Customer Reviews

The Song of the Lark (Signet Classic)

5 star:		(22)
4 star:		(15)
3 star:		(10)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

This is the first novel that I have read by Willa Cather, and so I began my reading with no specific expectations. What I found was an extraordinary American writer. Her descriptions, and her ability to sum up the lifetime of a character in just a few sentences or lines are unlike the writings of anyone else I have read. She reminds me most of Henry James, although she is easier to read..

Thea, the subject of this early Willa Cather novel is flawed, and not really a heroine at all. She is an artist; her art is music. Her family and neighbors in Moonstone Colorado barely recognize what this means; most just find her odd. Thea is a loner. She has no friends her own age. Her siblings do not like her. But, she is the subject of attention from the town doctor, a railroad worker, a drunkard piano teacher, and Mexican laborers. All recognize something special in her; all contribute to her early struggle to find her art, and herself.

It is a railroad accident that changes her life. When her friend, Ray Kennedy, dies in a railroad accident, he leaves Thea a $600 inheritance. These funds take her to Chicago to study piano. There she struggles in poverty, and is discouraged, but she also gets her first glimpse of who she is as an artist.

This is a timeless story about struggle. What does it take to be an artist? What does the artistic commitment mean? Thea does not visit her mother before her death because she had a special opportunity to sing a Wagnerian part in Germany. Her response seems selfish, and uncaring. Her sweetheart turns out to be unavailable, he is unhappily married. Thea has little personal life; people are somewhat incidental to her. Her life models that of a true artist. The normal relations that most people need to thrive, are peripheral to her life as an artist. It is that devotion to the art of singing that fills her life.

At the time of this writing, Song of the Lark is number 40,604 on Amazon.com's best selling list. As a brilliant American writer, Cather seems to have been somewhat but not completely overlooked. Perhaps this is because she was a contemporary of Hemingway, and Fitzgerald, both of whom were such public figures. Many of their works were transferred to the silver screen. Perhaps it is due to her gender. Regardless of the reason for this, she is an author worth discovering, and worth reading. I highly recommend the Song of the Lark.

Behind "The Song of the Lark" is a true story, which James Woodress presents in his fine biography of Willa Cather. In 1913, working on a piece for McClure's magazine, Cather interviewed the opera star Olive Fremstad, who had been born in Sweden and raised in Minnesota. By coincidence, the night of their first meeting, Cather went to see a production at the Met; right before the performance was to begin, the director learned that the lead singer had fallen into a dead faint. With only minutes to prepare for the role, Fremstad agreed to fill in, and Cather was amazed that the tired, faded, unapproachable star she interviewed earlier in the day had somehow transformed herself into "a vision of dazzling youth and beauty."

From this kernel grew the story of Thea Kronborg, the heroine of "The Song of the Lark," which is Cather's portrait of the diva as a young woman. The first part, "Friends of Childhood," is standard bildungsroman fare: a young farm girl from a large family in Moonstone, Colorado, grows up and moves to the big city--in this case, Chicago--to pursue her dreams. The early sections of the book are pure Cather: a strong-headed yet friendly young girl surrounded by a colorful cast of multi-ethnic characters, from the anonymous tramp who drowns himself in the water tank to her alcohol-fueled German music teacher to the lively free-spirits living in the Mexican section of town. Nearly a novel unto itself, this opening section sketches the entire town of Moonstone with a multiplicity of tragicomic details

When Thea moves to Chicago, however, both her character and the book's tone changes. Initially her studies go well, but she finds her artistic growth chained by the expectations of the folks back home. Her awakening occurs when she travels to the American Southwest and stays near the ancient dwellings of the cave-dwellers; her removal from the influence of her Moonstone family and the stress of her Chicago education results in her emotional breakthrough. Thea realizes she will find success only after she has stripped away the vestiges of her countrified upbringing and forfeited her life, her friends, even her self to her art. Thea offers explains this sacrifice in terms similar to what the real-life Olive Fremstad told Cather: "It takes you up, and uses you, and spins you out; and that is your life. Not much else can happen to you."

"The Song of the Lark" melds two seemingly disparate literary traditions: the Western realism of the book's first half recalls Sinclair Lewis and the drawing-room sophistication of the later sections evokes Edith Wharton. (I was surprised by how much the first two sections reminded me of Dreiser's "Sister Carrie."). The disparity was intentional: Cather's premise is that the artist must completely transform herself if she expects to shake the dust off her childhood moccasins and step into the heels of an artiste. Similarly, that very transformation (and the length required to present it) is what makes Cather's novel so difficult for many readers: in order to become a star, Thea turns into a self-centered prima donna, a character who may be admirable but who is not always very likeable.

Incidentally, there are two very different versions of "Song of the Lark" available. Most editions reprint the 1915 text, since it is in the public domain. This earlier version is far more detailed and, some have argued, overwritten; her British publisher complained that she "told everything about everyone." For the 1932 Autograph Edition, Cather revised the book substantially, cutting it by seven thousand words and streamlining the overall text. Descriptive passages were pared; Thea's and Fred Ottenburg's roles were altered; and style, opinion, and matters of taste were polished and modernized. This version is still under copyright restriction, and I believe it is available only in the Mariner Books (Houghton Mifflin) edition. The original version is regarded by many readers and scholars as better (and certainly truer to Cather's original intent); this is the book that Mencken praised for its "sharp bits of observation, sly touches of humor, [and] gestures of that gentle pity which is the fruit of understanding."

For some reason, this is a Cather novel that sometimes goes unnoticed, given the popularity of OH PIONEERS! and MY ANTONIA. But don't overlook it. It's a thinly veiled autobiography of the emergence of a female artist in America at the turn of the Century. Cather had met a famous Wagnerian opera singer, who inspired the character of Thea Kronborg....but this is really Cather's own tale. The story of a young girl, growing up at the edge of the known world, in this case, Moonstone, Colorado, doubling for Cather's own Nebraska home town. It's about the influences on her life, her mother, the men who surround and protect her--sensing that she has a special gift that needs nurturance. And, ultimately, it's about that emergence--as the character goes from being a sturdy Swedish immigrant child to "The Great Kronborg," a Wagnerian opera Diva on the stages of Europe. The novel contains many memorable characters--and a transformation scene in Arizona that is among the most important in Cather's work. It's also deeply moving. For anyone who loves American literature, it should not be missed.

Rarely, if ever, do books captivate me on such a level as this one, and even more rarely do I find such a strong connection between a fictional character and myself. That is what I discovered in the pages of Song of the Lark.

In preparing to post this review, I saw the title of another, which I believe read Hideously Dull and Boring, or something to that effect. This story, my first Willa Cather, was nothing of the sort.

Within the pages of this book a reader finds passion, love, art, beauty, despair, tragedy, disgust, longing, and triumph. Not bad for 9.95 in this day and age.

Thea Kronborg, the heroine of the story, is from very earliest meeting somewhat different from the rest of her family, and the other citizens of Moonstone, Colorado. She is one of several children, but is seen as 'something different, something special' by Howard Archie, the town doctor. He becomes her confidant, her friend, and patron as Thea rises from midwestern girl to Metropolitan Opera headliner.

Through her training and triumph, Thea discovers what is sorely lacking in others in her profession....passion, committment, and integrity. She bemoans the success of other singers, as merely 'crowd pleasing' rather that technically superior, or even correct. She rails at the off-pitch, lifeless tones of some of the more popular of her contemporaries, thinking them hideous and beastly, and severely lacking in talent.

Thea's life starts in a small Colorado town, where she experiences her first 'love', and her first tragedy when she loses that love. But as she grows, as a singer, and as a woman, Thea realizes, through a series of highs and lows, that her one true love is the pursuit of her passion, her singing. She sacrifices all for that passion, and never seems to regret it as she reaches her reward.

Although I admired many traits in this character, the one that stands out most to me is her disdain at others for accepting mediocrity in themselves. Thea despairs when others sell out for simple recognition, and accept it in lieu of striving for artistic integrity. As a performer, this quality in her touched me personally, from having shared stages with many performers stealing scences, upstaging, oversinging, all for personal gain, whether it befit their charater or not. Integrity is a quality sorely lacking in so many these days, that to find another being, fictional or real, so disgusted with the lack of it, was truly a treat.

Willa Cather draws from her own childhood to illustrate life in a small midwestern town accurately, and makes liberal mention of many well-known operas in Thea's rise to fame. This is a perfect gem of a novel, with a very believable story of a woman's passion realized in her art. There are no lucky breaks, no right place at the right time, Thea works for everything she gains, one of the greatest rewards of all.

To read Cather is to see life stripped bare of all but the essentials, then to recognize its beauty anew, and finally learn something original and profound. This is certainly the case with Song of the Lark.

I won't detail the novel in full. Instead I'll try to offer a few pithy observations.

SOTL is epic in scope. The first "act" taking place in Moonstone is so well developed it is a complete story unto itself. As a result, I am glad I read the book tabula rasa. This allowed me read unencumbered by expectations of plot development and to find each new turn in the novel a surprise.

This novel speaks to anyone who has ever wondered if they must reject their home and leave a life behind in order to achieve greatness. This theme is echoed often in modern literature. The Fountainhead by Rand may seem like a strange comparison but in fact, the concept of giving everything to art is fundamental to both author's works, however divergent their style and tone may be.

Regarding the style, I don't seem to recall as much noteworthy prose as Cather's other novels. That said there certainly is much to admire here. I vividly recall the final pages (spoiler ahead) with Thea's theater exit and a friend left among the waiting throng of admirer's. This scene combined with the narration, evokes the loneliness and separation Thea's pursuit of art has created.

I am surprised to find this novel among my favorite Cather books. After reading My Antonia, this novel provides greater diversion from the homogenous world of the prairie. As wonderful as the aforementioned novel is, it's nice to see Cather explore other places with her eye towards the simple, unrefined beauty that is found everywhere.

Willa Cather is like no other author in capturing and evoking a sense of time and place. Like so many of her other works this story transports you to the early part of this century and to the gripping story of the immigrants. The book is full of music. Who wouldn't have loved to have witnessed the Mexicans and their songfest late into the night? You get a real sense of wonder for the American southwest and Panther Canyon. The characters are rich and real. I'm glad that Dr. Archie finally got rid of that nasty wife. Willa must have met at least one woman just like her. I really enjoyed the story.

Very few books fulfill their capacity to both present a wonderful story and completely portray the character of a certain type of person. The Song of the Lark accomplishes both of these tasks. As a classically trained singer, I can attest that the emotions Thea's music wrought from her are precise and beautifully translated into words for others to feel. Cather's insight into Thea's mind transforms The Song of the Lark into a story so intimate that few books can equal it. In addition, Thea acts so realistically! She is young and driven by her passion for music and life. The story itself, besides its merit as a great plot, presents an accurate picture of a singer's training. These three elements of the book - its emotion, its plotline, and its realism - combine to create a powerful novel.

This is the first book I've read by Willa Cather, who I now realize is a great prose stylist of American Literature that my college teachers completely ignored. She is so much a better writer than her male contemporaries--guys like Crane or London or Lewis you hear so dang much about. It is so wonderful too, to read a book from that time about a woman who sruggles to express herself and is not killed for her troubles in the end. Consider me on the bandwagon now. I am beating the drum for Cather.

Song of the Lark is about so much more than just Thea's search for fulfillment (although it is about that, also.)First of all, there is the land: always important in Cather's writing, and crucial here. Also, I did not find that it was "autobiographical"; on the contrary, this novel is quite specifically about music, and its importance to the soul. Thea's "ordinariness" which some other reviewers have remarked upon, is important in that it shows how a gift thrust upon an ordinary human transforms and transfigures her. Well worth 2 or three readings, on many levels.

Listening to this novel in my car, I am transported to the sand hills of Colorado with Thea, the talented protagonist. A young girl struggling with and delighting in the confines of a small frontier town, Thea is realizing her power as an artist. Miniature portraits of the landscape and of the minds of the other characters amazed me with their adroit language; the power of Cather's art is a treasure!