My Antonia

"Ever since the publication of "My Antonia" in 1918, it has been recognized not only as Miss Cather's greatest book, but as one of the outstanding novels of American literature." "My Antonia' is one of the very finest of all American novels." Hugh Walpole in the Bookman. "No romantic novel ever written in America, by man or woman, is one half so beautiful as 'My Antonia.'" H. L. Mencken. "'My Antonia' is packed with the feel of the country. A scant paragraph sets you out on the plains, and the breath of the wind that billows the long grass never leaves your face." Chicago Daily News. In the minds of many, Willa Cather is America's leading novelist. The widespread popularity of her later books has centred renewed interest on the four novels she wrote before winning the Pulitzer Prize. A final appreciation of Miss Cather's work cannot be won without a full knowledge of the strong, fresh talent that made itself felt in "Alexander's Bridge", "O Pioneers!", "The Song of the Lark", and "My Antonia". My Ãntonia (pronounced with the accent on the first syllable of "Ãntonia"), first published 1918, is considered one of the greatest novels by American writer Willa Cather. This great American novel tells the story of several immigrant families who move to rural Nebraska. Antonia is the eldest daughter of the Shimerdas and is a bold and free-hearted young woman. Jim Burden, arrives in the town of Black Hawk, Nebraska, on the same train as the Shimerdas, when he goes to live with his grandparents after his parents have died. Jim develops strong feelings for Ãntonia, something between a crush and a filial bond, and the reader views Ãntonia's life, including its attendant struggles and triumphs, through that lens. The novel is divided into five books, some of which incorporate short stories Cather had previously written, based on her own life growing up on the Nebraska prairies. The volumes correspond roughly to the stages of Ãntonia's life up through her marriage and motherhood, although...