Willa Cather : Early Novels and Stories : The Troll Garden, O Pioneers! the Song of the Lark, My Antonia, One of Ours (Library of America)

Book Description

"Let your fiction grow out of the land beneath your feet." Willa Cather's remark describes her own reasons for re-creating in her powerful fiction the Nebraska frontier of her youth. The vast Great Plains, where the earth has only recently come beneath the plow and the sky is huge and open, mirrors the uniquely American ethic of her characters: their heroic aspirations and stoicism, their passion for creativity, their rebelliousness of spirit. This volume, the first in The Library of America's authoritative three-volume collected Cather, includes the story collection "The Troll Garden," her first work of fiction, along with the beloved novels "O Pioneers!," "The Song of the Lark," "My Antonia," and "One of Ours," which earned a Pulitzer Prize.

Customer Reviews:

Her talent is breath-taking.......2006-06-21

Somehow, though I love to read,I had missed Willa Cather. I had already read and loved Jane Austen but it was not until I read "My Antonia" that I realized what I had missed all of these years. Willa Cather is truly a genius of the written word. To call her writing 'good' or her stories 'enjoyable' is to understate her talent. Her writing is beautiful though the stories are simple. Each place she writes about makes one believe that she lived there all her life. Her book "Saphira and the Slave Girl" would make you think she had lived there and in that time. Many of her stories are out on the prairie and seem to glow with the golden light from the sun on the fields of grain. Her characterizations are simple but profound and she often throws in a dramatic tale told by a character. And yes, this physical book is also beautiful and a joy to read. It makes one wonder about ever reading a cheap paperback again.

My Antonia.......2001-09-02

This book was very interesting had a good theme and plot.
It kept the reader on edge throughout the entire book. I would recommend it to everyone.

My Antonia.......2001-09-02

This book was very interesting had a good theme and plot.

It kept the reader on edge throughout the entire book. I would

recommend it to everyone.

Some of Cather's finest work.......2000-10-03

Like all the volumes in the Library of America series, this book is beautiful and made to last. Some readers may be bothered by the thin paper, but it allows so much to be packed into a handy book. As the title states, this is a collection from Cather's early work (her first "first novel," _Alexander's Bridge_, is missing). _The Troll Garden_ is a collection of Cather's early short stories, most in the manner of H. James and have a fin-de-siecle tone. "The Sculptor's Funeral," which depicts a town's inability to recognize achievement in any form but monetary, is perhaps the best. That and two other stories were revised by Cather for _Youth and the Bright Medusa_ (1920 an available in LoA 57 _Stories, Poems, and Other Writings_). Reading the versions side-by-side, one can achieve insight into Cather's growing abilities as a writer. However, the most rewarding read in this volume is _My Antonia_. Cather's first masterpiece depicts the lives of Jim Burden and Antonia Shimerda from their arrival in Black Hawk, Nebraska to twenty years after Jim leaves Black Hawk for a life in the East. Antonia remains in Nebraska, becomes a maid in town, and marries (twice). The theme of the book, from Jim's perspective, is aptly captured in the epigraph: "optima dies . . . prima fugit" (from Virgil's _Aeneid_). Again like all volumes in the LoA, a chronology of the authors life, a "Note on the Texts" and a few notes, containing information on allusions and translations of foreign words and phrases appear at the end of the volume.

Absolutely perfect fiction.......1999-05-21

One of my all-time favorite books. Attractively packaged on acid-free paper. Very classic looking. And the fiction is excellent! Her stories about the Plains, the Southwest, Chicago, and Quebec are perfect works of art. I especially liked "Tom Outland's Story" contained within "The Professor's House."

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Cather's early stories, including four later revised

The Troll Garden: Short Stories
Willa Cather
Manufacturer: Bison Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Literary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

General | Short Stories | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Book Description

This collection of Willa Cather stories—her first book of fiction and the capstone of her early career—is as relevant today as at the time of its initial publication. As different and individually distinguished as the seven stories may be, they share as their subject the role and status of the artist in American society. The passions, ambitions, and pretensions, the cant and the pathos of the art world, artists, pseudo-artists, aficionados, and dilettantes—all are amply represented here in the midst of their foibles, grand affairs, and failures, drawn with great style and subtlety by a writer gathering her formidable powers. With the psychological precision of her early master Henry James and the practical wisdom and wit of her contemporary Edith Wharton, Cather shows us innocents seduced, sophisticates undone, marriages sundered, idealism compromised, and the rare soul uplifted by art.

Customer Reviews:

Cather's early stories, including four later revised.......2004-12-05

Cather's first book of fiction gathers seven stories, four of which were initially published in magazines and later revised for inclusion in the 1920 eight-story collection "Youth and the Bright Medusa" (which is worth reading on its own). Collectively, the stories in "The Troll Garden" show the young Cather in the throes of an overtly Jamesian phase, with perfunctory nods to her later rural and Nebraskan subjects. While all are united by the theme of artistic genius and influence, none are about the artists themselves. Instead, they relate the dreams and delusions of the relatives, friends, hangers-on, and wannabes who associate with artists and either idolize or scorn them.

The two most well-known stories are "The Sculptor's Funeral" and "Paul's Case," both of which were left largely unchanged for their later versions and in Cather's 1937 edition of collected works. The first describes rural neighbors who vent their lack of appreciation for the achievements of an internationally famous sculptor when his corpse is shipped to his hometown for burial; "Where the old man made his mistake was in sending the boy East to school" is the verdict of one of the town's inhabitants. "Paul's Case" concerns a school-age boy whose flightiness and irresponsibility is exacerbated by the fanciful extravagances represented on the stage and by the glittering allure of celebrity lifestyle.

Both ""A Death in the Desert" and "A Wagner Matinee" were heavily revised for their later publications. The first of these, filled with literary allusions and oddly detached from its Wyoming setting, benefited from the later changes, which tightened both the prose and the emotional impact. Its heroine is an opera singer dying of tuberculosis who recalls a lost love--a brilliant composer--in the unexpected appearance of his younger brother, whose own career never escapes the shadow of his sibling's renown. The 1905 version of "A Wagner Matinee," in contrast, is far superior to its later incarnations, in which Cather had softened beyond recognition her portrait of a Bostonian woman transplanted to Nebraska who returns back East after thirty years of relentless drudgery. Although Cather's family regarded the story as a mocking and insulting caricature of her own aunt, the earlier depiction's bite and its leanness are what make it so powerful.

The three stories that appear exclusively in this collection are "Flavia and Her Artists," "The Marriage of Phaedra," and "The Garden Lodge." The first of these is the best; it concerns a society matron playing hostess to a gaggle of artists who take advantage of her hospitality but who can barely tolerate her pretensions. The story turns when a member of the company broadcasts his scorn for Flavia in a withering profile published by a local newspaper.

Many of these pieces, in sum, should be read not simply for insights into the early development of a celebrated author; they are near-masterpieces in their own right. In them one can see a uniquely constructed literary bridge between the Eurocentrism of Henry James and the American realism of Sinclair Lewis.

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The Troll Garden and Others
Willa, Cather
Manufacturer: Aegypan
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Classics | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

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Literary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

General | Short Stories | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Book Description

Willa Cather is best known by her novels -- My Antonia (required reading for us in high school, and we still aren't sure how we feel about that) and the Pulitzer Prize winning novel, One of Ours. What few people know is that she began her career writing short stories -- in fact, these very stories. Included in this volume are the highly acclaimed Troll Garden stories -- involving individuals and the art world of the time. The most important of these stories is "Paul's Case." Cather's also well known for writing stories set, like "On the Divide," in rural Nebraska. Other stories in this collection include, "Eric Hermannson's Soul," "The Enchanted Bluff," and "The Bohemian Girl," all of which show the influence of Henry James on her writing.

The Troll Garden and Selected Stories (Large Print Edition)

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The Troll Garden and Selected Stories (Large Print Edition)
Willa Cather
Manufacturer: BiblioBazaar
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Short Stories | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Poetry & Short Stories | Large Print | Formats | Books
ASIN: 142641126X
Release Date: 2006-07-17

Book Description

Short excerpt: If it had not been for the few stunted cottonwoods and elms that grew along its banks, Canute would have shot himself years ago.

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Includes Paul's Case.

My Antonia + The Troll Garden + Selected Short Stories

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My Antonia + The Troll Garden + Selected Short Stories

Manufacturer: Random House
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Product Description

Two complete novels, My Antonia and The Troll Garden plus Selected Short Stories: The Burglar's Christmas + Eric Hermannson's Soul + The Sentimentality of William Tavener + A Singer's Romance + The Professor's Commencement + The Treasure of Far Island + The Namesake + The Profile + The Willing Muse + Eleanor's House + On the Gulls' Road + The Joy of Nelly Dean + The Bohemian Girl

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My Antonia : The Troll Garden : Selected Short Stories
Willa Cather
Manufacturer: Gramercy
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Classics | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

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My Antonia, The Troll Garden. Selected Short Stories
Willa Cather
Manufacturer: Dorset Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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My Antonia; the Troll Garden; Selected Short Stories
Willa Cather
Manufacturer: Dorset Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

The Secret Garden (Troll Illustrated Classics)

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A classic for girls
Classic
Seeds the child's imagination...
The Secret Garden
Spellbinding Book

The Secret Garden (Troll Illustrated Classics)
Frances Hodgson Burnett , and Karen Pritchett
Manufacturer: Troll Communications
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Ages 9-12 | Children's Books | Subjects | Books

ASIN: 0816712042

Amazon.com

Mistress Mary is quite contrary until she helps her garden grow. Along the way, she manages to cure her sickly cousin Colin, who is every bit as imperious as she. These two are sullen little peas in a pod, closed up in a gloomy old manor on the Yorkshire moors of England, until a locked-up garden captures their imaginations and puts the blush of a wild rose in their cheeks; "It was the sweetest, most mysterious-looking place any one could imagine. The high walls which shut it in were covered with the leafless stems of roses which were so thick, that they matted together.... 'No wonder it is still,' Mary whispered. 'I am the first person who has spoken here for ten years.'" As new life sprouts from the earth, Mary and Colin's sour natures begin to sweeten. For anyone who has ever felt afraid to live and love, The Secret Garden's portrayal of reawakening spirits will thrill and rejuvenate. Frances Hodgson Burnett creates characters so strong and distinct, young readers continue to identify with them even 85 years after they were conceived. (Ages 9 to 12)

Book Description

Discover the classics! Beautifully designed and carefully abridged, Troll Illustrated Classics are the perfect introductions to the world's best-loved literature.

Customer Reviews:

A classic for girls.......2007-09-22

The Secret Garden is a book about a spoiled girl who uncovers the mysteries of the house around her which include, but are not limited too, what is behind the wall, and why is it kept secret. It is a good classic, but girls will enjoy it much more than boys do.

Classic.......2007-08-06

Even if you are an adult you should reread this book. Helps you to see how fun it was to be a kid.

Seeds the child's imagination..........2007-07-29

This has always been one of my favorite books since childhood. When I read my first story in this book it gave me so much inspiration to use my imagination as a child should. A child's imagination is so real! This reality soon takes the form of abstract, which paves the road to anywhere he wants it to go - or not...

The Secret Garden.......2007-07-05

This edition is printed on really cheap, unappealing paper. I can't imagine anyone wanting to give this version of a children's classic as a gift, or even to read from it to a child yourself.

Spellbinding Book.......2007-07-03

This book is the best book I have ever read. It's a light, happy book that I will treasure for the rest of my life. Ilove the theme of hope in the book, that will convince readers about the Magic inside themselves...if they hope. If they believe something will happen, it will. That theme is so beautifully conveyed. I couldn't put it down, and it is most definitely my new favorite book. A MUST READ!!!!!!!!

I ALSO RECCOMEND THE FOLLOWING:
Arthur and the Invisibles, Artemis Fowl Series, The Book Without Words, The Kingdom Keepers, the Prophecy of the Stones, The Game of Sunken PLaces, Midnight Blue

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The Secret Garden (Troll Illustrated Classics)
Frances Hodgson Burnett , and Karen Pritchett
Manufacturer: Troll Communications
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Literature | Children's Books | Subjects | Books

General | Ages 9-12 | Children's Books | Subjects | Books

ASIN: 0816774803

Book Description

Carefully abridged and beautifully illustrated, Troll Illustrated Classics bring alive the greatest stories for a new generation of readers.

Book Description

Secrets and betrayals, as the saga of Dark Angel continues!

In a chaotic world where the lines between good and evil often blur, and violent anarchy and brutal repression become commonplace, secrets can be deadly. So when Max discovers a shattering truth that Logan has kept concealed from her for years, the betrayal threatens the very essence of their trust.

Yet when Logan is kidnapped, all questions of truth and loyalty are cast aside. Max’s search will lead her to a familiar, menacing enemy—and back into the shadow of the Snake Cult, which waits for her with chilling anticipation.

But the search will also lead her into wholly unexpected territory. Locked in the fight of her life, Max will discover a captive of the cult who can provide her with the one thing that has haunted her ever since she escaped from Manticore. . . .

Download Description

In a chaotic world where the lines between good and evil often blur, and violent anarchy and brutal repression become commonplace, secrets can be deadly. So when Max discovers a shattering truth that Logan has kept concealed from her for years, the betrayal threatens the very essence of their trust.

Yet when Logan is kidnapped, all questions of truth and loyalty are cast aside. Max's search will lead her to a familiar, menacing enemy -- and back into the shadow of the Snake Cult, which waits for her with chilling anticipation.

But the search will also lead her into wholly unexpected territory. Locked in the fight of her life, Max will discover a captive of the cult who can provide her with the one thing that has haunted her ever since she escaped from Manticore...

Customer Reviews:

Super Reader.......2007-08-07

Max Guevera, mayor? Seems unlikely, but the defactor head of Terminal City is what she has become, it appears. She is also a big fan of Jonathon Swift.

Things start looking up, as the serial killer in the last episode, a shapeshifter, actually ended up taking out Logan's virus.

However, a gang then kidnaps Logan, and things go crazy.

It seems that the problem with centuries-spanning breeding cults, is, well, that they are a cult. Made up of people. With politics, power plays, etc.

The transgenics do not have this issue, and are able to use factional splits, and even Ames White, via his missing son, to cause a lot of problems for the Familiars.

Freaky prophecies about comets bringing death plagues are perhaps not too likely, either, they should keep in mind for the future.

A fun book.

Finally - Closure!.......2007-07-04

It was so nice to finally have an ending to the Dark Angel series. I was so disappointed with the cliff-hanger ending of the second season. Many questions were answered and storylines finished in this book and yet it still left things open for Max Allan Collins to continue the book series if he wants. I, for one, hope he continues writing for this series.

[Nods Head].......2007-06-15

Awesome completely awesome besides the fact it leaves you with one question. It answers everything and totally follows all that came before it. It was a great book, but I still wish another would come out.

Awesome Dark Angel Continuance.......2007-03-09

I need to win the Lottery so I can fund a continuance of this series.

Dark Angel Fans Will Like This.......2007-02-19

I don't quite understand why people are saying the ending is anti-climactic, I think he was just trying to finish out the story. If you like the show and you don't mind reading, you will like the books.

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In My Backyard
Nette Hilton , Anne Spudvilas is a multi-award-winning illustrator whose previous picture book , was CBCA Picture Book of the Year in 2000. Anne also illustrated Bright Star by Gary Crew Jenny Angel , The Goddess The Red Shoes , Victoria, with her two children, where she also works as a fine artist The Millstone in the After Dark series. She lives in Geelong , and portrait painter. Two of her portraits have been hung in Archibald Prize Exhibitions.
Manufacturer: Lothian Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Picture Books | Ages 4-8 | Children's Books | Subjects | Books

General | Ages 4-8 | Children's Books | Subjects | Books

General | Ages 9-12 | Children's Books | Subjects | Books

General | Literature | Children's Books | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 073440185X

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After the Dark (Dark Angel)
Max Allan Collins
Manufacturer: Del Rey
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OVF9G0

Dark Tower and Other Stories (The Man Born Blind, The Shoddy Lands, Ministering Angels, Forms of Things Unknown, After Ten Years)

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Dark Tower and Other Stories (The Man Born Blind, The Shoddy Lands, Ministering Angels, Forms of Things Unknown, After Ten Years)
C. S.; Edited By Walter Hooper Lewis
Manufacturer: Collins
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000O8MLPK

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Super Reader

Ups and Downs

A kid plot with adult content (But that's a good thing)

Unique...

The parameters of urban morality

City Come A-Walkin'
John Shirley
Manufacturer: Four Walls Eight Windows
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
General | Science Fiction | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 1568581912

Book Description

Stu Cole is struggling to keep his nightclub, Club Anesthesia, afloat in the face of mob harassment when he’s visited by a manifestation of the city of San Francisco, crystallized into a single enigmatic being. This amoral superhero leads him on a terrifying journey through the rock and roll demimonde as they struggle to save the city.

Customer Reviews:

Super Reader.......2007-08-31

If you know who Jack Hawksmoor of the Authority is, you will get some of the vibe here. San Francisco is making its own superheroes, to help combat corruption, takeover and neglect of its internal systems, and organised crime control of finance. However, it needs assistants, and ends up possessing those bodies, with their physical forms being destroyed.

Other cities are on a similar path, by the end, without the superhero manifestations. This is superhero in the Authority sense, too.

The protagonist is an aging music club owner, deeply in debt to his mob, who, of course, has a thing for the singer in one of his support acts. The problem is, that City does not trust her.

Ups and Downs.......2007-05-02

This book is definitely an important one as the forward by William Gibson indicates. Still, there is much left to be wanting. Looking back I remember being basically floored by the first fifty pages, and then subsequently let down for the majority of the rest of the book. The main character is hard to like and not in an anti-hero sort of way. I think this probably hints at John Shirley's true talent lying in his short story writing abilities. If I could do it again I would probably try to find some of those first, but overall this one is worth checking out.

A kid plot with adult content (But that's a good thing).......2001-06-10

This book really opens up your imagenation, because it's plot. You really need to look at the wording to understand a lot of it.The only thing I didn't like about this novel was it was a little slow at times.

Unique..........2001-04-09

This is probably the most unique concept I've come across. The idea of a the city's consciousness manifesting itself is fresh and interesting. It's hard to believe this title is as old as it is. It seems like recently written cyberpunk. Pretty obvious that instead, all other cyberpunk has taken from it.

The parameters of urban morality.......2001-02-01

Shirley's early novel "City Come A Walkin'" takes us on a surreal (and frequently brutal) jaunt through a near-future San Fransisco where the city's overmind has the ability to manifest as a mirrorshades-wearing techno-shaman with a marked dislike for bad guys. The brilliance and terror behind this straight-forward tale is Shirley's refreshing refusal to cling to genre conceits. "City Come A Walkin'" challenges the nature of identity as well as the parameters of urban morality.

Book Description

Open your mind and heart, lift your voice, and discover how the sacred art of chant can enrich your spiritual life.

Chanting with an intention to open our hearts and minds to the presence of God in us helps us to be quiet in the face of mystery and learn how to hear what it has to say to us…. Chanting is holistic. It will transform you, you will embody the change, and people will notice the new, more grounded you. More important, though, you will notice the new, more grounded you.
—from the Introduction

The Sacred Art of Chant invites you to use your own voice to create sacred sounds—no matter your religious background or vocal ability. Drawing on chants from several different faith traditions, this invigorating guidebook is ideal for anyone who wants to enliven their prayer experience in a unique way and navigate a path to a conscious relationship with God.

Chant isn't just about monks or ancient Hindu gurus—this dynamic spiritual art continues to be developed and practiced today. Like other spiritual disciplines, chant can lead to limitless and unexpected benefits. With a steady practice and an open mind, you may find that chant helps you to:

• Cultivate clarity, focus, and compassion in your daily life
• Improve your listening skills
• Raise your energy level
• Improve your receptivity to other people
• Transcend the limits you impose on yourself
• Feel more comfortable in your own skin
• Ultimately, lead a more complete spiritual life

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