by Regina C.
A prairie novel, My Antonia by Willa Cather, takes place in Nebraska. The main character, Jim Burden traveled out to his grandparents home on the prairie an orphan. Antonia Shermida and her family immigrated to the United States to a farm next to the Burden's. The Burden's help the Shermida's through their first winter, and the two children become fast friends. This is a story of their friendship, one that gets tested over time, through harsh winters, new jobs, and long distances.
Cather's writing is descriptive, every breeze can be heard and every sunbeam felt warming your skin, but it is unnecessary at times. The amount of detail interrupts the story causing the reader to be drawn away from the plot of the story. The detail helps you understand the thoughts of each character but it slows down the speed of the story to a crawl drawing the story out much longer than it has to be.
I am used to fast stories filled with action and adventure. This was the opposite of that, slow and only dealing with everyday problems of life, yet I still found it interesting. If you are looking for a change in pace, something different from what you are used to, definitely pick this book up. If this type of novel is your pace it is part of a sequence of books, O Pioneers, and The Song of the Lark.
My Antonia, by Willa Cather, The Riverside Press, October 1918, 750 pages
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