Was Willa Cather quietly the great American novelist? Death Comes for the Archbishop was as beautiful as anything else I've read, and it's been lodged in my head since I finished it last year.
Professor's House and My Antonia were also good; Cather as just a prose stylist has to be considered among the greats, and I feel that she is a much better 'western' writer than someone like McCarthy.
Does anyone else on IQfy read her?
I want to read her 🙂
Eyeing some compilation as we speak
>Was Willa Cather quietly the great American novelist?
YES. I've tried to wake IQfy up to this fact but there's a lot of reticence here about reading books by women.
I was totally blown away after reading Death Comes .... was living in Santa Fe at the time- instant top 5 for me. I read Song of the Lark last year - strong start but loses the plot at some point.
Want to read O Pioneers or Prof's House next
>Was Willa Cather quietly the great American novelist?
100%
>I read Song of the Lark last year - strong start but loses the plot at some point.
Completely agree. Not her strongest in my view. A Lost Lady and My Antonia were outstanding, especially My Antonia. I've read that one probably five times. The Professor's house was somewhere in the middle. I still would like to read O Pioneers and Death Comes for the Archbishop.
>Death Comes for the Archbishop.
It's so good anon; I encourage you to get to it soon.
what didn't you like about song of the lark, exactly? is it that the drama between her and her boyfie never materializes?
I think that's part of it - I guess I found the first section about her life in Moonstone really rich and well drawn, as well as her education in Chicago -- but it seemed that Cather was unsure of where to take the story from there..
The relationship arc w/ Fred did feel undercooked the last section from Archie's perspective felt too tangential / peripheral. Maybe that was the point but really it really let the air out after I was so invested in the first half. Still a good read overall
i was satisfied with that payoff. i can't remember the last time i read a serious piece of literature with such a happy ending but at the same time it wasn't unrealistic. the way thea reacts to stress seemed very human. i agree that the drama was built up and fizzled out but that's not a big loss for me because personally i don't find that stuff exciting.
That's a fair take -- I'm not huge on melodrama for its own sake, and I suppose it was natural he became more of a patron to her. And yeah it I appreciated Thea's ending as well-- felt like a success story but at the cost of losing yourself to your art.
Maybe I selfishly wanted to stick to her POV rather than though's Archie's gaze -- who perhaps was the least interesting character in the book IMO
doctor archie could not possibly have seemed more like a pedophile when thea was growing up. it seems almost like a plot hole that he wasn't.
For me, I think it could have been half the length it is. There's a lot in the second act that seems extraneous, and as you say, there are parts that don't exactly pay off. The first and third acts are great, though.
wanted to read it but it disappeared off my libaries ebook system
Why are you waiting for ebooks? lol
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/69730
didn't know they were out of copyright actually, thanks
Hmmm I put her on the list for some reason or other but she kept getting pushed back. I really must take a look. I like books about pioneers, forging determinedly west and growing food and performing other useful activities.
H. L. Mencken thought she was the cat’s pyjamas, IIRC.
i've read death comes for the archbiahop and the great plains trilogy. where do i go next? does she have any more tomboy books?
The Professor's House is very good. Shadows on the Rock is remarkably comfy.
nope, it's still faulkner, though i admire your concession in choosing a white woman this time