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Comments (29)

What did you think about this title?
1 to 25 of 29 items
Sep 16, 2022JCLJenV rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
I loved this novel about life on a farm and helping out neighbors who had newly arrived in America. Lifelong friendships are the foundation of this classic novel.
Jan 05, 2022MWB2005 rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
My Antonia illustrates the life of Antonia Shimerda, a young Bohemian immigrant to the Nebraska prairie, through the retrospective voice of her childhood friend, Jim Burden. Antonia’s life is difficult, marked by obstacles and varying…
Oct 21, 2021lilypad_1 rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
Lovely writing and appreciate the hard times when people just did without- you don't have a coat to do chores you just go do the chores anyway, same with shoes.Very slow moving but I wanted to keep reading, the descriptions of NE were…
Feb 03, 2021LPL_ShirleyB rated this title 4.5 out of 5 stars
Just over a century ago Willa Cather penned this elegant and succinct coming-of-age story of pioneering and new immigrants to this land. While historically-rooted it is also a timeless reflection of powerful changes like the impact of…
Jul 21, 2020jacherin rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
The works of Willa Cather should be considered class literature of the American plains life. Her work contains beautiful descriptions of the sometimes very harsh and unforgiving landscape of the western plains. Most importantly, her…
Dec 02, 2019audmel65 rated this title 4.5 out of 5 stars
As an Omaha native with family that grew up in the Sandhills of Nebraska this story is a great illustration of our shared immigrant history.
Nov 09, 2019AaronAardvark1940 rated this title 4.5 out of 5 stars
Another of the novels with historical background in our current reading project. To some extent, this story reflects Cather's own experiences on the frontier. The colors she uses in describing life in Nebraska in the latter part of the…
Jul 31, 2019EmilyEm rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
The life of Ántonia Shimerda and other Bohemian immigrant girls in homesteader Nebraska is told through the eyes of Jim Burden, a slightly younger neighbor, friend and admirer. Wanting to read some books set on the prairie I thought I…
Nov 01, 2017QnVz rated this title 4.5 out of 5 stars
What an absolutely beautiful collection of words, ideas, memories, forms, shapes, and feelings!! This book meant the world of my childhood articulated so precisely and accurately to me though I did not grow up in the MidWest, it made my…
Oct 17, 2017jandt_mcmurray rated this title 2.5 out of 5 stars
Jim Burden moves to Black Hawk, NE to live with his grandparents after the deaths of his parents. It is there that he met the love of his life Antonia. Jim tells of his interactions with the local children, including Antonia, his work…
Jul 18, 2017
Wonderful book and will interest many readers with a plot including action, romance, friendship and remberance.
Apr 14, 2017SeattleSaul rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
If you want to get a good, solid feel of life in the early 20th century mid-west, this book will do it. There was some drama, but mostly it was about the land and the people, especially those who came to America from Eastern Europe. I…
Aug 01, 2016ArapahoeAndrew rated this title 4.5 out of 5 stars
Brilliant, beautiful prose with strong characters in an alluring setting. Some passages make you close your eyes and feel the desolation and calm of the Plains as its inhabitants grapple with life itself. If the Midwest appeals to you at…
Jan 08, 2015
Well-loved author, Kansas-Nebraska pioneer story. Great read.
Oct 07, 2014
My Antonia, written by Willa Cather, is the final novel in what has been called the Prairie Trilogy. It is story of Antonia Shimerda, told (years later) by one of her friends from childhood, Jim Burden, an orphaned boy from Virginia.…
Aug 28, 2014mclarjh rated this title 3.5 out of 5 stars
Conventional narrative, emotional love.story.
Jul 11, 2014rab1953 rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
An interesting reflection on the lives of women settling in the American Midwest in the late 1800’s, this is not exactly what I had been expecting. Much like Angle of Repose, this novel gives a detailed look at the hard life of pioneer…
fox11
Jul 01, 2014
I just finished listening to this beautiful novel on an audio tape. I'd like to respond to the commenter who asked about the relalationship between Jim and Antonia. This was the story line I was most interested in. I think the barrier…
Jan 28, 2014SusannahElf rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
This is a really lovely book. It reads like a love story to the farming experience. I am not surprised that none of the girls were "scarred" by the harsh experiences they endured, as the previous commenter said. People back then didn't…
Dec 30, 2013DanglingConversations rated this title 4.5 out of 5 stars
There is a fairy tale quality to this story, somehow none of the girls/ young women are permently scarred by the brutal life they face as pioneers and they all live happily ever after. An interesting literary technique to be writing in…
Dec 17, 2013IV27HUjg rated this title 4.5 out of 5 stars
Author Cather is an American treasure, especially this story of life in Early Nebraska. One of my favorites.
Dec 07, 2013CPL_Laura rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
In this lovingly drawn portrait of Nebraska in the late 1800s, narrator Jim Burden recounts his youth and that of his friend, Bohemian immigrant Antonia Shimerda, who “more than any other person . . . seemed to mean to us the country, the…
2pod
Nov 19, 2013
[ALERT - potential spoiler] I am curious to know how other readers felt about the way Jim's relationship with Antonia evolved. What barrier emerged that did not exist between the children?
Jul 15, 2012macierules rated this title 4.5 out of 5 stars
A wonderfully lyrical and simple description of the immigrant pioneer life...I feel like lying down a field of pumpkins with the sun on my face!
Jun 21, 2012erinsnest rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
Started June 20, looks like it's going to be a winner. Busy day for me tomorrow, and all I want to do is keep reading this!.......June 21, starting page 38.....June 25, 3/4 of the way through, one of my favourite books ever!.....June 28,…