emlickliter's review
adventurous
medium-paced
4.0
The Troll Garden and Selected Stories by Willa Sibert Cather – I really enjoy Will Cather’s writing style, so I tried out some of her short stories! These are also good! Happy Reading!
msand3's review against another edition
3.0
This first collection of Cather's fiction is very hit-or-miss---but the hits happen to be unforgettable. "The Sculptor's Funeral," "Paul's Case," "A Wagner Matinee," and "A Death in the Desert" are the highlights, and each story centers on the pain and remorse of the "unlived life," especially for those who wish to be artists or to live amongst artists. Although Cather is known as a writer of the Great Plains, these stories take place in a variety of locales, including Wyoming, Pittsburgh, and New York. Each story also has a tinge of Naturalism. How do we strive for a certain life when the circumstances of our birth or the social pressures surrounding us stand in the way of our ideal selves? In answer to this question, Cather gives us hard truths that don't offer much hope. The only solace for the alienated individual seems to be art as an intellectual and emotional escape--but even that remains a fleeting refuge, at best.
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