Kari Ronning and Kari Ronning ( editor ) - My Antonia: And Related Readings

Pros: well-drawn characters and an engaging story
Cons: a somewhat haphazard, slowmoving storyline; the writing style isn't for everyone

When you think of fiction and prairies, you probably think of Laura Ingalls Wilder and her Little House books...homely accounts of a pioneer’s everyday life. After you read My Antonia, the picture that comes to mind may change.

This...

Pros: Beautiful, poetic description, interesting characters
Cons: Not for those who like action

Willa Cather is one of those “name-brand” authors. If her name came up in conversation, I would nod wisely in recognition of a great writer, despite the fact that I’d never read a word by her. So, when I came across a new edition of "My...

Pros: Excellent descriptions, wonderful language, interesting characters.
Cons: Not much action.

When I was a sophomore in high school, I was asked to choose three books to read over the course of a semester. Of the three, the one that I loved the best and the one that I enjoyed the most was “My Antonia” by Willa Cather. “My ...

Pros: Excellent use of poetic prose, in-depth description and solid characters
Cons: No action, nada, zip, zero

Oddly enough, I escaped high school without ever having heard of Willa Cather or My Antonia. I happened on this book quite by accident really, but it struck me as something I might enjoy.

First of all, let me qualify myself...I read...

Pros: One of the best portrayals of what the prairie meant to pioneers
Cons: If you want action, it's not for you

I guess a negative view of this supposedly horrific "lack of plot" in My Antonía could be rooted in two things:

1. not understanding the importance of land
2. being forced to read it in high school

I'm not going to...

Pros: Description, famous author
Cons: Description

This book is one of the four books I will read during the course of this school year (8th grade at an exceptional prep school in Dallas). Along with King Arthur, Romeo and Juliet, and Of Mice and Men, my class and I have muddled through My Antonia. I...

Pros: great description, some action towards the end
Cons: sometimes the plot got a little boring

We've been reading this book in my English class over the past few months and I have to say that I somewhat enjoy it so far. The first chapters seem boring but the plot continues to unravel along the way.

The story centers around the...

Pros: It depicts life that is hard, honest, moving and deep.
Cons: One of the lesser known Classics

I am an avid reader with a basement full of the classics. I seek out literature that inspires, that seeps into your soul and leaves its mark for years to come. My Antonio leaves such a legacy. The story of family struggle grips the reader and demands ...

Pros: Great description of life on the plains.
Cons: Can be a slow read.

My Antonia, by Willa Cather, is a story about the struggles of the immigrant’s life. Cather, using narrator Jim Burden, introduces the Bohemian immigrant family Shimerda, and through Burden’s vivid accounts describes the hardships and successes that the...

Pros: Some interesting characters
Cons: Too many unnecessary characters

When a member of my book club said that she wanted us to read this book a few weeks ago, I remember thinking something like, "Oh great, a life-on-the-prairie book, this should be interesting. NOT!"

I was actually surprised at the...

Pros: puts you to sleep on long plane/car rides
Cons: everything, boring plot and characters

Simply put, this book is not on my personal favorites list. Besides a boring, motionless plot, there is really nothing happening in this book. Sure, Willa Cather is considered a great American author, but I couldn't stand this book. It is a coming of...

Pros: Thought-provoking and wholesome
Cons: Not for those who choose not to think!

If you choose to turn off your brain when reading, buy a comic book.

This novel paints a beautiful portrait of both the Great Plains in a time few remember and a young immigrant who does what she must to survive in a new land. The episodic nature of the story reminds the reader that memory is not a complete plot, but rather, a series of events we deem important, whether others do or not.

Told through the eyes of a successful lawyer remembering a distant youth, we understand how the wisdom of age changes the importance of events and friends.