Customer Reviews

My Antonia, Literary Touchstone Edition

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I first read this book when I was in junior high school. I admit that, at the time, I did not appreciate the strengths of the book and the quality of its writing. I am quite glad that I decided to give it another chance, as I now understand why it is considered to be a classic in literature. It is simply a beautifully written book, covering many of the themes that one stumbles across in life and coalescing them into a work of extraordinary breadth.

The book is the story of two young people, Jim Burden and Antonia Shimerda. They meet for the first time when Jim is ten years old and Antonia is fourteen. Recently orphaned, Jim has moved to the Great Prairie to live with his grandparents in Nebraska. Antonia, on the other hand, has been wrenched from her homeland in Bohemia, emigrating with her parents to the United States and finding herself in Nebraska. Jim and Antonia's chance encounter on a train sets the stage for the forging of a friendship and unconditional love that time will not diminish.

The book relates the harshness of immigrant life through the eyes of Jim, who narrates the events contained in the book. There is a relentless stoicism about the book, which is written in spare, clear prose. With intense imagery and descriptive exactitude, late nineteenth century Nebraska comes to life. It also relates the paths that each of the characters choose to follow, as well as the vicissitudes of life that mold and shape them in ways that no one would have imagined.

The focus of the book, which is also a coming of age tale, seems to be on the female characters and their strengths. Consequently, the book has a faintly feminist undercurrent to it, as all the women in it seem to be survivors, despite the hardships that they encounter. This is, without a doubt, a life affirming book, wrought with great feeling and a decided sense of time and place. Yet, despite its poignancy, the book is surprisingly unsentimental and straightforward. It is a testament to the author's literary talent that this book has emerged as a timeless classic. Bravo!

This American classic really needs no review per se. My Antonia focuses on a period in our history that reveals the vital role immigrants have played in developing a strong country. Having taught this novel over a period of forty years convinces me that novels such as this one play a significant role in depicting history in an entertaining medium that works for young people. They not only see an accurate portrayal of history, they also feel the impact that the political and economic conditions had on people. The human struggles to survive are poignant examples of our ability to overcome problems when we need to do so. My Antonia needs to be on a required list for all American literature students to study. I thoroughly enjoyed reading it again as an adult. The reading group I belong to also found this classic to be well worth revisiting and discussing.

I can't believe that it has taken me so many years to discover this beautiful book and talented author. The story is touching and poignant, the characters are real, diverse, well-drawn, endearing and not soon to be forgotten. The writing is beautiful and transports the reader to a time of simple pleasures, daily joys and profound sorrows in the context of a wild, hard to tame, and often harsh landscape that, still and all, holds a beauty that is deep and enduring. The story tells of the lifelong love that grows between a boy and girl who meet each other and a foreign nineteeth century Nebraska landscape when life, loss and the struggle to survive bring their families together. The story is told through the eyes and voice of Jim Burden, who we meet when he is 10. It is a story of innocence and loyalty, sorrow and kindness, basic goodness and humanity, growth and change, maturity and wisdom, and in the end a lesson about holding on to that which is real and truly cherising the places, people, and memories that call your heart back home. Highly recommended !

The introduction of My Antonio is contrived. For another thing, because My Antonio is often about everyone but Jim, for awhile I wasn't sure who I should care about. Moreover,Cather's style initially felt like descriptive treatises. Eventually though, Cather reeled me in with her complex portrait of the folks of Black Hawk. Not only does each different culture have its share of drunks, partiers, rapists, murderers, and, oh, also good people, but their expertly intertwined. These lines written by Jim about the weather accurately summarize the feel of My Antonio: "This is reality, whether you like it or not. All those frivolities of summer, the light and the shadow, the living mask of green that trembled over everything, they were lies. This is what was underneath. This is the truth." In focusing on aspects other than traditional frontier life, Cather introduces readers to a different but just as real type of Western life.

I gave this four rather than five because it does not reach the heights of the other classic fiction I love. I even skimmed through the notes to understand it better, to see if I missed the point. It is a wonderful glimpse of the hard life of the prairie settlers and especially that of the females, although it is written from a male perspective. However, the characters remain distant to me. There is little insight into Antonia's inner self, nor even Jim the narrators. I felt an observer in their world who was only able to see how much an historian might piece together from old letters and narratives of observers at the time. It is not an Austen love story. What came to mind as I read it was the Laura Ingalls stories although the writing is better here and the story has more grit. The women make their way in the world, each a success either as a strong matriarch or business woman. This seems ultimately a book about the female pioneers whose struggles as children formed them and set them on the path to a successful life wherever they ended up.

This was required reading in my daughter's Honors English class, and even though it was required, my daughter (16) really liked it! FYI: Her name is pronounced (Ann tow NEE a). :)