My Antonia

"My Antonia" by Willa Cather is one of the most beautiful novels I've ever read. It just completely captured my heart. Cather's prose is beautiful, especially her descriptions of the prairie, and her characters are so fully realized. A nearly perfect novel. The story is told from the perspective of a young man who grew up in late 19th century Nebraska and became friends with Antonia, a Bohemian immigrant with a deep spirit and joy for life despite numerous hardships. I do feel that this novel could have been saccharine or maudlin in the hands of many authors, especially a male author. But Cather tells a realistic story without the trappings of melodrama or romance that might make such novels tedious. "My Antonia" tells the story of immigrants but one that neither demonizes, pities, or emptily glorifies the immigrant experience in America - it talks about real people trying to make their way in a new place and tells their story with affection and admiration. This is my first Willa Cather novel and I definitely will be reading more in the future