My Antonia

One of my goals for this year was to read at least eight classic books this year. I discovered that the Provo library has a large collection of books on tape. Thus, my two hours of commuting each day has become a wonderful time to reach my goals. The first book I read/listened to is my new favorite book - My Antonia.

I often found myself sitting in my car after I had arrived home just to finish listening to the chapter. The sun-baked praries of Nebraska, the struggling immigrant family, and the old farmhouse became a part of my life for a few weeks. I loved riding across the fields with Jim and Anotnia on their small pony.

Here's a little part that I especially loved. "There were no clouds, the sun was going down in a limpid, gold-washed sky. Just as the lower edge of the red disc rested on the high fields against the horizon, a great black figure suddenly appeared on the face of the sun. We sprang to our feet, straining our eyes toward it. In a moment we realized what it was. On some upland farm, a plough had been left standing in the field. The sun was sinking just behind it. Magnified across the distance by the horizontal light, it stood out against the sun, was exactly contained within the circle of the disk; the handles, the tongue, the share—black against the molten red. There it was, heroic in size, a picture writing on the sun."

The writing is so amazing that I feel like I am right there. My favoirte part of the story is when Antonia's father dies and Jim is left alone in the farmhouse. He goes down to the kitchen and imagines Antonia's father's soul sitting there behind the stove. He isn't scared but just sits there quietly so the soul can rest before starting its long journey back to Bohemia.

I loved loved loved this book!

More reviews to come.