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Great Short Works of Willa Cather

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Willa Cather wrote that book that many of us were forced to read in high school, My Antonia, but she did much more that that. Her novels from the plains and prairies deal with the clash of Eastern and Western culture (as in Eastern and Western United states) as well as the values of art and the simple life.

At the center of Cather's message is the search for meaning in the midst of relationships that sometimes offer limited choices. This collection of her great short stories is a wonderful way to re-introduce yourself to an American Storyteller in smaller does than a full-length novel.

Herein you will fined what is perhaps Cather's most-reproduced short story, "Paul's Case", a tale of a young high schooler who goes off to the big city because of the lure of its culture, music and art. This was the only short story of Cather's I had read before buying this book. The other stories took me to the Lone Star schoolhouse for a revival sweeping a rural Western community (in "Eric Hermannson's Soul"), a Kansas train station ("The Sculptor's Funeral"), a Manhattan concert hall ("The Wagner Matinee"), a Nebraska riverbank ("The Enchanted Bluff") and more. Cather's vivid descriptions conjure up whole worlds in these diverse settings.

My favorite story, however, was "Uncle Valentine" which tells the story of "a golden summer" before a brilliant young musical composer's life is sidetracked by a series of unfortunate events. The story is poignant whether one understands that the main character is based on a real American composer or not.

Although this anthology was published sixteen years ago, it is still in print. Perhaps due not onlly to the wonderful stories but also the maginficant introduction by Robert K. Brown. Brown allows those of us who are not scholars of American letters to feel as if we do in fact have an understanding of Miss Cather and her remarkable career as newspaper reporter, literary magazine editor and Pulitzer Prize winning author.

The greatest gift Ms. Cather had was in making her characters knowable. When reading a story, you felt that you know the people she wrote about. You could sit down for a cup of coffee with them, like you have known them forever.
'Eric Hermannson's Soul' is about the religion and love of life out on the prairie. Eric 'gets religion' then meets a woman who shows him that life could be enjoyed.
'The Sculptor's Funeral' is set in his parent's home. He had left home to get his education out East and became successful and happy. One of his students is in attendance. The local community pillars are also there. The talk turns to how the sculptor treated his folks, embarrassingly bad. Another fellow from the town, a lawyer, is there as well and sets them all straight.
'A Wagner Matinee' has his aunt coming to Boston for a few days to settle an inheritance. He shows her around and she ends up crying for joy. You sort of wonder if she regrets her choices made many years ago.
'Paul's Case - A Study in Temperament' is a high school kid suffering from angst. He just can not get past that he can not have an exciting, fun filled life.
'The Enchanted Bluff'' is in New Mexico. A group of high school boys hanging out on a sand bar during the summer regale each other with stories and plans for the future. One of them tells of this place in New Mexico.
'The Bohemian Girl' is the daughter of the local barkeeper. She has married well and her brother-in-law, the prodigal son, sort of, has come to visit.
'Uncle Valentine (Adagio non troppo)' lived next door to the narrator when she was growing up. He was a composer who married badly, lived in France, etc and got away from all that. He has come home and he and the little girl's family are close. The time he is there is wonderful, in fact, later on, you learn that it is referred to as 'the golden year.'
'Neighbour Rosicky' is a gentle farmer who has grown old. His family is one of the few that are truly happy. His wife and children are the joy of his life. He has known city life and never thinks it is worthy of a second thought if there is a choice. He is proud that he has given his children that choice.
'Old Mrs. Harris' is the mother who takes care of her daughter's family like a maid or cook or nanny. There are trials and tribulations to be dealt with and she does. She is from an old Southern well-to-do family, with certain social standards and ways.
'The Novel Démeublé' is not a story. It is an exposition of writing and what makes a better writer.

The greatest gift Ms. Cather had was in making her characters knowable. When reading a story, you felt that you know the people she wrote about. You could sit down for a cup of coffee with them, like you have known them forever.
'Eric Hermannson's Soul' is about the religion and love of life out on the prairie. Eric 'gets religion' then meets a woman who shows him that life could be enjoyed.
'The Sculptor's Funeral' is set in his parent's home. He had left home to get his education out East and became successful and happy. One of his students is in attendance. The local community pillars are also there. The talk turns to how the sculptor treated his folks, embarrassingly bad. Another fellow from the town, a lawyer, is there as well and sets them all straight.
'A Wagner Matinee' has his aunt coming to Boston for a few days to settle an inheritance. He shows her around and she ends up crying for joy. You sort of wonder if she regrets her choices made many years ago.
'Paul's Case - A Study in Temperament' is a high school kid suffering from angst. He just can not get past that he can not have an exciting, fun filled life.
'The Enchanted Bluff'' is in New Mexico. A group of high school boys hanging out on a sand bar during the summer regale each other with stories and plans for the future. One of them tells of this place in New Mexico.
'The Bohemian Girl' is the daughter of the local barkeeper. She has married well and her brother-in-law, the prodigal son, sort of, has come to visit.
'Uncle Valentine (Adagio non troppo)' lived next door to the narrator when she was growing up. He was a composer who married badly, lived in France, etc and got away from all that. He has come home and he and the little girl's family are close. The time he is there is wonderful, in fact, later on, you learn that it is referred to as 'the golden year.'
'Neighbour Rosicky' is a gentle farmer who has grown old. His family is one of the few that are truly happy. His wife and children are the joy of his life. He has known city life and never thinks it is worthy of a second thought if there is a choice. He is proud that he has given his children that choice.
'Old Mrs. Harris' is the mother who takes care of her daughter's family like a maid or cook or nanny. There are trials and tribulations to be dealt with and she does. She is from an old Southern well-to-do family, with certain social standards and ways.
'The Novel Démeublé' is not a story. It is an exposition of writing and what makes a better writer.

The greatest gift Ms. Cather had was in making her characters knowable. When reading a story, you felt that you know the people she wrote about. You could sit down for a cup of coffee with them, like you have known them forever.
'Eric Hermannson's Soul' is about the religion and love of life out on the prairie. Eric 'gets religion' then meets a woman who shows him that life could be enjoyed.
'The Sculptor's Funeral' is set in his parent's home. He had left home to get his education out East and became successful and happy. One of his students is in attendance. The local community pillars are also there. The talk turns to how the sculptor treated his folks, embarrassingly bad. Another fellow from the town, a lawyer, is there as well and sets them all straight.
'A Wagner Matinee' has his aunt coming to Boston for a few days to settle an inheritance. He shows her around and she ends up crying for joy. You sort of wonder if she regrets her choices made many years ago.
'Paul's Case - A Study in Temperament' is a high school kid suffering from angst. He just can not get past that he can not have an exciting, fun filled life.
'The Enchanted Bluff'' is in New Mexico. A group of high school boys hanging out on a sand bar during the summer regale each other with stories and plans for the future. One of them tells of this place in New Mexico.
'The Bohemian Girl' is the daughter of the local barkeeper. She has married well and her brother-in-law, the prodigal son, sort of, has come to visit.
'Uncle Valentine (Adagio non troppo)' lived next door to the narrator when she was growing up. He was a composer who married badly, lived in France, etc and got away from all that. He has come home and he and the little girl's family are close. The time he is there is wonderful, in fact, later on, you learn that it is referred to as 'the golden year.'
'Neighbour Rosicky' is a gentle farmer who has grown old. His family is one of the few that are truly happy. His wife and children are the joy of his life. He has known city life and never thinks it is worthy of a second thought if there is a choice. He is proud that he has given his children that choice.
'Old Mrs. Harris' is the mother who takes care of her daughter's family like a maid or cook or nanny. There are trials and tribulations to be dealt with and she does. She is from an old Southern well-to-do family, with certain social standards and ways.
'The Novel Démeublé' is not a story. It is an exposition of writing and what makes a better writer.

The greatest gift Ms. Cather had was in making her characters knowable. When reading a story, you felt that you know the people she wrote about. You could sit down for a cup of coffee with them, like you have known them forever.
'Eric Hermannson's Soul' is about the religion and love of life out on the prairie. Eric 'gets religion' then meets a woman who shows him that life could be enjoyed.
'The Sculptor's Funeral' is set in his parent's home. He had left home to get his education out East and became successful and happy. One of his students is in attendance. The local community pillars are also there. The talk turns to how the sculptor treated his folks, embarrassingly bad. Another fellow from the town, a lawyer, is there as well and sets them all straight.
'A Wagner Matinee' has his aunt coming to Boston for a few days to settle an inheritance. He shows her around and she ends up crying for joy. You sort of wonder if she regrets her choices made many years ago.
'Paul's Case - A Study in Temperament' is a high school kid suffering from angst. He just can not get past that he can not have an exciting, fun filled life.
'The Enchanted Bluff'' is in New Mexico. A group of high school boys hanging out on a sand bar during the summer regale each other with stories and plans for the future. One of them tells of this place in New Mexico.
'The Bohemian Girl' is the daughter of the local barkeeper. She has married well and her brother-in-law, the prodigal son, sort of, has come to visit.
'Uncle Valentine (Adagio non troppo)' lived next door to the narrator when she was growing up. He was a composer who married badly, lived in France, etc and got away from all that. He has come home and he and the little girl's family are close. The time he is there is wonderful, in fact, later on, you learn that it is referred to as 'the golden year.'
'Neighbour Rosicky' is a gentle farmer who has grown old. His family is one of the few that are truly happy. His wife and children are the joy of his life. He has known city life and never thinks it is worthy of a second thought if there is a choice. He is proud that he has given his children that choice.
'Old Mrs. Harris' is the mother who takes care of her daughter's family like a maid or cook or nanny. There are trials and tribulations to be dealt with and she does. She is from an old Southern well-to-do family, with certain social standards and ways.
'The Novel Démeublé' is not a story. It is an exposition of writing and what makes a better writer.

In reading through the Great Short Works Of Willa Cather I was taken not by any of the individuated works, but by the cadences of the writings, and their themes and mileux. That's not to say that any of the individual tales had no traits to booster, but the truth of it is, as I am writing this review about three to four weeks after I read the book, not a single narrative sticks in my mind, save for a tale about some Midwestern folk, in a small town, waiting for the corpse of a citizen, killed in World War I, to arrive home. At least I recall its premise. I do not recall its denouement. And that is precisely Cather's weakness as a short story writer. There is sort of a Midwestern sepia to all she writes. No characters embed themselves the way characters of a Herman Melville, or Raymond Carver, do.

I see waves of grain blowing tidally in the winds. Perhaps the most interesting thing that I recall about Cather's short tales were their dialogues- the conversations. And perhaps it's because she was a writer of her time, but I just get a sense that she had no real ear for dialogue. By this I do not mean that there were not people who spoke in the stiff tones her characters did, but the conversations seem as if they were specifically written for the page, not gleaned from a real overheard colloquy. Carver is probably the best writer to do this, although some might claim that his characters are too foul mouthed. But, that is not what I mean by realistic conversation. Real people hem and haw when they speak- this being the reason that punctuation was initially developed- to allow writers to denote what is said- a pause being a comma, a longer pause being a period, etc. Only later did these diacritical signages get transformed into rationalized things, such as a period not just being a long pause, but the end of a coherent thought, or sentence.

This is where Raymond Carver excels. His conversations often meander and stumble about the subject matter, and the conversants often skip off into other topics before moseying back to the original one. Not so with Cather's dialoguers. There never seems to be an out of place (read- real) moment in their interactions, whether verbalized or not. The conversation is merely a tool to propel the plot, rather than also develop the characters. Simply plot-driven stories always risk falling over due to their weightedness in one direction. This is what happens to too many Cather tales. Granted, she does not fall into the caricaturization trap of a Flannery O'Connor nor a William Faulkner, yet her tales are not ripping good yarns, nor are they particularly insightful probes into a person, an event, or a psyche amidst a crisis. They do read as a document of a time and place, though, and as such, perhaps, the best way to describe a Cather tale is to call it travelogue writing. Her endings also are tinged with a Horatio Algerian quality that, to me, at least, does not welcome re-reading. Her tales tell me, `We're safe and tucked in now, thanks for stopping by.'

This may seem to some like I am suggesting Cather was a pre-PC PC Elitist. No, she's not. Perhaps the nearest analogue I can think of, of those writers I've read, is she is to the Midwest what Eudora Welty was to the South. Both are more concerned with the neatness and aura of their tales' settings, than in anything that occurs within those bounds. In looking about for some others' analysis of Cather's writing I see that most critics tend to see Cather in her tales, mostly her novels, for her short stories are considered a minor part of her oeuvre, yet I think that is a mistake, unless one is to believe Cather, a newspaper reporter, was a very introverted, unobtrusive sort. Her characters are pallid, and I know, as perhaps a third of my fictive characters have aspects of myself, that it's nearly impossible to not `inhabit' a character that resembles you. This is not a criticism, just a statement. I could be wring, but then I would have to ponder Cather's psychology from a Freudian point of view, and that basically is an abnegation of the text, therefore fairly worthless in speaking of the strengths and weaknesses of Cather's tales.... Interestingly, Cather seemed to acknowledge her lack of skill in the form by actively downplaying her short fiction and proclaiming herself a `novelist' first- to the point of actually refusing to allow many of her short stories, some collected in this book, to be anthologized or republished in her lifetime. Notice that I've not selected a single selection to portray her prose. This is because not a single piece of it moved me greatly, one way or the other, and that there is sort of a uniformity to her prose, which allows a reader to read any reasonably sized paragraph of hers, and be able to extrapolate her whole world from it. This is an observation, and could be both a good and bad thing. I think it just is, for Cather is a remarkably static writer, and in reading through the Great Short Works Of Willa Cather I was taken not by any of the individuated works, but by the cadences of the writings, and their themes and mileux....Hmm? Where did I read that before?