My Antonia, Willa Cather

This is the first book I’ve read for the Classics Challenge.  Unfortunately, I was disappointed with it.

On moving to the midwest, Jim meets a poor Romanian family who are intent on pursuing the American dream by buying a small farm.  The most prominent member of this family is Antonia, a daughter about Jim’s age, who impresses on him with her life and spirit the true nature of humanity and goodness (or so the book promises).

I didn’t particularly like this book.  I did like its descriptions of the countryside and of a society that has passed us now, but I didn’t find any of the characters sympathetic and I didn’t understand the fuss about Antonia.  She seemed like a good, ordinary girl to me.  The book was short, but it felt like it went on for a very long time.  I even read the introduction, hoping to derive some meaning from the book, and while it did make things a bit more interesting, it didn’t put together the pieces enough for me.  I don’t think I’ll be returning to this classic, unfortunately.  Luckily, I expect at least two of my remaining challenge books to be worthwhile reads, so My Antonia hasn’t put me off the challenge. Check out this book on Amazon.