Customer Reviews

Lucy Gayheart (Vintage Classics)

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Lucy Gayheart is one of the greatest books in my memory, certainly the best among the five Willa Cather books I have read. Though difficult to describe to one who is unfamiliar with the style, the story is lovely, wistfully romantic... and Cather's sparkling prose is simply unequaled. I especially loved the novel's reflection of the creative spirit - Lucy is a young artist full of ardent longing, passion, and ultimately pain.

Willa Cather's short poignant novel was written in 1935. The story takes place in the early twentienth century and contrasts the American plains, the small town of Haverford, Nebraska, with Chicago, large urban American with its promise and perils. The heroine of the book, Lucy Gayheart, has great pianistic talent. She leaves Haverford at the age of 18 to study piano, and to give music lessons, in Chicago.

In Chicago she meets a great but disillusioned and world-weary singer, Clement Sebastian, and has the opportunity to work with him as an accompanyist. There are wonderful descriptions of Schubert song-cycles: the Winterreise and the Miller's Lovely Daughter. She ultimately is seemingly faced with the choice between Sebastian and her hometown sweetheart.

Faced with tragedy from both men in Chicago, Lucy returns home. She gears herself to begin life anew but tragedy again intervenes.

There is a great deal of description in the book of the snow andthe cold, in both Chicago and Haverford. The book also has for me a feel for the tragic sense of life, with a hint of the power of art and religious faith to overcome it. The opposition between city life and provincial town life is similar to Sinclair Lewis's Main Street but with more depth and craft in the writing. The love for music, the human voice and the piano eloquently comes through the book.

This is a beautifully wrought book which deserves to be better known.

A hundred years after the novel is set, the contrast between Chicago and Nebraska still rings true. Having lived in both places, I admire Cather's abiltiy to show the readers the strengths and weak points of each setting. Lucy is so in tune with her surroundings that the settings act almost as characters.
My book discussion group is reading "Lucy Gayheart" because we've all read the "major" Cather works. We chose this one because none of us knew anything about it. It will never be considered one of her great works, but it certainly can stand against the works of many other writers. Cather delicately touches on the subjects of change as a part of leaving home and growing up, the yearning for what is ethereal and lovely, and the difficulty & loneliness of creating a life as an artist.

Lucy Gayheart is a young, spirited, intelligent music student from Havorford, on the South Platte River. In the winters, she attends a conservatory in Chicago, under the tutelage of Professor Auerbach. In Chicago, she lives in a room above a German bakery, where she takes her breakfasts and suppers. These small quarters do not distress her; indeed, she craves the solitude of her own will, her own piano, her own bed. She walks hungrily through Chicago, her appetite for life never disappointed by the thriving midwestern metropolis. She is beautiful, she is talented, and her young heart has never been broke. The year is 1901. At some point in everyone's life, you meet someone whom you think can lift you beyond where you are, to a place where you always wished to be, but weren't sure how to get there. For some, this crossroads leads to success; for others, to despair. For a time, Lucy Gayheart feels the assurance of a bright future reaffirmed daily. And then a tragedy strikes, an undreamed-of turn of events, something which happens every day, and yet which we never address, because it is unthinkable. So will Lucy allow tragedy to beat her down into an existence she has long scorned? Or will she find the mettle to not only endure, but to grow in the face of, her heartbreak? This book was published in 1935. Its syntax can be long-winded, but its imagery is unforgettable. The author conveys a deep love for her fellow man, and for the inexpressible promise of a young life. I believe there is a Lucy Gayheart in all of us.

This beautiful and tragic book ranks as one of my favorite Willa Cather novels. Nowhere else is a pervading sense of tragedy so well contrasted with the all-present beauty of nature. All of Cather's novels are pastoral, but none are quite as tragic as this one.
The story--similar to "The Song of the Lark"--follows an artistically gifted women out of her small town, and into a large city (Chicago) full of promise and angst. The adultry of the young artist falling in love with an older, married, successful artist has an Anna Karanina tinge (a book much admired by Cather): of subdued moral complexity. There are never blanket moral diatribes, but one gets the feeling that not all is well, especially near the end of the book.
Ultimately, this book is about the immortality of youth, and especially art. Cather admired art, in all its forms, which is profoundly reflected in this book.

(If you have read Alexander's Bridge, note also the similar metaphor of drowning: the weak bringing down the strong.)

I don't know what to make of this story, though I loved it. I love Willa Cather's imagery, characterizations, and descriptions. I couldn't put it down, and I've been haunted by it since I read it. Lucy has so much hope and optimism in the first section of the book. She is in the depths of despair in the second section of the book, but then her hope rises again at the plans she forms to rise above her situation. But at that pinnacle of hope, she is again struck by tragedy. Why??? Why did Cather create such a scenario??? In section 3, Harry has to live with the remorse of his role in the tragedy. He's an example of how a moment of pettiness can lead to a lifetime of remorse. I guess what is so haunting to me is the juxtaposition of hope and tragedy/remorse that carries throughout the book.

Lucy Gayheart is one of Cather's more obscure novels and undeservedly so for as a person who has read all of hernovels, I consider this one to be her masterpiece.Cathers main concerns in her fiction are the fact that innocence is never permanent the clash between prarie towns and large cities the clash between American provincialism and the great art music and literature of Europe and also the struggle of people to maximize their lives. This novel has all of these issues presented at a very high level and Lucy is tremendousily compelling even when she errors in rejecting her longtime boyfriends offer of marriage which turns her life around . The novel is tragic but it is thought provoking especially for those who care about the pursuit of excellence. Lucys teacher in Chicago tells her it is meaningful human relationships that give life its value and the pursuit of excellence in ones carrer though vital is second to that which is a major theme of the novel I cant recommend this novel too strongly. It is a masterpiece of American literature and should be betterknown than it is

This little novellla about a fascinating young woman reminded me of what a great writer Willa Cather was and is. It's a beautifully written American fable with a marvelous and human heroine, wonderful supporting characters, all of whom I loved and understood albeit none were near my own experience. Try it. You will not be sorry.

From the beginning Lucy Gayheart held my attention. It had so many ups, and downs, twists and turns that it was captivating. The book was very descriptive and wordy, but instead of taking away from the book it added depth and clarity. It's detail allowed me to become part of the book. I felt as if I knew Lucy forever, sharing in her emotions and fears, hopes and dreams. Willa Cather was definitely a very skillful author. I was given inspiration by her stirring quotes and even had a change of heart. Despite it's sadness, the book, in it's own way, lifted itself up to it's own happy ending, making it worthwhile to read. I'm a sophomore in high school and I highly reccomend this book to anyone who loves a beautiful, fulfilling love story filled with suspense, hapiness and sadness.

An avid collector of Willa Cather's works, I found a first edition copy of 'Lucy' at a local library booksale for $3.00. What a find! Not only was the book itself valuable, but the story was captivating. I could not put the book down! I had no idea what the book was about when I bought it but knew it had to have Ms. Cather's Nebraska connection and portray a life at the turn of the century. Right on both accounts. The small-town character of Lucy was so typical and nostalgic in her quest for first, real, and unconventional love, much to the dismay of her rogue-ish childhood admirer. The feelings and actions of Lucy toward both situations is so characteristic of youth and young love. This novel would appeal mostly to women, from the teens on up, who are looking for something to read on a cold, rainy day while sipping hot cocoa. It is a wonderful escape to a past time in America and life.