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dprice805's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
serendipitysbooks's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
One of Ours (1923 winner) opens in early twentieth century Nebraska and follows Claude Wheeler. Claude doesn't fit in with his family, eschewing his father's capitalism, his mother' religion, and his brother's materialism. Claude craves something more for himself, some greater and more meaningful purpose, but his efforts are thwarted and, almost inevitably, he finds himself running the family farm and married to a nice local girl, who is more passionate about Christian missionary work than she is about him. It is only when America becomes involved in World War I that, despite the horrors and brutality, Claude finds the purpose, friendship, and freedom he has long craved. Cather excels at rural life, the prairie setting, and a melancholic thwarted character. The latter part of the novel interested me less, and I found the feel both a little romanticised and melodramatic for my personal taste. Overall, though, this was an engaging story. Claude was a character I could get behind, hoping he'd find a way to live his life for himself rather than solely in the service of others. I really enjoyed Cather's prose and the atmosphere she created.
sidharthvardhan's review against another edition
5.0
At one point, an army officer thinks about scolding his soldiers for mixing with French women who had been living in a territory just freed from Germans but decides not to because it would be like scolding birds. You could basically say the same about reviewing Cather. There is no defining why exactly I love her writing so much. You could say she writes about Prairies or rural life so beautifully and you could say, about this particular book, that she created a magnification character in Claude - an idealist whose wish for an idealist world was left unfulfilled in an increasingly materialist (thanks to indsutrial revolution and consumerism) world, who seems like a man born in a wrong era and yearns for good old days when there were proper social connections, a man who feels the dullness of inactivity of Utopia-like happy Society he is forever to live in .... until the world war I comes in giving him an opportunity to fight for his ideals; to show to him that there are people still willing to die for an idea (His need for a war, to be able to play the hero, the lack of purpose he would feel in peace he fights for all kind of reminds one of Captain America) ..... But saying all that is still not doing justice enough to Cather. She writes far more like poetry and the poetry is made of material of emotions that, unlike words, refuting analysis in their purest forms. In Father's case, the emotion used as material in three books by her I have read is same .... Longing.
someone_in_despair's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
meiji_mo014's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.5
readingshan's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
informative
reflective
slow-paced
5.0
bupdaddy's review against another edition
5.0
I love Willa Cather. I really love her writing. I wish there were fifty novels by her. One of Ours is excellent. Partly farm book, partly war book.
If you read this book, I'd suggest not reading much about it beforehand. She based it on her cousin's experiences, and while the thrust of a Cather book is not based on suspense, and wondering what comes next, still, I like to be surprised by the plot.
I do not recommend the edition I "read" (free audiobook version from Librivox). Between the different recording volume levels of different sections, and the numerous mispronunciations (including "Cather" to rhyme with "rather" once a chapter), I found it a jaw-clenching chore.
If you read this book, I'd suggest not reading much about it beforehand. She based it on her cousin's experiences, and while the thrust of a Cather book is not based on suspense, and wondering what comes next, still, I like to be surprised by the plot.
I do not recommend the edition I "read" (free audiobook version from Librivox). Between the different recording volume levels of different sections, and the numerous mispronunciations (including "Cather" to rhyme with "rather" once a chapter), I found it a jaw-clenching chore.
cruziegirl's review against another edition
5.0
Beautifully written
This is a beautifully written, heart-rending story. Cather wrote with such clarity and feeling but without the silly jingoism so common at that time. What a beautiful book
This is a beautifully written, heart-rending story. Cather wrote with such clarity and feeling but without the silly jingoism so common at that time. What a beautiful book
ja3m3's review
5.0
Winner of the 1923 Pulitzer Prize for fiction One of Ours tells the story of Claude Wheeler a Nebraskan farm boy who longs for more than the rolling prairie and watchful eye of a Christian upbringing. He dabbles in education, marriage, and farming looking for something that is truly his own – something that will define him and end his longing. When America joins WWI Claude enlists in the army and will finally find his calling when he is leading his troops to victory and death in a trench on a faraway battlefield.
One of Ours is really two books in one. The first half centers on life on a prosperous Nebraska farm and the longings of a son who doesn’t fit in. Willa Cather has the amazing ability to not only capture the feel and beauty of the Great Plains, but the dreams of a people who carved a life from the unforgiving soil. The second part focuses on the impact of WWI and the effect it has on Claude. Cather could have gone all patriotic about America’s involvement in WWI , especially since it was published only 3 years after the war ended, but she wrote the war with a writer’s detachment which brought to focus the brutality, honesty, and chaos that is war. This is an outstanding piece of American literature. Highly recommend.
One of Ours is really two books in one. The first half centers on life on a prosperous Nebraska farm and the longings of a son who doesn’t fit in. Willa Cather has the amazing ability to not only capture the feel and beauty of the Great Plains, but the dreams of a people who carved a life from the unforgiving soil. The second part focuses on the impact of WWI and the effect it has on Claude. Cather could have gone all patriotic about America’s involvement in WWI , especially since it was published only 3 years after the war ended, but she wrote the war with a writer’s detachment which brought to focus the brutality, honesty, and chaos that is war. This is an outstanding piece of American literature. Highly recommend.
carlylottsofbookz's review against another edition
3.0
The last Willa Cather book I read I thought was going to be my last....until the Pulitzer challenge. Mind you, I was younger when I read My Antonia, so it could be that i didn't have the patience for it.
So that was my background going into this novel. Fear that it would be long and boring.
I'll say that the first hundred pages had me scared it was going to be the same--pages of description and characters who were just background characters and didn't need their entire history told.
But it did get better.
This is the story of Claude. Claude is the son of a farmer and a bit of a mommas boy (or at least he is the favorite of his mom's). He is pretty dissatisfied with his life. He wants to go to a certain college, but doesn't. He comes back and starts to run his father's farm. He discovers love for a woman and works hard to win her over...then that's not enough either.
Finally for him a war in Europe breaks out (we know this as World War I), and he finally feels he has a mission in life. He immediately enlists and goes over.
The writing and description of the war is mostly focused on the boat trip over and the free time he has, but there are some battle scenes.
For most of the book I thought that Claude was rather a whiny, unlike able character. It was only when I hit 90% complete that I realized the only way the book could wrap up so quickly could mean his death--and I was a little sad at that thought, which turned out to be true.
Overall I think I liked this book. But it seemed a bit scattered to me as well.
One more down on the Pulitzer challenge!
So that was my background going into this novel. Fear that it would be long and boring.
I'll say that the first hundred pages had me scared it was going to be the same--pages of description and characters who were just background characters and didn't need their entire history told.
But it did get better.
This is the story of Claude. Claude is the son of a farmer and a bit of a mommas boy (or at least he is the favorite of his mom's). He is pretty dissatisfied with his life. He wants to go to a certain college, but doesn't. He comes back and starts to run his father's farm. He discovers love for a woman and works hard to win her over...then that's not enough either.
Finally for him a war in Europe breaks out (we know this as World War I), and he finally feels he has a mission in life. He immediately enlists and goes over.
The writing and description of the war is mostly focused on the boat trip over and the free time he has, but there are some battle scenes.
For most of the book I thought that Claude was rather a whiny, unlike able character. It was only when I hit 90% complete that I realized the only way the book could wrap up so quickly could mean his death--and I was a little sad at that thought, which turned out to be true.
Overall I think I liked this book. But it seemed a bit scattered to me as well.
One more down on the Pulitzer challenge!