Customer Reviews

Laura Ingalls Wilder's Little Town: Where History and Literature Meet

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

 

 

I expected this book to be of the same quality as Miller's biography of Laura "Becoming Laura Ingalls Wilder," which is a first rate work. Unfortunately, this book is substantially inferior in every way.

This book purports to be a history of De Smet as it was when Laura grew up, but is instead a hodge podge of essays ranging from Charles Pierce's theories to the paintings of Harvey Dunn. So instead of learning about De Smet, we have the privilege of learning how educated and erudite the author is. Instead of learning about the town and its characters, we are regaled with the author's theories of how the plow broke the plains.

Occasionally there are nuggets of new information about De Smet, and about some of the characters who appear in Laura's book or were known to her when she lived there. But these nuggets tend to be heavily wrapped in Miller's academic jargon and theories. Evidently, there is not much to be said about any small town, even De Smet, so you have to talk about others things that you conveniently already happen to know: "Place and Community (and De Smet)," "Freedom and Control (and De Smet)," "Fact and Interpretation (and De Smet)," and so on and on.

"Dreary" and "boring" are adjectives Miller uses more than once to describe life on the prairie: those same adjectives apply in spades to this book. It is very difficult to get through, so buy it and read it only if you're into self flagellation.

This book looks at various historical aspects of the world Laura Ingalls Wilder wrote about, and focuses especially on one of her books, Little Town on the Prairie, and on the town of De Smet, SD. I found it very interesting finding out more about the town that was the focus of Wilder's later books. This book is done as a series of essays, and at times repeats information from one essay to the next. However, it is well written and obviously very well researched, and adult fans of Wilder who want to find out more about her and more especially the larger world and time she lived in will enjoy this book.

I think this book is very interesting and very informative. I am a huge LIW fan and I think that any fan of her books would definately enjoy this biography on her life.

I also believe that anyone who doesn't believe that she really exsited should also read this book as well.