Willa Cather/My Antonia reviews/book suggestions

[Susan C.]

Hi all,

Ds (English major) recommended My Antonia for dd to read for American Lit. this year. I am previewing it now. It looks like there is a debate about the author's ******* . I do know if that was obvious, then ds wouldn't have recommended it. He just knows that dd likes Little House on the Prairie. If Cather wrote a great book and that theme doesn't come out in any way in the book, then I might be ok with it. Some scholars say she was *** and others don't agree. Any opinions on this?

 

Also, at a quick glance, it looks like the book might be a harder read. Dd has already trudged through Scarlet Letter, I want the next whole book we do to be easier, more enjoyable, memorable (and happier). If My Antonia isn't that, then suggestions please for our next book! We are right before WW1 right now in US History, so anything prairie, late 1800s to early (maybe mid) 1900s. No WW2 books, she has read plenty of those already.

 

Thanks!

Edited February 10, 2011 by Susan C.

[Anne]

How old is your dd?

 

Anne

[wapiti]

I can't remember what grade I read it, whether it was 8th (public school) or 9th or 10th (Catholic school), but I recall really enjoying the book, and I had no clue about ****, whatever that is. Indeed, I'd rather not know.:D

[Susan C.]

How old is your dd?

 

Anne

 

She is 17.

[MIch elle]

lecture #13 - Chapters, Patterns, and Rhythms. Prof. Spurgin didn't say anything about what you're suggesting about the author and it didn't cross my mind at all.

 

I enjoyed it! I would recommend it for a high school student. It's free on Kindle.

[silliness7]

I can't speak to My Antonia, although it is on my TBR list. But I have really enjoyed A Lantern in Her Hand which is also about the settling of the Nebraska prairie. Isn't that what My Antonia is about?

 

Anyway, tt was written in the 20's, I think, but not at all a difficult read for teens. There is an Irish song referenced throughout the book and I googled it and taught my girls to sing it. That's how crazy I am about this book. Highly Recommend.

[Lori D.]

Hi all,

Ds (English major) recommended My Antonia for dd to read for American Lit. this year. I am previewing it now. It looks like there is a debate about the author's ******* . I do know if that was obvious, then ds wouldn't have recommended it. He just knows that dd likes Little House on the Prairie. If Cather wrote a great book and that theme doesn't come out in any way in the book, then I might be ok with it. Some scholars say she was *** and others don't agree. Any opinions on this?

 

Also, at a quick glance, it looks like the book might be a harder read. Dd has already trudged through Scarlet Letter, I want the next whole book we do to be easier, more enjoyable, memorable (and happier). If My Antonia isn't that, then suggestions please for our next book! We are right before WW1 right now in US History, so anything prairie, late 1800s to early (maybe mid) 1900s. No WW2 books, she has read plenty of those already.

 

Thanks!

 

 

How about some short stories instead?

- Luck of Roaring Camp (Harte) -- funny/bittersweet; 1870s

- Bride Comes to Yellow Sky (Crane) -- funny/bittersweet; end of 1800s

- Gift of the Magi (Henry) -- funny/bittersweet; early 1900s

- Ransom of Red Chief (Henry) -- funny; early 1900s

- Open Boat (Crane) -- turn of the century; existential, boat wreck survivors

- some short stories by Katherine Porter (turn of the century)

 

 

 

Not "classic lit" in the way Scarlet Letter and My Antonia are, but she might enjoy Christy (Marshall) -- early 1900s rural setting -- or Mama's Bank Account (Forbes) -- 1920s/1930s immigrant family -- or Penrod (Tarkington) -- comic sketches of early 1900s life.

 

 

Not at all classic literature, but perhaps for fun to lighten things up while you read the heavier classic Lit, perhaps these light young adult works:

- Little Britches (Moody) -- 1900 Colorado ranching, boy misadventures

- The Great Brain (Fitzgerald) -- turn of the century rural Utah town, boy misadventures

- Cheaper By The Dozen (Gilbraith) -- large family misadventures, 1920s

[Susan C.]

I'm having a tough time figuring this out. You do not allow your 17 year old to read books written by lesbians? What about homosexual males? If so, you may want to google that list, but beware you may be missing quite a lot of good reads.

IMO, I don't think a writer usually puts his own sexual urges into his books, especially those on Great Books list. YMMV.

 

As for how hard a read it is--I'd say tougher than Scarlet Letter. I loved it. If you want something easy and set on the prairie, I'd recommend Little House. Nothing overtly nasty there.

 

Ok........ Little House on the Prairie is a little young except for pleasurable reading.

 

I am at the beginning of my preview. The woman had close women friends and some have suggested there is more to that. One of those friendships is portrayed in the book. I just want to know if the "more" is in the book. I don't care about author's orientations UNLESS they put it in the work. I do realize that all are capable of producing a great book.

 

PLEASE do not turn this into a debate about that. That is the last thing I want. I just want to pick a good book for dd!

[Harriet Vane]

I have never heard that about Willa Cather. I read O Pioneers when I was in high school at a private (conservative) Christian school. I really loved O Pioneers, and am planning for my own dd to read it this semester. That book has strong themes of our human connection to the land. There are themes of marriage and love as well, but it's all clean. I have no hesitations on having my 14yo read it.

 

I highly recommend Cather's works. (I am a former English major as well, fwiw.)

[swimmermom3]

I remember nothing objectionable in My Antonia whatsoever, but then for a 17 yo, I am also not screening for difficult situations. That doesn't sound right. It is a beautifully crafted book, life was hard, and I could not push Cather away because of her orientation. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn is also a well-written book and life is hard. I think we have had this discussion before about American literature and the fact that it is not particularly uplifting, but I thought My Antonia had a certain beauty about it. Life was hard in Christy Marhsall's book too. Lori D's selections are a good way to lighten the load if your dd has not already read them. My kids think they will never be too old for Little Britches or Cheaper by the Dozen.

[Susan C.]

I actually have A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. It is SO long and dd isn't a very fast reader. I am debating if I want to do a "coming of age" book. Dd and I are really getting into the literary analysis, so we definitely want some of that and not too easy. But, she is still building her vocabulary up and books with too many harder words are such a hard trudge. We are working through Scott Foresman US in Literature as well.

 

Is there any literary analysis at all in Cheaper by the Dozen? And, she has seen both of the movies based on it, is the book different enough from the movies?

 

Its good to hear of all that like My Antonia, ds liked it as well.

[rlugbill]

I read My Antonia. It is a very good book. A character study really. Very much based on the author's years growing up on the prairie. Not a lot of action. But nothing objectionable about it, IMHO.

 

It was a while back that I read it, but it is about an immigrant girl growing up on the prairie. You can tell the author had an admiration for the girl, although there is nothing extraordinary about her or what she does in the book IMHO.

 

It was recommended to me and I would recommend it to others, including my 13 yr. old dd.

[FloridaLisa]

Hi all,

Ds (English major) recommended My Antonia for dd to read for American Lit. this year. I am previewing it now. It looks like there is a debate about the author's ******* . I do know if that was obvious, then ds wouldn't have recommended it. He just knows that dd likes Little House on the Prairie. If Cather wrote a great book and that theme doesn't come out in any way in the book, then I might be ok with it. Some scholars say she was *** and others don't agree. Any opinions on this?

 

Also, at a quick glance, it looks like the book might be a harder read. Dd has already trudged through Scarlet Letter, I want the next whole book we do to be easier, more enjoyable, memorable (and happier). If My Antonia isn't that, then suggestions please for our next book! We are right before WW1 right now in US History, so anything prairie, late 1800s to early (maybe mid) 1900s. No WW2 books, she has read plenty of those already.

 

Thanks!

 

 

Ds and I read O Pioneers by Cather and I didn't notice any troublesome s**ual themes. Also, is her s***ality anywhere documented? The great source Wikipedia indicated Cather herself never acknowledged anything and this is all post mortem speculation. ?? I loathe that.

 

Lisa

[PeterPan]

Strider, maybe you didn't hear about Cather's private life *because* you were in a cs?? LOL I went to public schools, so we knew about it when we read her works. I don't recall her works discussing it, but that was a long time ago. When I went away to a christian college, I was surprised they used her works. In retrospect, I don't think it was the works that bugged me, as they were innocuous. It was that they didn't tell you the whole story about her and sort of painted her as some moralist.

[swimmermom3]

I actually have A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. It is SO long and dd isn't a very fast reader. I am debating if I want to do a "coming of age" book. Dd and I are really getting into the literary analysis, so we definitely want some of that and not too easy. But, she is still building her vocabulary up and books with too many harder words are such a hard trudge. We are working through Scott Foresman US in Literature as well.

 

Is there any literary analysis at all in Cheaper by the Dozen? And, she has seen both of the movies based on it, is the book different enough from the movies?

 

Its good to hear of all that like My Antonia, ds liked it as well.

 

Susan, I didn't find much for literary analysis. On this link, go to the Ericfulltext link and read what they have. It is one way to teach it. If your dd has not read it, please take a detour and read it. It's delightfully funny, is written about real people, and is nothing like the movies, or at least the new one with Steve Martin. Frank and Lilian Gilbreth, the parents in Cheaper by the Dozen are worthy of a visit when studying contemporary history regarding industrialization. They are the ultimate home schoolers even though the kids went to a traditional school.

[profmom]

I read My Antonia recently, and it didn't have anything about lesbians. I'm pretty picky about what goes into my kids, and I would let mine read this one, especially by 17.

 

Spoiler alert: Probably the closest thing to objectionable is that Antonia goes off with a man who has promised to marry her. Something happens (it seems like he was sick and she stayed with him during that time) and then he takes off before marrying her but after she has conceived a child. She raises the child and ends up marrying another man and having a happy family with several more children.

 

Early on her dad commits suicide and it describes the scene in the barn in the winter -- he and his blood are frozen solid.

 

That's all I can remember that could be a concern. I loved being taken back to that time period and couldn't believe that people lived in the conditions that Antonia's family did. I'm glad to have read it.

Edited February 10, 2011 by profmom

[Murmer]

I just finished My Antonia too and did not find anything overly objectionable. There is the suicide and the attempted rape of the main character that was thwarted. The introduction before the copy that I have did talk about the themes of the book and Willa Cather and her the question of she orientation was brought up in that but was not in any way a part of the book from what I could tell.

[profmom]

I had to think about the attempted rape, when it was -- it's not a graphic description. Antonia was working for a family who left her at their house alone while they went out-of-town. She was afraid to stay alone and Jim, the narrator, stayed there in her place (while she stayed with his family). During the night, the man came back into town alone, went home, and sat on her bed during the night. When he found Jim there instead, they fought, but Jim was embarrassed by the situation and didn't talk about it with others around town.

 

I hope this helps in your decision!

[Faithr]

My Antonia is a beautiful book! I don't think Cather's sexuality figured into her writing at all. She is a brilliant author and can tell a story without making it autobiographical! I've read many of her books and they are all lovely, poignant, full of insight. There were a couple I didn't care for. One of Ours about a soldier coming back from WWI didn't work quite as well as her other books, imo.

 

And I really hate the way everything gets sexualized in those forwards or intros that English professors write. Geez. TMI and it doesn't make one iota of difference to her books. If Willa didn't bring up the issues in her books, then why are they blabbing on about it? Have some respect! (Rant over! LOL!)

 

And even if one has same-sex attraction as Cather supposedly did, it doesn't mean that she can't be a moralist about things. She might struggle on one particular front (and who doesn't struggle with something?) or even be wrong (from a an orthodox point of view) but can still be admirable and right on many other issues. Okay, I guess my rant wasn't quite over!

[Mergath]

:blink:

 

So... let me see if I've got this straight. You're concerned about letting your dd, who is seventeen, read this book because the author may or may not have been homosexual?

 

Why in the world would the author's sexuality have anything to do with whether or not you read a book? Straight people write about gay people, and vice versa, all the time. It's not as if you can read a book and say, "Yup. He was definitely a flaming queen." Though, I like to think that most people are enlightened enough to teach their children not to discriminate against people based on sexual orientation.

 

What really boggles my mind is that with all the posts here, no one else has said anything about how absolutely ridiculous this thread is. I'm sorry, but I'm absolutely disgusted.

[Marie in Oh]

I have never heard that about Willa Cather. I read O Pioneers when I was in high school at a private (conservative) Christian school. I really loved O Pioneers, and am planning for my own dd to read it this semester. That book has strong themes of our human connection to the land. There are themes of marriage and love as well, but it's all clean. I have no hesitations on having my 14yo read it.

 

I highly recommend Cather's works. (I am a former English major as well, fwiw.)

 

I have no idea about Cather's orientation, but there is certain movements of literary criticism out there that look for those themes in every work. So, I wouldn't discount a work based on the criticism- you can read alot into lots of works and the lives of the authors.

 

However, I can't agree entriely about O Pioneers being completely clean. If I recall, their is an affair and a double murder. It is pretty heavy. I have not read My Antonia, but I understand it deals with some equally deep issues. I like Cather, and I think both are a good read-- but you are doing right to pre-read. I am glad that I have a few times.

[Lori D.]

Is there any literary analysis at all in Cheaper by the Dozen?

 

No. Just a "good read". :)

 

 

...Cheaper by the Dozen? ... is the book different enough from the movies?

 

Yes.

[Harriet Vane]

Strider, maybe you didn't hear about Cather's private life *because* you were in a cs?? LOL I went to public schools, so we knew about it when we read her works. I don't recall her works discussing it, but that was a long time ago. When I went away to a christian college, I was surprised they used her works. In retrospect, I don't think it was the works that bugged me, as they were innocuous. It was that they didn't tell you the whole story about her and sort of painted her as some moralist.

 

Welll . . . I think not. It's far more likely that I forgot or am out of touch. The teacher I had for that class was very, very honest about the nitty-gritty. I recall some embarrassingly vivid discussions of some of Shakespeare's or Donne's works, for example. I don't recall any discussions of Willa Cather's preferences--maybe I've forgotten, or maybe it's a non-issue? Did she ever formally declare herself? Or is it speculation? I haven't studied her all that much, though I really enjoyed O Pioneers back then, and enjoyed re-reading it this past summer.

[Harriet Vane]

 

I have no idea about Cather's orientation, but there is certain movements of literary criticism out there that look for those themes in every work. So, I wouldn't discount a work based on the criticism- you can read alot into lots of works and the lives of the authors.

 

However, I can't agree entriely about O Pioneers being completely clean. If I recall, their is an affair and a double murder. It is pretty heavy. I have not read My Antonia, but I understand it deals with some equally deep issues. I like Cather, and I think both are a good read-- but you are doing right to pre-read. I am glad that I have a few times.

 

There is an affair, and a murder, but neither is described in graphic detail, and neither is prolonged. That's what I meant by clean. There is some emotional intensity with those events, but they are led up to skillfully and portrayed appropriately. Also, the events are not nearly as dominant at that point as Alexandra's inner life and her heart. I felt the connection with the land is the dominant theme throughout the book.

[Marie in Oh]

There is an affair, and a murder, but neither is described in graphic detail, and neither is prolonged. That's what I meant by clean. There is some emotional intensity with those events, but they are led up to skillfully and portrayed appropriately. Also, the events are not nearly as dominant at that point as Alexandra's inner life and her heart. I felt the connection with the land is the dominant theme throughout the book.

 

I pre-read it for my oldest 2, as it was recommended for junior high. I decided that both her works are probably better for high school. I just wanted to warn the op if because I didn't want her to be surprised if that was not acceptable to her standards.

[justamouse]

I love it and I've seen no bearing of Cather's sexuality on the book.

 

And, really, does it matter?

[justamouse]

I read My Antonia recently, and it didn't have anything about lesbians. I'm pretty picky about what goes into my kids, and I would let mine read this one, especially by 17.

 

Spoiler alert: Probably the closest thing to objectionable is that Antonia goes off with a man who has promised to marry her. Something happens (it seems like he was sick and she stayed with him during that time) and then he takes off before marrying her but after she has conceived a child. She raises the child and ends up marrying another man and having a happy family with several more children.

 

Early on her dad commits suicide and it describes the scene in the barn in the winter -- he and his blood are frozen solid.

 

That's all I can remember that could be a concern. I loved being taken back to that time period and couldn't believe that people lived in the conditions that Antonia's family did. I'm glad to have read it.

 

I thought the two Russian brother's and the sledding scene of the wedding couple with the wolves pretty gruesome. But I thought that was a good morality tale within the whole book.

 

Excellently written book, too.

[lagirl]

My 16 yr old daughter just finished reading My Antonio.

She enjoyed the book, but she wished it had ended on a lighter note.

[Faithr]

I think the ending in My Antonia is weak. I read it again a couple years ago with my oldest teens and we all were a bit dissatisfied with the ending. My problem I think is that you know the narrator, Jim Burden, so well as he grows up and then suddenly things get fast forwarded and he's in a seemingly loveless marriage and you feel a bit alienated from him. Looking at Antonia through his eyes becomes uncomfortable in some way. Like he really doesn't understand her and kind of wants to pity her (she's lost all her teeth!) but at the same time, we thought that she had wound up with the better life than he had for all his success and education.

[angela in ohio]

I read My Antonia without knowing anything about the author. A friend had recommended it, and I haven't read enough books by women, so I picked it up. I ended up googling for info about her when I neared the end of the book, because I did pick up on her sexual orientation from the book. I was curious to see if I was right, and I was then able to find out more about the author and that I was not the only one to see that in the book.

 

I don't think the average 17 yo would see it, though, if you are concerned about opening up a discussion about it.

[alpidarkomama]

I had to read the responses before I figured out what all those *s were! :) I've ready virtually every Willa Cather book, and especially love her 3 prairie books. Her books are mostly wonderful character studies, with a slight bent towards the melancholy. I think they're all fine for high school, and there's nothing that hints at homosexuality in any of her books.

[swimmermom3]

:blink:

 

So... let me see if I've got this straight. You're concerned about letting your dd, who is seventeen, read this book because the author may or may not have been homosexual?

 

Why in the world would the author's sexuality have anything to do with whether or not you read a book? Straight people write about gay people, and vice versa, all the time. It's not as if you can read a book and say, "Yup. He was definitely a flaming queen." Though, I like to think that most people are enlightened enough to teach their children not to discriminate against people based on sexual orientation.

 

What really boggles my mind is that with all the posts here, no one else has said anything about how absolutely ridiculous this thread is. I'm sorry, but I'm absolutely disgusted.

 

Before you singe the other posters, perhaps you should have read their posts. At least three people mentioned that orientation should not have anything to do with literature selection. The OP wasn't asking for a debate, but a book recommendation. Susan has always responded graciously and with care to my questions. For myself, I would like to return the courtesy and avoid the debate.

[Yolanda in Mass]

Before you singe the other posters, perhaps you should have read their posts. At least three people mentioned that orientation should not have anything to do with literature selection. The OP wasn't asking for a debate, but a book recommendation. Susan has always responded graciously and with care to my questions. For myself, I would like to return the courtesy and avoid the debate.

:iagree:Very graciously said. Thank you all for this thread; our lit group has this on our list, and I've always wanted to read Cather.

[Mergath]

Before you singe the other posters, perhaps you should have read their posts. At least three people mentioned that orientation should not have anything to do with literature selection. The OP wasn't asking for a debate, but a book recommendation. Susan has always responded graciously and with care to my questions. For myself, I would like to return the courtesy and avoid the debate.

 

No, but no one called out the fact that the op was just... wrong. Sorry, but unlike many around here, I have a zero-tolerance policy for discrimination, and I WILL say something when I see it. I'm sure there will be much disagreement about whether the post was homophobic, but in my book, that certainly qualifies. If somebody had posted they wanted to know whether the author of a given book was Latino or Jewish so they knew whether or not to let their kids read it, people would freak out. Sexual orientation should be no different.

[Susan C.]

Thank you all, I found out what I needed to know, and more.... :001_huh:

[kalanamak]

Hi all,

Ds (English major) recommended My Antonia for dd to read for American Lit. this year. I am previewing it now. It looks like there is a debate about the author's ******* . I do know if that was obvious, then ds wouldn't have recommended it.

 

I didn't know there was a debate. I thought it was known she *was*, but there is just none of it in her books. She had a loooooooooong Boston marriage, which may or may not have been physical, but was a marriage in all but legalities. There was also the college phase of dressing like a man, and using a man's name, but we see that today, too, in LUGs ("lesbian until graduation", a term I heard quite a bit back east.)

 

For a teen girl, Lucy Gayheart is lightly romantic (and also about musicians), My Antonia, Oh Pioneer's and Song of the Lark are the "Prairie Trilogy" and I loved them all at that age. Death Comes to the Archbishop is, IMO, more for adults. It is drier. I also liked The Professor's House as a domestic portrait. I've read all her novels, and those are the best. IM(not so humble)O.

[kalanamak]

Thank you all, I found out what I needed to know, and more.... :001_huh:

 

Well, if it helps, she was a rabid conservative. (JOKE people, JOKE!)

[Yolanda in Mass]

Thank you all, I found out what I needed to know, and more.... :001_huh:

 

Yes indeed! Me, too!;)

[lauriej]

I actually just read this recently and there was no indication of the author's sexuality in the book. The only scandalous thing that occurred is that Antonia becomes pregnant out of wedlock. This isn't told in detail- it's a fact learned by the narrator who lives far away. I think this book would be fine for a 17 year old and a much easier read than "The Scarlet Letter".

[Anne]

I really don't think the OP cared whether or not the author was homosexual, what she wanted to know was whether it was present in the book. Seemed like a pretty reasonable question to me.

 

Anne

[MIch elle]

http://www.npr.org/2011/05/02/133811309/return-to-the-prairie-to-revisit-my-antonia