womens fiction

Willa Cather is coming into vogue once again in no small part due to First Lady Laura Bush. Mrs. Bush hosted a symposium dedicated to "Women Authors of the American West." One of these authors was Willa Cather.

I remember reading Cather in high school in the early 1960's and realizing she had a classical sytle. What a pleasure it was to pick up this book and rediscover her again.

"Oh Pioneers" has the simplicity and beauty of the Nebraska plains it so well describes. The herione, Alexandra Bergon is as wholesome, strong, and simple as Nebraska wheat.

Written in the days before television, video games, and the many corrupting factors of modern culture, this book is a hymn to the virtues of the pioneers who built our country.

"Oh Pioneers is not a sanguine novel. There is death, drought, sickness, and thwarted love. But, utltimately there is also human triumph and hope embodied in Alexandra. She faces life with courage, dignity, and compassion.

"Oh Pioneers" speaks to the heart. I highly recommend it.

Before I review the novel, I want to point out that most of the reviews that have given it one star seem to be coming from, perhaps, immature audiences..."it was totally uncoool!" Now, this book is not the best thing you'll ever read, but it IS very worthy of reading. Don't be discouraged by the title, as I once was. Basically, the story talks about Alexandra, a Swedish woman who has to take care of the family once her father dies at the beginning of the book. I didn't really admire her character or was interested too much in it, but that's okay because a lot of the plot involves her brother Emil and her neighbor Marie and their clandestine type of love...it's a heartwarming novel and a very entertaining read. I read the book in one night. The setting was very well depicted and had a sense of magic, evethough there's nothing of a supernatural nature in the book. The characters were very lively and realistic. I wasn't really too satisfied with the ending, but I enjoyed it greatly nonetheless. It is an excellent work ; I recommend it.

"O Pioneers" is not "My Antonia", but it's pretty close. Anything that Willa Cather has written is great and you without a doubt want to add this one to your library.