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A review by alannathellama
A Lost Lady by Willa Cather
2.0
This book started out fine but didn’t live up to any of its potential. The characters were so dramatic for no reason. Like almost nothing actually happened to justify it.
Niel was fine at times, but he kept emphasizing how different he was from everyone else. He also felt so entitled to something (not really a relationship necessarily, but something) with Marian and it was so weird because he was a kid and she was a grown woman. I think it’s to make the point that women are forced to act in a certain, singular way to stay in the fickle good graces of men who will never see the error in their unrealistic expectations, creating a cycle that only leads to problems for everyone. However, the way it was done was so much more grating than it needed to be.
I also did not give a fuck about Marian at all. She was so rich, and even when she gets poorer, she’s still so entitled. I just did not feel anything towards her, even though I am very sure we were supposed to. She’s also just soooo elitist in general, especially towards women. Again, I’m sure this is to make a point, but it mostly just felt like Cather couldn’t stop writing “pick me” character types.
The biggest thing I detested was the way that class differences were portrayed. It is likely because of Niel’s bias, but all the lower class characters were portrayed as so unimportant and less worthy than the other characters. They were often demonized in a way. The novel glorifies the old, rich railroad man and demonizes the lower classes for resenting the rich, who live completely different lives, full of splendor right next to them while they struggle. It just reeks of strange conservative ideals and hypocrisies. I’m not entirely sure what Cather’s intention was with this, but if it did mean something other than what I picked up, I do not think it was done in the right way. Once I started noticing it, I couldn’t stop and it grated me to no end.
The ending: so boring, and the emotions didn’t seem deserved and it didn’t seem like the conclusion even mattered at all, but maybe I was just too pissed off by that point in the book.
Other than that, I didn't hate the writing style, I just wish she wrote about something else.
Niel was fine at times, but he kept emphasizing how different he was from everyone else. He also felt so entitled to something (not really a relationship necessarily, but something) with Marian and it was so weird because he was a kid and she was a grown woman. I think it’s to make the point that women are forced to act in a certain, singular way to stay in the fickle good graces of men who will never see the error in their unrealistic expectations, creating a cycle that only leads to problems for everyone. However, the way it was done was so much more grating than it needed to be.
I also did not give a fuck about Marian at all. She was so rich, and even when she gets poorer, she’s still so entitled. I just did not feel anything towards her, even though I am very sure we were supposed to. She’s also just soooo elitist in general, especially towards women. Again, I’m sure this is to make a point, but it mostly just felt like Cather couldn’t stop writing “pick me” character types.
The biggest thing I detested was the way that class differences were portrayed. It is likely because of Niel’s bias, but all the lower class characters were portrayed as so unimportant and less worthy than the other characters. They were often demonized in a way. The novel glorifies the old, rich railroad man and demonizes the lower classes for resenting the rich, who live completely different lives, full of splendor right next to them while they struggle. It just reeks of strange conservative ideals and hypocrisies. I’m not entirely sure what Cather’s intention was with this, but if it did mean something other than what I picked up, I do not think it was done in the right way. Once I started noticing it, I couldn’t stop and it grated me to no end.
The ending: so boring, and the emotions didn’t seem deserved and it didn’t seem like the conclusion even mattered at all, but maybe I was just too pissed off by that point in the book.
Other than that, I didn't hate the writing style, I just wish she wrote about something else.