment of the reading experience. I feel I have a mediocre inner narrator and a professional narrator often adds to my personal reading enjoyment. However, Miss Cather carefully paints portraits of scenery with words. When I arrive at such a point, I stop and carefully read the words at my own pace and take my time to picture the landscape.As a possible aside, I would like to mention that Willa Cather also authored one of the most poignant short stories that I have ever read. It is "Paul's Case". It is a short story, but it is not brief. It is set in Pittsburgh. Thank You.

"My Antonia" is part of my [reading required list from High School] which comprises 48 books in total. It’s the first book of the list I read officially, starting the countdown. This novel is the last of the Great Plains Trilogy."My Antonia" is a beautiful novel celebrating the gift of everlasting friendship. The main character, Jim Burden, shares his childhood upbringing with his grandparents in Nebraska, at the beginning of the 20th Century. There he meets, the Shimerdas, a Bohemian immigrant family. Jim became best friends with their daughter, Antonia.Jim’s account is special because we witness his genuine and compassionate approach to the European immigrants and his attachment to the land. Through the description of his surroundings, we witness how Jim identifies wholeheartedly to the country lifestyle. How much it contributes to his well being:"I was entirely happy. Perhaps we feel like that when we die and become a part of something entire, whether it is sun and air, or goodness and knowledge. At any rate, that is happiness; to be dissolved into something complete and great. When it comes to one, it comes as naturally as sleep."Cather, Willa (2012-03-12). My Ántonia (Dover Thrift Editions) (p. 12). Dover Publications. Kindle Edition.One of my favorite description of the land marked a definite moment when he encounters Antonia and her family, later on in life, thus embellishing this experience. For an instant, it reminded me of the famous scene of Gone with the Wind where Scarlett stand on top of the mountain and promised to never go hungry in her life."For five, perhaps ten minutes, the two luminaries confronted each other across the level land, resting on opposite edges of the world. In that singular light every little tree and shock of wheat, every sunflower stalk and clump of snow-on-the-mountain, drew itself up high and pointed; the very clods and furrows in the fields seemed to stand up sharply. I felt the old pull of the earth, the solemn magic that comes out of those fields at nightfall. I wished I could be a little boy again, and that my way could end there."Cather, Willa (2012-03-12). My Ántonia (Dover Thrift Editions) (p. 152). Dover Publications. Kindle Edition.Apart from this friendship admiration, Jim describes the prejudices of the community towards the European immigrants. The well known, established American families were repulsive in letting their son marry one of these girls. They were stained with bad reputation and were called “Hired Girls”."What did it matter? All foreigners were ignorant people who could n’t speak English. There was not a man in Black Hawk who had the intelligence or cultivation, much less the personal distinction, of Ántonia’s father. Yet people saw no difference between her and the three Marys; they were all Bohemians, all “hired girls.”"Cather, Willa (2012-03-12). My Ántonia (Dover Thrift Editions) (p. 98). Dover Publications. Kindle Edition.I think this was one of the major impediment on Jim and Antonia relationship. Thus contributing to never surpass the status of friendship. We feel Jim’s nostalgia, all along, for what could’ve been. One feels Jim’s regret, sadness and loneliness. Thus, accepting his fate by holding on to their everlasting friendship."I’d have liked to have you for a sweetheart, or a wife, or my mother or my sister — anything that a woman can be to a man. The idea of you is a part of my mind; you influence my likes and dislikes, all my tastes, hundreds of times when I don’t realize it. You really are a part of me.”"Cather, Willa (2012-03-12). My Ántonia (Dover Thrift Editions) (p. 152). Dover Publications. Kindle Edition.Having read this novel, I must admit that I may not have appreciated its beauty back in High School. I think I would have found it boring and slow paced. Now that I am more patient and open-minded, I was able to enjoy the storyline and the beautiful narration of the prairie lifestyle. It’s weird to say this but I am glad I read it at this moment and not before. I listened to the audio companion narrated by Jeff Cummings. I was not impressed. It was ok.[Message of the novel:]"Some memories are realities, and are better than anything that can ever happen to one again."Cather, Willa (2012-03-12). My Ántonia (Dover Thrift Editions) (p. 155). Dover Publications. Kindle Edition.Great Plains Trilogy:1. "Oh Pioneers!"2. "The Song of the Lark"3. "My Antonia"

Reading this book is part of my effort to catch up on classic books I missed over the years. I’d read her short stories but was wowed by the skill of the writing in this novel. She handles the plot and themes in a unique way. Although prairie life is sometimes romanticized, the pastoral scenes are a joy to read. While her descriptions of small-town life are cutting, she portrays the pull of big city life in several of her characters, one succumbing to despair and isolation, another buoyed by whimsical humor, and the narrator by his choice. It was daring I think to write about the lives of immigrants back in the 1920s. Changes in the landscape, in farm life, and slowly, attitudes toward women, help tell the story. At times, I thought the narrative was overwrought and the pace too slow, but then I’m a modern reader! Overall, an enchanting book.

What a gem. I loved this book. It was such a beautiful story. The writing is incredible, and I fell in love with all of the characters and their development. I didn't want it to end.