Book #3 The Song Of The Lark by Willa Cather

The Song Of The Lark 

Length of time in possession before being read : 1 year

I’ve read a few Willa Cather novels before and really enjoyed them, you don’t seem to see her in popular bookshops in the UK which is a shame. I’ve had The Song Of The Lark for a year now, and after Exodus, somehow felt in “the mood” for it as I read its first few pages.

Like the other novels of hers I have read, The Song Of The Lark focuses on recent European immigrants to America, in this instance it’s a Swedish family The Kronberg’s and specifically their daughter Thea, one of seven.
The daughter of a Methodist preacher, Thea is singled out early on as a “person of talent” and encouraged musically. The reader follows her story from young girl to grown woman and her trials and tribulations along the way.

Wherever she is wherever she goes Thea seems to find people who adore her, from young doctor Howard Archie, to railway man Ray Kennedy as a child and onwards constantly throughout her life, she is described as somehow bewitching, possessing a kind of aura.

I wasn’t feeling it. Thea was to my mind often quite miserable, angry, spiteful, or snobbish, with very little of any good to say about other women in particular, and specifically rivals. I found her a bit of a bitch to be honest, and a whiner.
 Despite this, I really loved the storytelling of the book, the writing, the form, how it was constructed. Normally, I dislike it when novels leap great chunks of time, but it worked very well in this case. There are still unread Cather works out there for me, and hopefully, I will get to them as I work my way through the books I possess!!

Destination : Ebook = electronic storage

Verdict : A solid 8/10