My Antonia

by Willa Cather
List(s):"Carp 500"
"Racine Library List"
Category: "Fiction - General"
Pages:372
Year of Publication:1918
Date Read:10/28/1993
Notes:Set in Nebraska in the late 19th century, this tale of the spirited daughter of a Bohemian immigrant family planning to farm on the untamed land comes to us through the romantic eyes of Jim Burden. He is, at the time of their meeting, newly orphaned and arriving at his grandparents' neighboring farm on the same night her family strikes out to make good in their new country. Ántonia, who, even as a grown woman somewhat downtrodden by circumstance and hard work, "had not lost the fire of life," lies at the center of almost every human condition that Cather's novel effortlessly untangles. She represents immigrant struggles with a foreign land and tongue, the restraints on women of the time, the more general desires for love, family, and companionship, and the great capacity for forbearance that marked the earliest settlers on the frontier.
My Rating: 6

Reviews for My Antonia

Review - My Antonia

Not super exciting, but interesting enough and a quick read. I could understand why Jim was intrigued by Antonia and Lena and the other country girls, but I couldn't understand why he didn't marry one of them. The bottom line seems to be that a hard rough childhood made them strong, healthy, happy women. Jim, although he basically served as the narrator, seemed to live life through the lives of the girls and live in the past. His life didn't seem very satisfying to me, but it seemed to satisfy him.

Reviewed by Roger on 2003-07-20 09:05:19

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