Synopses & Reviews
After the death of his parents, Jim is sent to live with his grandparents on the Nebraska plains. By chance on that same train is a bright-eyed girl, Antonia, who will become his neighbor and lifelong friend. Her family has emigrated from Bohemia to start a new life farming but soon lose their money and must work hard just to survive. Through it all, Antonia retains her natural pride and free spirit.
Synopsis
After the death of his parents, Jim is sent to live with his grandparents on the Nebraska plains. By chance on that same train is a bright-eyed girl, Antonia, who will become his neighbor and lifelong friend. Her family has emigrated from Bohemia to start a new life farming but soon lose their money and must work had just to survive. Through it all, Antonia retains her natural pride and free spirit.
Jim's grandparents have a large and tidy farm. They are kind to him, but conventional. Later Jim becomes a scholar and Antonia becomes a 'hired girl' in town. She blossoms in the new freedom that town life offers. Jim can only taste this life vicariously through her recounting of town gossip and of the 'dance tent'. Antonia's strong will, spirit, and honesty allow her to thrive in the midst of hardship.
Cather paints a rich picture of life on the prairie at the beginning of the twentieth century and depicts some of the many cultures that came to comprise the United States.
About the Author
Willa Cather (1873-1947) is considered to be one of the major fiction writers of the 20th century. She wrote the critically acclaimed novels "Death Comes for the Archbishop," "O Pioneers!," "A Lost Lady," and "The Professor's House." She won a PulitzerPatrick has narrated numerous audiobooks including The Power of Six Sigma, which was a finalist for a 2001 Audie Award. In addition to narrating audiobooks, Patrick is an accomplished stage actor, director and stage combat choreographer. He has worked extensively Off-Broadway and regionally for companies in Utah, Kentucky, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Oklahoma, Virginia, South Carolina, Louisiana, New Jersey, New York and all over California, as well as Finland and Germany. Classically trained, his roles cover a wide range, from Vindice in The Revenger's Tragedy and Marc Antony in Julius Caesar to Oscar Madison in The Odd Couple and The Big Bad Wolf in The 3 Little Pigs.