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    O Pioneers!
    O Pioneers!
    O Pioneers!
    Ebook202 pages5 hours

    O Pioneers!

    By Willa Cather

    4/5

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    The first of her renowned prairie novels--a story that expresses Cather's conviction that "the history of every country begins in the heart of a man or a woman." When Alexandra Bergson takes over the family farm after her father's death, she falls under the spell of the rich, forbidding Nebraska prairie.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherWS
    Release dateApr 1, 2018
    ISBN9782291006954
    Author

    Willa Cather

    A prolific, confessedly compulsive poet and playright, Maureen Duffy published her first novel, ‘That’s How It Was’, in 1962. Since then she has written many novels including ‘Love Child, Gor Saga, Londoners’ and most recently, ‘Illuminations’, (1991) and ‘Ocean’s Razor ‘ (1993).

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    Reviews for O Pioneers!

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    • 3/5
      1074 O Pioneers! by Willa Cather (read 7 Sep 1970) This is like other Cather novels, and only obliquely is about pioneers. It is laid in Nebraska and tells of Alexandra Bergson, a Swedish-born farmer, her brother Emil, Bohemians, French, etc. It certainly was not what I expected.
    • 4/5
      Last year I read My Antonia and absolutely loved it and vowed to read more Willa Cather, her writing is so straight forward and real she is such a true talent. There is nothing flashy in this book it is just the story of a family, how they get through the day, and the hardships they go through. I liked that the head of the family was the daughter and not the sons that the father was forward thinking enough that he left the farm to his daughter and left her in charge. Then when the brothers decide they don’t like this arraignment oh they made me mad! Poor Marie and Emil, and the aftermath for Alexandra and the life not lived. One thing about Willa Cather not everyone gets a happy ending and I like that because it is true to life not everyone gets a happy ending!I will end here there are plenty of reviews for this book so I will just say if you like a simple story of life told beautifully try Willa Cather.4 Stars
    • 4/5
      Sally Apollon Review 5/30/12 ofO Pioneers! By Willa Catha7 out of 10Setting: I very much enjoyed the descriptions of the time & place of the Pioneers in this book. It is a period I know little of and I do take great interest in the ground-breaking time, both literally and figuratively speaking. These people had to learn to get along in a strange environment with a different climate, resources and surprisingly multicultural neighbors; I have a huge amount of respect for the settlers of this time and the struggles they faced.Language: This was very descriptive and evocative, sympathetic to the land and the animals & birds. I found it to be breathtaking on occasion and really the greatest strength of the book. The story was well-wrought, by turns triumphant and tragic, reflecting the harshness and renewal of nature.Characterization: Alexandra is a tour de force; her character provides constancy and stability for all the other characters. She is sensitive, yet has more strength than any of the others. It is as if she is in harmony with the land and draws her strength from it.The distinction between her two older brothers & Emil is sharp and their lack of relationship is a product of their differences. Emil: educated, dapper, articulate, well-travelled & intelligent—he is the Brave New World, compared to his brothers who are ignorant, uneducated and bigoted, even though they work like carthorses. They are the Protestant Work Ethic and a relic of the Old World, at once, come to life. Marie—since her first appearance as a child did not quite appear to fit in this world. She transitions from a precocious child to sensual woman with a passionate disposition, ready to enfold anyone she encounters in her aura. She and Emil do seem to belong together, there is evidently a magnetism that pulls them closer—meanwhile her surly husband, Frank pushes her away. I did find the description of the gradual breakdown of their marriage to be very poignant and realistic. So sad to see love grow cold and turn to resentment and even worse. Ammadee, Emil’s French childhood friend was such a delight; I barely saw that coming—when the tragedy occurred, (appendicitis! How utterly preventable, in this day and age!) it seemed all the more apt that he was this “Golden Boy” who had a beautiful life. Ironically, his prank in the church to kill the lights brought Emil and Marie together and his death drove them closer still.Frank—why was he so utterly tragic, so completely pathetic and how could Alexandra have such pity on him to go visit him at the end? I was not sympathetic to him up to a point—his own morose nature helped to bring the adulterous situation about and he had a choice about the way he behaved and treated his wife. Having said that, I do think he sincerely lost his mind when he saw them and hardly knew what he was doing, jail was really too good for him, he will be trapped in his own mind for the rest of his life. Regardless, I don’t think Alexandra helped him, or herself by visiting—even if it does speak volumes about her character that she would do so. I suppose she just had to do that to let him know that SHE didn’t blame him.Carl Lindstrom: it was interesting to me that he didn’t return for Alexandra sooner or try harder to make her his own—but then we wouldn’t have had a story. These days, the grand old age of forty seems so young, but at that time to consider marriage then was considered by most to make oneself “ridiculous”. He also had the drive to “make something of himself” before truly offering himself to a woman such as Alexandra. I was happy when they were finally together.One thing I found interesting was that the relationships were very succinctly described; the conversations few, the pivotal moments well circumscribed. It was a short but very neat and tidy novel, well-styled and with an acute sense of realism, right down to the quick & drawn out deaths of Emil and Marie, respectively—perfectly, compellingly descriptive.As an overall sense, I enjoyed this book more than I thought I would and even more on retrospect, probably would even consider reading another by this author, but not in too much of a hurry.Finally, as a footnote, I had to go & look up Bohemia to see exactly what it referred to, as I had only previously encountered it’s usage as a word to describe a “free-spirited or artistic” character and in this book it evidently refers to a race—even a country of origin. It does, indeed, it refers to the area that roughly corresponds to the Czech Republic today. I did find it interesting that in this novel we encounter Swedish, Norwegian, Germans, French and of course the Czech; but I don’t recall any English—maybe that’s because they went North to New England..?
    • 5/5
      Having tried and failed to read My Antonia a couple of times, I didn't expect to like this book a lot. So I was shocked when I started to love it. Cather's prose is tight, and her characters are gracefully drawn. Even an eccentric like Ivar doesn't get the Faulkner treatment; these people appear in strokes, gradually, and they are all the more real for it. I was enraptured by this book, almost all the way to the end. [It does really start to unravel in the final exchange between Alexandra and Carl--I don't know what that was in the service of, exactly.]
    • 5/5
      This book has two of my favorite things - beautiful writing and a strong female protagonist. Alexandra Bergson is put in charge of her family's farm after her father dies, despite the fact that she has two older brothers. She has a head for business, and she loves the land. Life is not always easy for Alexandra. She focuses on her farm and has few close friends. When describing her memory of a duck on a pond, Cather notes, "Most of Alexandra's happy memories were as impersonal as this one; yet to her they were very personal. Her mind was a white book, with clear writing about weather and beasts and growing things." In telling Alexandra's story, Cather is able to let her love for Nebraska shine through as well. Her descriptions of the land and the seasons are vivid. I captured several of these, but perhaps because I'm reading this in the midst of a cold snap, this one stood out:"Winter has settled down over the Divide again; the season in which Nature recuperates, in which she sinks to sleep between the fruitfulness of autumn and the passion of spring. . . One could easily believe that in the dead landscape the germs of life and fruitfulness were extinct forever."
    • 4/5
      This is a great little novel about the plight of the immigrant farmers in Nebraska toward the end of the 19th century. I liked that the main protagonist was a woman, and a strong woman of course, who was given responsibility of managing the homestead by her dying father and used this advantage to realize her vision. It's very placid going for the first half and very pleasant as such, but the dramatic elements come in during the second half and move the story along in ways one would not at all have expected from what came before. Very well done. Makes me want to read more work by Willa Cather, and while I liked this novel very much, in the end I can't say it really moved me. Perhaps this has something to do with the ending and the moralistic attitude taken by the characters of the after a tragic outcome, which I hope was not the stance taken by the author as well.
    • 5/5
      O Pioneers is the story of Alexandra Bergsons, the daughter of Swedish immigrants who settle in Nebraska at the turn of the century. Farming life is hard work and when Alexandra’s father passes away, she is left in charge of the household and the land. Alexandra works hard to turn the farm into a successful business and put Emil, her youngest brother through college. As a result, Alexandra sacrifices her social life and finds herself alone. Many years later, Alexandra is reunited with Carl, a childhood friend who comes back to Nebraska from the big city to visit. Having achieved success, Alexandra finds that she yearns to share her life with Carl. Carl has always been in love with Alaexandra but feels he must go to Alaska to seek his fortune before asking for Alexandra’s hand. Alexandra waits patiently for his return. In the meantime, Emil has returned from a year in Mexico and finds himself still hopelessly in love with Marie, a childhood friend who is now married. News of a tragic event cause Carl to return to Nebraska where he is reunited with Alexandra, this time for good.
    • 3/5
      A realist tale of Swedish immigrants living on the Nebraskan plains, their lives, and their hardships, Cather expertly paints a vivid, natural picture of pioneer life, not one embellished, but one fully developed. Truly captures the spirit of pioneer life.
    • 5/5
      I should probably start off this review by admitting that I have not been reading Cather’s Prairie Trilogy in order, having read My Antonia around this time last year. Cather’s strength – IMO anyways – is her wonderfully descriptive prose. She knew how to paint a picture with words! Like My Antonia, Oh Pioneers! gives readers a strong female protagonist, this time in Alexandra Bergson, the eldest child of a Swedish immigrant family who takes over the running of the family farm when the father dies. Like other women in Cather’s stories, Alexandra is an individual with grit and determination, valuable characteristics to have to survive and thrive in the American frontier of the early nineteenth century. Alexandra faces family struggles as her younger brothers side with societal views of the time period and feel that it is inappropriate for Alexandra to be free to do as she pleases, so very much a story about a woman claiming her rights outside of the bounds of traditional social norms of the time period. While a short novel – more a novella – the story only hits a couple of stutters/lurches to the otherwise even flow of the story. A common theme I have found in the Cather stories I have read so far is her ability to communicate to the reader the spiritual connection of land and people. Her characters are grounded, driven with a purpose and not flighty as one might find in some other novels. For me, the high points of this story are the strong female protagonist, the mosaic of immigrant characters from the “old country” that would have populated the American frontier of the time period and Cather’s wonderful, descriptive prose, written in plain, accessible language.
    • 4/5
      While I found this to be well written, it seemed a bit simple in terms of plot. The character development was good and there were some great descriptive passages of the land at the turn of the century as pioneers settled the west, and in this case Nebraska. Taken in historical perspective, I can understand the staying power of this writing.
    • 4/5
      Uncharacteristically, I managed to read more than half of this novel without reading the back of book blurb. When I did and saw the word "murder" I laughed. How could such a quiet, deliberate book lead to such a harsh, unforgiving word? Masterfully, it turns out.

      Cather's strength is description. Her descriptions of nature are especially detailed and evocative. But, she's at her best when she is underplaying events, using a few well chosen words to pinpoint emotions. Beautiful and surprising, O Pioneers! will stay with me for a while.
    • 4/5
      The book starts out VERY slowly -- as in, the first half of it is not particularly engrossing reading. After those first two sections, I put it down thinking that it was just a bunch of sketches of vaguely connected scenes, with no overarching plot, and that Cather gave us no reason to care about the overly-stereotypical characters at all. But the novel really picks up in the second half. I can't quite put my finger on what changes, beyond the introduction of more lasting conflict and of something more approaching an actual story. I'm not sure that that's all that is different. Whatever it is, though, most of the end of the book is quite affecting. I do have quibbles with the book: the first half could be condensed so that the reader doesn't have to slog through so many apparently-random, somewhat dull scenes; the gist of many of the characters' longer speeches that show their interior thoughts could be gotten across to us in their actions rather than making us read stilted, artificial dialogue; and I am frankly disgusted by the judgments that Alexandra and the novel make regarding Emil's and Maria's fates. Nevertheless, this isn't a bad read. It's worth picking up for Cather's beautiful prose and for the story of the book's second half. I give it 3 1/2 stars overall, though if the first half of the book had been handled better this easily would've been at least a 4.
    • 2/5
      I've heard about this for years. It's supposed to be a classic & I don't know exactly what I expected, but this wasn't it. There wasn't enough detail to really catch my attention. It was a bit of a character study of the strong people that built our country, but they were all caricatures. Silly, virginal love threads intertwined with tough characters in a really interesting landscape & time that didn't get nearly enough attention. A lot of good elements, but it just didn't do much for me. It started out kind of slow & then fizzled out altogether, although it had moments when it was interesting. But, then went wandering off, once by jumping years into the future.

      It does show a strong woman who not only endured, but thrived, making something of herself & family in a time when that was very tough, but only on the most cursory level. We're told of her achievements mostly in the past. The lack of immediacy & detail undercut the impact. Worse, the end seemed to undercut much of that. Alexandra finally marries & he isn't really a winner, although he isn't as much of a loser as Emile, the little brother that she relied on as her reason for living. Why did she need to live for a man? How could she decide that it was Marie & Emile's fault? Or let Frank get away with blaming the gun? They didn't pull the trigger nor did the gun. It made no sense to me.

      The narrator was pretty good most of the time except when she tried sounds other than standard narration. Accents were too thick & any songs were just a horror. Luckily, there wasn't much of either.
    • 4/5
      I loved Alexandra and the way she could see the true beauty of the land even as she struggled to harness it. Sad, beautiful, luminous.
    • 5/5
      This book is truly proof that great things come in small packages! The story of pioneers from Norway and Sweden in Nebraska, this embraces every aspect of human nature. Alexandra loves the land and her family, her older brothers are somewhat simple, jealous, and mean spirited. Her youngest brother Emil, is smart and thoughtful. Her neighbors run the gambit of all of human nature.This book starts in a deceptively slow way and builds to a powerful ending.My favorite quote: "Freedom so often means that one isn't needed anywhere."
    • 4/5
      When her father dies, Alexandra takes over the running of the farm in Nebraska. Over the years and told in a series of vignettes, we get to see Alexandra's successes and challenges, and get to know the community of pioneer and immigrant folk who work hard and love the land.My first impression of the book was that the land itself was the most interesting character, and that feeling never quite abandoned me though I was impressed with how much Cather was able to convey about the community in a series of short vignettes that cover a few decades. Did I enjoy the book? It's hard to say. I admired Cather's writing to some extent. I liked some characters and the fact that it was about a woman running a farm. I was disappointed by the side story of Marie and Alexandra's brother Emil. They love each other but of course their love is ill-fated and Marie's jealous husband, Frank, kills them in a fit of passion. It was presented as almost inevitable but it made me mad. The descriptions were sometimes quite lovely. Yet it didn't completely grip me, and I most likely would not read it again.
    • 2/5
      I feel obligated to say that it wasn't by any means due to the writing, references, or classic applicability of this book that it got a two star rating (I'm calling it a 2.5). It is simply because, although interesting, it was hard pressed to keep my attention for long periods of time. I would still recommend it if you are interested in early colonial mid-west historical fiction!
    • 5/5
      Set in Nebraska at the beginning of the 20th century. The Bergsons, a family of Swedish immigrants, struggle to succeed with their farm. When their father dies, the eldest daughter Alexandra inherits the farm. She cares for her younger brothers and makes the hard decisions, which bring them success. Years later, Alexandra's relationship with her childhood friend, Carl Linstrum, causes tension between her and her brothers. Her youngest brother, Emil, falls in love with the married bohemian, Marie Shabata. The plot seems simple enough, but it was so much more than that. Alexandra is a strong woman who isn't afraid of trying new things, even though her brothers are. She follows her heart and embraces outcasts when others turn their backs. Cather's descriptions of the land just drip with love for it. You can't read this without understanding her passion for it and her respect for the pioneers themselves. I was completely swept away by the simplicity of the tale. I loved the character and the way it was written and will definitely be reading more of her work.
    • 4/5
      Worth a trip to Nebraska.
    • 4/5
      I’ve wanted to read one of Cather’s books for a long time. I grew up on a farm in the plains of Colorado and I readily looked forward to her description of the plains and farm life in Nebraska. I was excited I could use this as an “O” title and a 1910’s title as well.I was a little disappointed in the book, though. It started off very slowly for me, but by the second chapter I was enjoying it. It is the story of the Bergson family and their struggles to make their farm successful. Alexandra Bergson (the oldest daughter) does a very good job managing the farm and they succeed when other people are selling the land. She and her brothers have different ideas about the farm, though, and split the land equally thereafter. When Alexandra’s land flourishes, her brothers still think they have a say in it and in her personal life. Thankfully, she is a strong woman and stands up to them.I really enjoyed the basic story and the description of the Nebraska plains. I just felt, though, that the story was a bit incomplete. In the middle of the book it skips over several years and I would have liked to have read about them. In addition, I thought the ending was a little weak. Not in what happens, but in the writing of the ending. It just left me a little unsatisfied. I guess I wanted the story to continue. Still, it deserves its classic status, and I look forward to reading more of Cather’s work.
    • 4/5
      Alexandra Bergson tames the prairie and gets no respect. Her oldest brothers are idiots. She sends the youngest to college and he turns out well, but then he falls in love with their neighbor Marie. Trouble ensues. I'm not sure why Alexandra needed Carl, but she likes him and he likes her. It was nice that they could be together.
    • 4/5
      Beautifully written and elegantly paced. Willa Cather's talent for description and dialogue make it clear why her fans adore her. Personally, I liked Death Comes for the Archbishop more, though I haven't yet read My Antonia.
    • 4/5
      This is probably the fourth or fifth Cather novel I have read. I cannot say it is my favorite, probably because the plot was not nearly as engaging as it was in her later works. However, I don't think anyone captures the essence of the American plains like Cather can. Her protagonist in this book is basically an incarnation of mother earth herself. At one point, Alexandra recounts the history of the farm and says the wheat only flourished when the land was ready. For Alexandra, life is much the same. She was not ready for love until she had fully matured. There were several characters who were quite engaging; Alexandra's brother, Emil and Ivar, the man of nature, along with Marie the beautiful butterfly of a woman comprise a very interesting cast of characters. It was a really good read, but just not as marvelous as Cather's future works.
    • 1/5
      Had to read it for an American Lit class in college. So boring.
    • 5/5
      I can't begin to tell you how appropriate Willa Cather's work is to my life. This requires a blog, and I may or may not include Willa's My Antonia altogether in one blog. To be continued.
    • 5/5
      Alexandra Bergson, a strong, brave, intelligent woman with a love of the land, born for management, kind to others, not kind enough to herself. It takes a tragedy for her own feelings to come through. I very much liked this novel which brings together people from different origins at the end of the 19th century and shows how the American nation was forged. This westvaco edition is simply beautiful.
    • 4/5
      Some of the most beautiful nature writing I've ever come across. She can make you feel the land. Story is also interesting, but the ending is a bit offensive to modern sensibilities. How exactly does Marie "deserve" to be killed by her loutish husband. Why would Alexandra feel sympathy for the man who killed . . . killed! . . . her brother. Has me scratching my head.
    • 4/5
      Rating: 3.75* of fiveThe Publisher Says: Set on the Nebraska prairie where Willa Cather (1873–1947) grew up, this powerful early novel tells the story of the young Alexandra Bergson, whose dying father leaves her in charge of the family and of the lands they have struggled to farm. In Alexandra's long flight to survive and succeed, O Pioneers! relates an important chapter in the history of the American frontier.Evoking the harsh grandeur of the prairie, this landmark of American fiction unfurls a saga of love, greed, murder, failed dreams, and hard-won triumph. In the fateful interaction of her characters, Willa Cather compares with keen insight the experiences of Swedish, French, and Bohemian immigrants in the United States. And in her absorbing narrative, she displays the virtuoso storytelling skills that have made her one of the most admired masters of the American novel. My Review: Simple, unadorned prose gets very wearing when it's also missing some basic character-building. In 122pp, it's not possible to do a Proustian job of lovingly explaining why people are who they are. But [The Picture of Dorian Gray], also a shortie, has the most gorgeously subtle character-building; [Mrs. Dalloway] is another example; so one concludes that Cather just wasn't interested in Lou or Oscar or the French neighbors.As a moment in time, the book is invaluable. A concise slice of the life led by the crazy dreamers who decided the Old Country was no longer enough for them and their kids, packed what they could afford to carry, and vamoosed for the New World.There is a private society that's trying to get together a colony of people with all the talents necessary to keep themselves alive on Mars. It's a one-way ticket...just like the pioneers of old.How I wish I was young and healthy. I'd be on that rocket in a heartbeat.
    • 5/5
      The only Willa Cather I'd read before this one was Alexander's Bridge and that had been oooookay. This had a good plot, a great main character and some of the most beautiful writing about the American midwest that must exist. If it's sitting on your bookshelf, move it up your TBR mountain!!!John Bergson and his wife emigrated from Sweden to Nebraska, where they became farmers. Right at the start of the book, after 5 years on the farm, John dies and leaves his daughter Alexandra in charge of all decisions concerning the farm and effectively the family - her 2 older brothers, Oscar and Lou, and Emil, who is much younger. Alexandra is smart, brave, calm, takes calculated risks, and looks after the family well. The book follows the Bergsons, their family dramas and their Bohemian and French immigrant neighbours over the next 20 years. This is definitely a book I want my daughter to read when she's old enough.*spoilers* I thought about dinging this half a star because I found Alexandra's reaction to what happened unbelievable. What, what her friend and brother were doing was WORSE than what Frank did? Um, hellooo. But I think it probably fitted in with attitudes to infidelity and morality at the time Cather was writing, and it felt plausible, so I left it at 5 stars .
    • 3/5
      I always had in the back of mind while I was reading this book that it had been written in a much more conservative time. I suspect that it pushed the limits more back then than it feels to be doing now, especially in regard to women's rights. I was struck by how undated the writing was, not stiff in any way, but not exactly free-spirited either. At times, the narrative is quite eloquent, but it had too many wordy, bland passages for me to forgive its variable quality. For the most part, I chock that up to this being an early work for a gifted writer. I expect to enjoy My Antonia even more.

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    O Pioneers! - Willa Cather

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