I love all of Willa Cather's books, but this is my favorite. It is short enough to read in an hour or two but deep enough to stay with you forever. Like Wharton's HOUSE OF MIRTH, this is a story of a woman who is simply unable to survive on her own in the world and makes poor decisions because of that.
When our protagonist meets Marion Forrester, she is years younger than her prominent husband. They live in Sweet Water, a town expected to thrive due to the railway. A young neighbor, Niel Herbert, become infatuated with her and she allows his infatuation. But before very long, the fate of Mrs. Forrester turns sour and young Niel is simply too inexperienced to see her clearly and believes the worst of her. Because he never understood her situation, he is unsympathetic to her fall from grace. Years later, he is finally able to understand her.
A beautifully written book and portrait of a complex character.
10 comments:
I haven't read Willa Cather in too long, Patti! Thanks for the reminder of her work.
Interesting. I must admit that I have never read Willa Cather.
Cather is my favorite author! My late mom loved her as well.
I have liked all of her work I have read, including the short stories.
I'm going to check the library to see if they have ebooks of her short stories.
I'm a fan of Willa Cather, too. And, I think you're right about A LOST LADY being her best book!
Sorry to say I have never read anything by Wharton. She never showed up in any of my college courses and I majored in Literature. I think I used to confuse her with Edith Wharton who I did not like.
My first thought is that I haven't read any of her books, but maybe I did long ago. It looks like I can get her books reasonably as ebooks, not that I like that format. My Antonia is on my Classics list.
I have only read a few and this one was the most accessible. I reread MY ANTONIA when I was writing a story for FROM SEA TO STORMY SEA about a woman on the plains. I liked A LOST LADY a lot more.
This is a great and moving book. She really mastered the short novel form.
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