tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post453054810861361150..comments2024-03-29T03:04:00.853-05:00Comments on Wuthering <br>Expectations: It fortified her to reflect upon the great operations of nature - the surface of O Pioneers!Amateur Reader (Tom)http://www.blogger.com/profile/13675275555757408496noreply@blogger.comBlogger30125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post-55435118964715046052014-01-11T14:41:26.658-06:002014-01-11T14:41:26.658-06:00I have become a little more fluid, by which I mean...I have become a little more fluid, by which I mean loosey-goosey, in my scheduling, but I still do five a week. I will put something up tonight, not at all related to Cather or trolls.<br /><br />Edmund Wilson, reviewing <i>One of Ours</i> at the time of its publication, calls it a "pretty flat failure" and thinks it lacks "vitality." I fear this provides little help with organization.<br /><br />Wilson's review is in <i>The Shores of Light</i>, "Two Novels of Willa Cather."Amateur Reader (Tom)https://www.blogger.com/profile/13675275555757408496noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post-54627601565118467042014-01-11T11:23:07.338-06:002014-01-11T11:23:07.338-06:00What would you like to know about it?
That'll...What would you like to know about it? <br />That'll help organize my reading.<br />You didn't blog yesterday.<br />That is a newsworthy event. <br />Hope all is well.<br />KevinAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post-56134941916287856362014-01-11T10:56:11.715-06:002014-01-11T10:56:11.715-06:00Subtle, Brian, really? Where?
The plain style is...Subtle, Brian, really? Where?<br /><br />The plain style is certainly a valid aesthetic choice, but you can hardly mean what you said. SparkNotes summaries are written with aesthetic simplicity, too. Are they therefore worth reading?Amateur Reader (Tom)https://www.blogger.com/profile/13675275555757408496noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post-80931405437507933922014-01-11T10:50:48.932-06:002014-01-11T10:50:48.932-06:00I have not read The Golden Bough myself and likely...I have not read <i>The Golden Bough</i> myself and likely never will, but it is a good book to know about. T. S. Eliot uses it, Faulkner's <i>Sanctuary</i> uses it, that fertility god stuff up above comes from it. The book is Casaubon's "key to all mythologies."<br /><br /><i>One of Ours</i> is a boldly obscure choice.Amateur Reader (Tom)https://www.blogger.com/profile/13675275555757408496noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post-43974086348899196842014-01-11T06:06:02.945-06:002014-01-11T06:06:02.945-06:00I like the plainness and I like the subtle symboli...I like the plainness and I like the subtle symbolism that you have highlighted.<br /><br />I think that such aesthetic simplicity is enough to make a book with reading.<br /><br />Cather is a writer that I really want to get to.Brian Josephhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15139559400312336791noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post-24383838192128751352014-01-10T23:56:12.230-06:002014-01-10T23:56:12.230-06:00Not familiar with that one.
Will read One of Ours ...Not familiar with that one.<br />Will read One of Ours next, starting now, in fact.<br />Cheers, KevinAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post-14657356744928959122014-01-10T16:26:58.896-06:002014-01-10T16:26:58.896-06:00The Emigrants has a heck of a cast, doesn't it...<i>The Emigrants</i> has a heck of a cast, doesn't it? It has a pretty good reputation.Amateur Reader (Tom)https://www.blogger.com/profile/13675275555757408496noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post-56113962965411641272014-01-10T15:49:17.559-06:002014-01-10T15:49:17.559-06:00With Moberg my impression is that you're bette...With Moberg my impression is that you're better off watching <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0067919/" rel="nofollow">the movie</a>. I've not seen it, but people sure are fond of it. Also, the director's name is Troell, so that's something.Øysteinnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post-25470579212539104822014-01-09T23:59:17.001-06:002014-01-09T23:59:17.001-06:00More Cather - probably not anytime too soon. How ...More Cather - probably not anytime too soon. How do her other novels relate to <i>The Golden Bough</i>? Do any of them feature trolls? I am still thinking of the post I just wrote.<br /><br />But yes, <i>The Professor's House</i>, someday, I hope. Amateur Reader (Tom)https://www.blogger.com/profile/13675275555757408496noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post-55298015862583447272014-01-09T23:55:12.887-06:002014-01-09T23:55:12.887-06:00The Professor's House.
Let me know if you sho...The Professor's House. <br />Let me know if you shortlist it.<br />Read it once a few years back and thought it very good.<br />Anything next on Cather.<br />Postscript.<br />Richard's crazy. <br />That is all.<br />KAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post-89907836093964373202014-01-09T23:47:27.734-06:002014-01-09T23:47:27.734-06:00All right, a strong opinion!
Characters, who ne...All right, a strong opinion! <br /><br />Characters, who needs 'em - see the new post. Maybe Cather is busy with something else.Amateur Reader (Tom)https://www.blogger.com/profile/13675275555757408496noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post-3792000005969462122014-01-09T20:30:28.955-06:002014-01-09T20:30:28.955-06:00Based on the wildly overrated and generally just d...Based on the wildly overrated and generally just dull <em>Death Comes for the Archbishop</em>, you lot can have Cather! I can't remember such a well-loved book with such an inept handling of characterization since I started blogging.Richardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01746599416342846897noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post-17240303670382665182014-01-09T17:05:32.995-06:002014-01-09T17:05:32.995-06:00'the flow of time and seasonal change'...t...'the flow of time and seasonal change'...that's very evident in Death Comes.. as well. Now I think of it, prompted by this discussion, there is a key memory scene in the book-a flashback-that I realise is extremely artfully placed. It retrospectively illuminates the protagonist and the central relationship of the book, but also accelerates the movement forwards towards the ultimate appointment of the title, by introducing a note of elegy and regret. <br /><br />Very nice. A hinge in the book that I'd skated right past.leroyhunternoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post-4320147841566358942014-01-09T13:51:35.150-06:002014-01-09T13:51:35.150-06:00I'm going to ask my friend from Minnesota firs...I'm going to ask my friend from Minnesota first, he lives next door. Guess where I got the idea to read Moberg? Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post-50119906439579259392014-01-09T13:43:16.742-06:002014-01-09T13:43:16.742-06:00Flat style, flat characters, flat Scandinavians.
...Flat style, flat characters, flat Scandinavians.<br /><br />There is a long, old running joke in the US about grim, taciturn Scandinavian immigrants on the northern Great Plains. A <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Prairie_Home_Companion" rel="nofollow">popular radio program</a> from Minnesota tells jokes about "Norwegian bachelor farmers" every week. Perhaps you will encounter it on your car radio when you cross America. Prepare yourself for very mild amusement.<br /><br />So perhaps Moberg is just drawing his characters directly from life.<br /><br />I do not really want to read Moberg so much.Amateur Reader (Tom)https://www.blogger.com/profile/13675275555757408496noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post-75098330802210654762014-01-09T13:25:35.536-06:002014-01-09T13:25:35.536-06:00Yes, for the trip.
Btw, I wasn't blown away b...Yes, for the trip. <br />Btw, I wasn't blown away by the Immigrants by Moberg. I've read the first volume and wasn't interested in reading the second. Flat style, flat characters...<br /><br />PS: see how I hardly miss your posts, now that I receive the emails. :-) Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post-38406625938448805152014-01-09T13:04:17.490-06:002014-01-09T13:04:17.490-06:00Oh right, for your trip, sure. So you do not need ...Oh right, for your trip, sure. So you do not need any of Cather's Nebraska novels. You need something by the Willa Cather of Oklahoma, whoever that might be,<br /><br />I believe Cather got her wish during her own life - school editions - by which I mean paperbacks - were not published until after her death.Amateur Reader (Tom)https://www.blogger.com/profile/13675275555757408496noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post-41980665595367262972014-01-09T12:54:42.955-06:002014-01-09T12:54:42.955-06:00I have Death Comes for the Archbishop on my "...I have Death Comes for the Archbishop on my "America 2014" list. I see it's well "rated" (I don't like that word)<br /><br />PS: if I were a writer, I wouldn't want my books to be taught I class. What a kiss of death. I understand her position. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post-56699050640891822742014-01-09T11:29:11.131-06:002014-01-09T11:29:11.131-06:00Early, I figured. Honestly, I judge texts, not au...Early, I figured. Honestly, I judge texts, not authors, or that's what I try to do - it is easy to blur the distinction. And of course, <i>O Pioneers!</i> is a good novel.<br /><br />Leroy - well said. The episodic structure of <i>O Pioneers!</i> has a lot to be said for it, too. Bursts of activity and long gaps are in what feel like the right places. <br /><br />The short "Winter Interlude" section, Part III, is a good example of what I mean. I am contrasting mentally with the Trollope novel I just read, organized in twenty sections of forty pages and four chapter each, bang bang bang. Cather's structure has an appealing modern fluidity, which suits the way she is handling the flow of time and seasonal change. Not that Trollope is not an expert with the tool at hand - his use of time fits his structure.Amateur Reader (Tom)https://www.blogger.com/profile/13675275555757408496noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post-62393955308312255752014-01-09T10:59:23.485-06:002014-01-09T10:59:23.485-06:00I read Death Comes for the Archbishop recently: it...I read Death Comes for the Archbishop recently: it was episodic, and had what I felt was an attractive simplicity. Does she cut loose? No, I didn't think so. There is certainly much to ponder in the book, but I wonder if the artlessness isn't rather a hinderance to that pondering. You can be blindsided by plainness as much as by mannered complexity.leroyhunternoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post-62837631919606233672014-01-09T10:32:00.571-06:002014-01-09T10:32:00.571-06:00Don't judge Cather on O Pioneers! it is an ear...Don't judge Cather on O Pioneers! it is an early book. Death Comes for the Archbishop is really good. I haven't read Professor's House yet but I know it is well thought of. I very much enjoyed Song of the Lark year before last which is about a young girl from a Swedish immigrant family trying to become an opera singer. Stefaniehttp://somanybooksblog.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post-47010173298309525792014-01-09T09:23:34.889-06:002014-01-09T09:23:34.889-06:00Yeah, Cather could get excited about the Great Pla...Yeah, Cather could get excited about the Great Plains as long as she didn't have to live there!<br /><br />You and R.T. are confirming my suspicion that however useful (and good) <i>O Pioneers!</i> is, I am going to be more impressed with some later books. I was more impressed with "Paul's Case" and the other, earlier, stories from back when Cather was still angry at the prairie and the immigrants for having no art.Amateur Reader (Tom)https://www.blogger.com/profile/13675275555757408496noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post-86573549339162340052014-01-09T09:17:02.025-06:002014-01-09T09:17:02.025-06:00O Pioneers!, as I recall from when I read it at le...<i>O Pioneers!</i>, as I recall from when I read it at least two decades ago, seemed a kind of lighter companion piece to the more dramatic <i>My Antonia</i> (which by virtue of just a scene with wolves would win in a landslide). But I remember that both books conveyed a memorably strong atmosphere and an unusual tone of anticipation and spaciousness, of people living in a new land at the edge of a wilderness, of the encounter with wide open spaces, and in this sense they seemed to me even more "western" than most westerns. I should read them both again. My copy of <i>O Pioneers!</i> had a cover photo of a field of wildflowers of such riotous extravagance that I could understand why Cather could get so excited about the plains. seraillonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17654593356535433945noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post-88603843526293045812014-01-09T09:13:00.938-06:002014-01-09T09:13:00.938-06:00Perhaps I should say this. There is a reason O Pio...Perhaps I should say this. There is a reason O Pioneers rather than anything else by Cather is frequently assigned to high school students. O Pioneers rather bores me. I am not bored, however, by the other novels I have already cited. In fact, Death Comes for the Archbishop is one of the books I turn to every year (sometimes even more often) when I need a wonderful reading experience. It is a perfect novel!R.T.https://www.blogger.com/profile/13220814349193561823noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post-15305085270647954052014-01-09T09:09:00.999-06:002014-01-09T09:09:00.999-06:00No offense whatsoever. I'm just saying that &...No offense whatsoever. I'm just saying that "Enjoy Cather," that is easy. All I have to do is the read the book. Now I am moving on to the harder task.<br /><br />I suspect there is only one way for me to solve the puzzle - read more Cather, especially the books you suggest and the other two Nebraska books, then see how they change <i>O Pioneers!</i>.Amateur Reader (Tom)https://www.blogger.com/profile/13675275555757408496noreply@blogger.com