Welcome to Litsy!

A Lost Lady | Willa Cather

One I‘d never heard of until the #catherbuddyread that #beginswithLost. @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks @Eggs

Soubhiville Cool cover. 3y

Lcsmcat @Soubhiville Thanks. It‘s from a 1970s set of Cather‘s novels published by Vintage. I have three or four in this version and the artwork is all by the same woman. 3y

Eggs Beautiful and dreamy!!! 3y

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Crinoline_Laphroaig

A Lost Lady | Willa Cather

😆 Favorite Quote. Fictional Hangover September Book Club Challenge - It's Like Being Back at School:
𝘙𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘢 “𝘤𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘤” 𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘬. 📖
#afternoontea #september #fhbookclubchallenge
#itslikebeingbackinschool #readaclassic

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Crinoline_Laphroaig

A Lost Lady | Willa Cather

Something about late Summer almost Autumn puts me in the mood to read Willa Cather. One of those authors I didn't enjoy as a teenager but enjoy now reading through older eyes. Especially since my Bestest Book Buddy & I went on a road trip a few years ago to her Prairie. Someday I want to read complete works. Fictional Hangover SeptBook Club Challenge - It's Like Being Back at School: 𝘙𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘢 “𝘤𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘤” 𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘬. 📖
#fhbookclubchallenge

Lcsmcat The #catherbuddyread isn‘t too far in to Lucy Gayhart if you want to join us. 4y

Crinoline_Laphroaig @Lcsmcat that's the other one I bought on my trip! Will try and catch up. 4y

Graywacke We‘re doing that right now - working through Cather‘s complete works. 🙂 #catherbuddyread 4y

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Crinoline_Laphroaig @Graywacke Yes! 4y

CarolynM So far, at least, her complete works have been worth reading 🙂 Love the photo. 4y

Crinoline_Laphroaig @CarolynM Thank you! It was a lovely road trip. 4y

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AvidReader25

A Lost Lady | Willa Cather

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Cather‘s writing is beautiful and this short novel gives just enough of the tragic Marian Forrester to pull the reader in. She‘s married to an older man who has been badly injured. The story is told from the point of view of Niel, a young man who fell in love with her. Apparently, her character partly inspired Daisy‘s in The Great Gatsby. I‘m glad I read it, so I could gain a deeper appreciation for Cather. It reminded me a bit of Madame Bovary.

robinb #coverlove💙 5y

batsy Oh, I like the Madame Bovary connection! I just read it recently for #catherbuddyread and loved it. 5y

AvidReader25 @batsy Her books are always such a delight! 5y

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batsy

A Lost Lady | Willa Cather

Faves of 2019 #adventrecommends Dec 15 & 16

The #catherbuddyread has been a source of great pleasure this year, both in terms of reading & discussion. These are two books about two very different women. Song of the Lark has a sweeping, lyrical intensity; it's a novel about temperament, place, & artistry. A Lost Woman is a sharp, compact novella about a woman & her ambitions for a cultivated life. Both showcase Cather's brilliance.

@emilyrose_x

CarolynM Couldn't agree more about the #CatherBuddyRead. I'm so grateful to be a part of it and to be sharing it with you and the others. 5y

Sace I hate that I missed discussion for The Song of the Lark. I really enjoyed reading comments on The Lost Lady. 5y

Lcsmcat I agree! I look forward to the discussions each time and I get so much out of the books because of all your insights. 5y

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Tanisha_A Love this post! 5y

batsy @CarolynM @Lcsmcat *nodding in total agreement* ❤️❤️ 5y

batsy @Sace Aww, I'm sorry you missed that one! I'm glad we have a few more to look forward to 🙂 5y

batsy @Tanisha_A 😘 Hope you're doing well, it's nice to see you here! 5y

LeahBergen And these covers are so pretty. 😍 5y

batsy @LeahBergen The Vintage editions for Cather are really nice 😍 5y

Suet624 Which Cather are you reading next? 5y

batsy @Suet624 We're doing My Mortal Enemy in January! 5y

batsy @Suet624 Oh sorry, it's The Professor's House. We're going down the list chronologically. 5y

Graywacke 😥 how did I miss this. Love that these are on your 2019 favorites. Love this post. 5y

Graywacke Love all the comments here... 5y

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Youth and the Bright Medusa

A Lost Lady | Willa Cather

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Barbara Stanwyck in the 1934 film

As always, enjoyed the conversations with the #catherbuddyread - a group I feel special being a part of. I had a great deal of trouble trying to review this - somehow it‘s not easy to figure out what I want to share about it. I finally came up with something, but, apologies, requires a click.

Here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3034219977 or here https://www.librarything.com/topic/312033 (message 85)

Tanisha_A What a great review! ❤️ You know this is one of those books, which if you re-read you'll hit something new. 5y

Tanisha_A Or at least I felt so! 5y

Graywacke @Tanisha_A Thanks! I‘m not super comfortable with it because there is a lot of things going on in the book and I keep thinking of things I didn‘t address and wondering if I should have done so. I completely agree about rereading. 5y

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Whatever101 Are you planning on reading Youth and the Bright Medusa? I must admit I only recently added it to my tbr because I need a book published in 1920 for a reading challenge.

Graywacke @SeaBreezeReader i don‘t know anything about it. Is it a novel or novella? 5y

Whatever101 @Graywacke It is actually a collection of short stories and the first book Cather published with Knopf. 5y

Graywacke @SeaBreezeReader ah! I want to get to her short stories, just not sure when. I‘ve nudged the #catherbuddyread on a novels in publication order path (accidentally skipping her first novel). But that‘s flexible. The only thing set is that next, with 1st discussion in Jan 14, is

The Professor's House

Whatever101 @Graywacke No worries and thanks for the explanation. :-) I'll definitely consider reading The Professor's House, if I don't have a bunch of library books all become available at the same time in January. 5y

Graywacke @SeaBreezeReader Awesome. I‘ll add your name to the group for it. I‘ll spread it out over probably 3 or 4 weeks (there are three main parts...I think). So maybe 2-4 hours of reading time any single week (hopefully closer to 2...) 5y

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Tanisha_A

A Lost Lady | Willa Cather

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Whoa! Looks like i am posting after a long while here. I have missed Litsy so effin' much. Blame work, work, work.

Quite a character study - loved reading another one of Cather's gorgeous stories. Doesn't the title itself makes you curious? A fast paced read with plenty of quiet moments, this was a melting pot of characters and their lives (as individuals and with each other).

Got to read more Cather. ❤️

Tanisha_A @Graywacke Sorry, sorry, I couldn't participate in the buddy read. 😭 5y

JennyM I‘ve missed seeing you! Glad to see you back. 😘😘😘 5y

Tanisha_A @JennyM Love love love. Hiii! So happy to be back. 😘 5y

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LeahBergen Hello again! 👋🏻 5y

Cinfhen Hi!!! It‘s been awhile. So nice to see you back!! 5y

TrishB Hi 👋 good to see you again 😘 5y

BarbaraBB I hope you‘ll have some time off in Decided to read and Litsy 💕 5y

CarolynM Nice to see you back👋 5y

youneverarrived Good to see you 💕 5y

batsy Hello you ❤️ Great review and glad that you liked this, too! 5y

Lcsmcat We missed you! I‘ve read critics who said this was her “turning point” novel, so I hope your schedule lightens up enough for you to keep reading Cather with us. I‘m curious to see how her work progresses. 5y

Graywacke @Tanisha_A nice to see a post from you, especially this one. Hope it means work life is saner for you. Also glad you were able to read this! Yay! (Are you ready for the next one? 🙂 We‘ll start The Professor‘s House Jan 14...but no complete schedule yet) 5y

Tanisha_A @LeahBergen @Cinfhen @TrishB @BarbaraBB @CarolynM @youneverarrived @batsy @Lcsmcat @Graywacke Hi loves! I have missed you all so so so much. Honest to God, i think I feel incomplete without Litsy. #LitsyIsJoy ❤️ 5y

Tanisha_A @batsy @Lcsmcat I am loving her work so far, and yes, very curious to see what else is in store. She is really one of my favourites. ☺️ 5y

Tanisha_A @Graywacke Yess, and i am on holiday from 18th - with some traveling and reading in store. Can't wait. Also, i can't thank you enough for choosing another one of her writings. Count me in for the next one, i seriously hope that i improve as a buddy reader. 🎈💙 5y

charl08 I've never read anything by her - where should I start? 5y

Graywacke @Tanisha_A 👍 5y

Graywacke @charl08 i started with a later book, Death Comes for the Archbishop, and kept going. Our #catherbuddyread started with O Pioneers! Two good places to start, I think. 5y

Tanisha_A I agree with @Graywacke. The Great Plains trilogy would be a good place to start. Hope you enjoy them. 🙂 5y

readordierachel Welcome back! 💕 5y

Tanisha_A @readordierachel 😘 5y

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A Lost Lady | Willa Cather

November was a good reading month, although I‘m hard-pressed to select a #favoriteNovemberRead. The two I‘ve been talking about the most are the tagged book from the #catherbuddyread and Moby Duck b/c of the issues it raises. #gratefulreads @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks @OriginalCyn620

OriginalCyn620 👍🏻📚😊 5y

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batsy

A Lost Lady | Willa Cather

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Willa Cather's writing continues to amaze me with its clarity & beauty. One quality of her prose is that it evokes the space & expanse of the Great Plains she writes about, but this book surprised me for being a terse, almost acerbic novella that gave me some serious Edith Wharton vibes. An intimate portrait of a lady that is also about the loss of innocence & what seems to be keen skepticism of the materialism brought upon by the economic boom.

batsy Once again, a pleasure to read with the #catherbuddyread group hosted by @Graywacke 5y

LeeRHarry Where would you suggest a newby start with this author? 😊 5y

Cathythoughts ❤️👍🏻 5y

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batsy @LeeRHarry My first one was O Pioneers which I loved! Then heard about the #catherbuddyread and joined in; we're attempting to read chronologically through her novels 🙂

O Pioneers!

batsy @Cathythoughts 💜 5y

erzascarletbookgasm Lovely review. I‘ve still not read the author although I have O Pioneer and My Antonia TBR. 5y

batsy @LeeRHarry Sorry, meant to clarify that O, Pioneers is the first in her Great Plains trilogy; it's followed by Song of the Lark and My Antonia. I think she's best known for those books so it's a good place to start :) 5y

LeeRHarry @batsy thanks a lot- will look into them 😊 seems to be a lot of love for this author on Litsy 😊 5y

Cathythoughts I‘m loving this pic ... as I look at those wooden squares I become a lost lady myself..... 🤔 5y

Aimeesue Lovely pic! Is that a table? Floor? Pretty pattern. 5y

batsy @LeeRHarry You're welcome! Even this one might be a good one to start with; it's short and compact but you get a feel for her style :) 5y

batsy @Cathythoughts 😂 You crack me up 💜 5y

batsy @Aimeesue Thank you! It's the floor :) 5y

batsy @erzascarletbookgasm Thank you ❤️ I hope you enjoy it when you get around to those books! 5y

Wife Beautiful floor!😍 5y

Graywacke “terse, almost acerbic” - such an elegant perfect review. 5y

batsy @Wife Thank you :) 5y

batsy @Graywacke Thank you! Like you, I was surprised by this one in the best way. 5y

rubyslippersreads Lovely review. (Lovely floor too. 😄) 5y

batsy @rubyslippersreads Thank you! 😁 5y

Suet624 I like your floor. I love your review. 5y

Centique I‘m definitely inspired by you guys to read more Cather! And I love your floor too. 😍 5y

batsy @Suet624 @Centique 😁 Thank you both! I'm very partial to parquet flooring too. And I love the Cather buddy reads... It's rare that I've focused on a single author over a period of time (maybe never if you dont count uni) so this is a great chance to do that. And what a writer 👌🏽 5y

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A Lost Lady | Willa Cather

#catherbuddyread
A Lost Lady Part 2 : 4-9 (end of the 📖 )

She left me in a spell. Seemingly past our story climax, Cather carries it forward forcefully with the power of her words and her unexpected framings. Seen through Niel‘s eyes, Marian leaves an impression that spreads well beyond our isolated, perhaps overly judgmental, individual thoughts. As @lscmcat highlighted, she doesn‘t do one dimensional characters. Thoughts? How does she do it?

Graywacke Pictured is Lyra Wheeler-Garber-Anderson, Cather‘s nonfictional source for Marian, who had a stop in Red Cloud, NE 5y

Graywacke @Lcsmcat @CarolynM @batsy @jewright @crazeedi @Tanisha_A @Caterina @Louise @Sace @Tamra @rubyslippersreads 5y

Graywacke Two of my favorite quotes coming: 5y

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Graywacke “The voice he heard behind him was her most charming; playful, affectionate, intimate, with a thrill of pleasant excitement that warmed its slight formality and burned through the common-place words like the colour in an opal. He simply held his breath while she fluttered on: “ 5y

Graywacke Niel‘s need to know everything: “He would like to call up the shade of the young Mrs. Forrester, as the witch of Endor called up Samuel‘s, and challenge it, demand the secret of that ardour; ask her whether she had really found some ever-blooming, ever-burning, ever-piercing joy, or whether it was all fine play-acting. ... “ 5y

Graywacke And, my last opening comment: Cather left me feeling a little guilty for my premature judgements last week. She may look like a blinded woodpecker at one point (I think I got that right) but there is a lot more to Marian. I feel like oversimplified last week. 5y

Graywacke Oh, and a link: Cather and the vagaries of frontier prostitution: https://cather.unl.edu/scholarship/catherstudies/11/cs011.gutske 5y

Lcsmcat Marian is certainly a complex character. I love how Cather avoids the easy judgements. We don‘t see any of the characters as all good or all evil. Niel can be judgmental, as well as altruistic; Marian cheats, yet she‘s loyal in her own way, taking care of Captain F. through his illness and old age. 5y

CarolynM I agree @Lcsmcat The story of how Marion met Captain F put a different complexion on their relationship. Clearly there was a lot of gratitude there. It also made me look at her relationship with Ellinger differently - I felt more sympathetic to the reasons she may have had for being unfaithful and also it was clear she felt committed to Ellinger too. 5y

CarolynM I also highlighted your second quote @Graywacke And "It was what he most held against Mrs Forrester; that she was not willing to immolate herself, ... and die with the pioneer period with which she belonged." Cather is brilliant at embodying nostalgia for the great pioneering times in her central characters "He had seen the end of an era, the sunset of the pioneer. He had come upon it when already it's glory was nearly spent."? 5y

CarolynM I don't really buy that sort of nostalgia, but it can be seductive. One final thought - how much do you think Mrs F's dealings with Ivy Peters, particularly after the Captain's death, were her free choice, and how much was she manipulated/exploited by him? I wonder if he had been blackmailing her all along. 5y

Lcsmcat @CarolynM Whether he was blackmailing her or not, I don‘t think it was a free choice. She had few options open to her for survival. If cleaning her own house was a sign of destitution, no one would pay her to clean theirs. She had very limited options for keeping body and soul together. And she chose one that gave her some amount of independence. 5y

Graywacke @Lcsmcat @CarolynM I wondered about the nature of the Mr-Mrs F relationship and the compatibility/confrontation with her affair. There seemed to be more to their relationship than simply husband/wife. Some other connections and loyalties and tolerances. Anyway, a lot between them that was - you know, that world no one else sees in a relationship. Interesting to me. 5y

Graywacke @CarolynM so interesting her take in this mythical end of an era. Since she lived through it, in Red Cloud, I would venture to say she is showing what she saw and there was a real change. Maybe Captain was myth, but a change from immigrant farmers to money-go-getting land dealers and other opportunist was probably real. I think I do buy it, to a degree 5y

Graywacke @CarolynM @Lcsmcat Ivy, oye. Part of the problem is the dynamics are obscured by Niel‘s judgment. She had a need, he saw an opportunity, and she gave her body. But the full nature of the give and take seems to maybe have been more complex. As we learn, she wasn‘t just a blind woodpecker, she had ways to get things and she was much more complicated then her documenter, pore Niel... 5y

Graywacke I think the mystery of Marians relations with Mr. F and Ivy are - well, they give a lot to think about. Curious to hear more of your thoughts on those dynamics. 5y

batsy @CarolynM Not sure about the blackmailing myself, but I agree with @Lcsmcat that Mrs F situation was circumscribed and she did what she could to keep herself together and interestingly, to maintain a particular lifestyle. Cather really excels at this—Mrs F is a certain kind of person who is invested in maintaining a certain kind of lifestyle, but Cather doesn't portray her in order to pass judgment. There is also empathy. 5y

batsy I love the second quote too, and how it ends... "she had always the power of suggesting things much lovelier than herself..." that's the dreamlike feeling I get from Niel's nostalgia-tinged recollection that I think mentioned last week. Something that's there but not quite there. 5y

Graywacke @batsy i like part of the line too. 5y

Graywacke @batsy regarding her life style - just thinking it through, what do you think are her options? If she has no income (via male supporter), what does she become? Does she survive, if you like... is it a preference or a kind of life and death? 5y

batsy @Graywacke Class & a certain level of comfort that comes with that, is maybe what I'm thinking. Her options would be extremely limited; there would be the threat of poverty & greatly diminished circumstances. So yes, death of the soul for Mrs F, in a way. As I read this I kept thinking about Antonia & how would she fare in this situation... But then I realised class & background play a huge role. 5y

Graywacke @batsy Class does. But, I guess what I‘m thinking is, does Marian makes it as a normal person or worse? Ántonia was physically extra tough, and self-reliant. She‘d survive any culture except one of judgment. Whereas Marian is physically soft and very dependent. So maybe it‘s not just maintaining her own class, (edited) 5y

Graywacke (Opps, hit send by mistake) ... but also can she literally get by one a lower class level. One thing about Ivy, like Ántonia, he‘s self-reliant, and he can go down and get by. He has no real fear of poverty. 5y

CarolynM Re the Mr-Mrs F relationship and her infidelity - I don't think she married him for his money or position, I think he literally saved her and she was grateful and that led to the marriage. Given that starting point and the large age difference (and also a possibly false impression of how he treated her) I can understand why she might look for passion elsewhere. I'm not sure what it says about me, but I'd be less understanding if I thought she 👇 5y

CarolynM ☝was a gold digger (the bargain then being her body for the money/position). The phone call with Ellinger after his marriage made me believe that, at least on her part, that was a genuinely romantic relationship and not just sex. As for Ivy, she was worldly enough to be aware of what kind of man he was. I thought it was strange that she suddenly seemed to think her only means to an income was through him. Surely there were others who might have👇 5y

CarolynM ☝️leased the land. That's why I wondered about blackmail. The stuff about him becoming her lawyer was a bit suspicious too. 5y

Lcsmcat @CarolynM I think she fired the Judge as her attorney because he would have kept her in genteel poverty and dependence in order to maintain her “respectability.” (Think the Miss Bates from Emma.) And she wanted independence more than respectability. 5y

Lcsmcat @CarolynM And was there anyonebelse who could lease the land? I feel like that was part of Cather‘s showing us the change from pioneers to robber barons. The old guard didn‘t have the means, and the new powerful didn‘t have high ideals/manners/honor? 5y

Lcsmcat @batsy @graywacke I think Mrs F was facing the death of the body, as well as the soul! She was not as strong as Ántonia, mentally or physically. The alcoholism illustrates an inability to deal with difficult realities. 5y

Lcsmcat But we have to remember that we‘re only allowed to see what Niel sees. We have no access to her inner life. 5y

Lcsmcat https://www.google.com/amp/s/mirabiledictu.org/2015/12/18/willa-cathers-a-lost-l... This is an interesting blog post on the role, not so much of class, but of money. Cather is quoted as saying the book was an attempt to paint a “fine miniature on ivory” of Mrs. F. 5y

batsy @Lcsmcat Thanks for the link, going to check it out. 5y

Lcsmcat Another thought: written in 1923, can we view Cather‘s vision on the Ivey‘s of the world as seeing ahead to the crash of ‘29, caused by that type of “money at all costs and honesty and honor be damned” mentality? Not that she prophesied the crash specifically, but she was sounding a warning or making an astute observation about where that behavior leads. 5y

jewright I definitely feel like she loved Ellinger. I feel like they should have been together, but she was already married to the captain. Surely her husband had suspicions. Perhaps he only cared about keeping up the appearance of their marriage and didn‘t mind her indiscretions as long as they were quiet. Perhaps he was just naive too. Neils Hayes Ivy, but I‘m not sure she does. I don‘t think she is deceived about anything she does. It‘s all calculated. 5y

Lcsmcat @jewright I got the feeling the Captain knew and was willing to accept that as the price of her devotion. I don‘t have the quote in front of me, but at one point Niel says something like, he guessed the Captain knew her better than he thought. I‘ll have to look it up. 5y

Graywacke @CarolynM @jewright rethinking her phone call with Ellinger - which I found a memorable scene in many ways, found myself wondering how Cather created such attention drawing impressions. And wondering if Niel did the right thing in cutting the cord. I kind of felt the bastard needed to hear what he‘d done... but also - Ellinger rejects her right at the point she was about to become available, right at the point she actually needed him. big setback! 5y

Graywacke @Lcsmcat enjoyed that review you linked to. Interesting about Cather‘s change in focus. The article I linked to above describes a different change - new critical Cather pulling away from the world. Both see this book as the pivot point. 5y

Graywacke @Lcsmcat so, to get to your depression sense in Cather, it‘s possible there was something she really didn‘t like about these Harding years. Once greed and corruption become destructive on a whole society - kind of thing. Just my thinking out loud. 5y

Graywacke @batsy @CarolynM @Lcsmcat @jewright I found this a powerfully compact little book that surprised me several times. So, to just to get this out there - did everyone like it? Did it get to you? 5y

Lcsmcat @Graywacke re: the depression, while the way it‘s taught can make Black Friday seem sudden and unexpected, I think many people saw it coming. But like today, they were not able to stop it. Wolfe gives an idea of that in You Can‘t Go Home Again, where people witnessing the leveraged buying and selling described it as a fever, and knew it couldn‘t be sustained. But those who were profiting from it didn‘t/couldn‘t see. Kind of Lear-like. I‘m 👇🏻 5y

Lcsmcat not claiming Cather was a prophet, but she was a keen observer. I‘m sure many people were shaking their heads during the time between the wars wondering when the other shoe would drop. 5y

Lcsmcat And I did really like this book! Her prose is still spot on but the subject matter seems a bit more nuanced perhaps? 5y

Graywacke @Lcsmcat she certainly saw the rot - not sure she saw the house falling. Interesting about Wolfe. I‘ve never read him. 5y

batsy @Lcsmcat About the real risk of being left in genteel poverty, I like your comparison to Miss Bates in Emma. That's the sense I got of Mrs F. She reminded me of a less tragic version of Wharton's Lily Bart. The blog post you linked to—I appreciated learning that Mrs F is based on a woman Cather knew growing up. Niel's recollections are nostalgic, dreamlike, & very personal... tinged with that sense of betrayal of youth watching their idols fall. 5y

batsy @Graywacke I really liked it! Your description sums up my reaction. Like I mentioned above I'm also obsessed with the parallels I see about how Wharton characterised Lily Bart in House of Mirth. Considering the era, I'm so curious if Cather read House of Mirth & Age of Innocence... It's certainly possible that both Cather & Wharton saw what the economic boom did to people and were, as @Lcsmcat says, thinking about the (future) costs... 5y

CarolynM @Lcsmcat I'm sure you're right that some people saw the crash of '29 coming, but I doubt they would have realised how far-reaching and catastrophic it would turn out to be. @Graywacke I liked it the book, and Mrs F, a lot. Wistful is the word that best describes it, I think. 5y

Graywacke @batsy ( @lcsmcat ) - I so need to read Edith Wharton... (my main biggest reading hole is basically 1800-1950 😕) 5y

Graywacke @Lcsmcat @CarolynM @batsy @jewright @crazeedi @Tanisha_A @Caterina @Louise @Sace @Tamra @rubyslippersreads Next book? The next in the chronology is The Professor‘s House (which I recently read a negative review on that called it chopped up). Also, we skipped Alexander‘s Bridge, her 1st novel (and 20 years of short stories before that). I‘m going to suggest we keep this new Cather mentality going and read The Professor‘s House next. Interested? 5y

Graywacke January 14 for first discussion? 5y

Lcsmcat That works for me. (January and The Professor‘s House) I would like to go back and catch Alexander‘s Bridge at some point if y‘all are interested. (edited) 5y

Sace Sounds good. 5y

Louise Good plan. I‘m in. 🤓 5y

rubyslippersreads @Lcsmcat This immediately made me think of the scene in the movie “Titanic,” where we find out how “money at all costs” Cal reacts to the Crash. 5y

rubyslippersreads I‘m definitely in for reading another Cather in January. 5y

CarolynM I'm good with that plan. I'm also interested in reading Alexander's Bridge and the short stories at some stage. 5y

jewright @Graywacke I like Edith Wharton a lot. 5y

jewright @Graywacke I‘m in! I‘m enjoying reading more Cather. 5y

batsy Count me in! The plan sounds good :) 5y

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CarolynM

A Lost Lady | Willa Cather

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Once again Cather is a joy to read, even when the story leaves me feeling melancholy. Some interesting points to discuss fellow #CatherBuddyRead -ers.

Freespirit This sounds like a must read! 5y

CarolynM @Freespirit Have you read any of her other books? 5y

Sace Perfect review. "Melancholy" is how I ended up feeling as well. 5y

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Freespirit No @CarolynM but I will look out for them! 5y

CarolynM @Freespirit The best known, and probably the best, is

My Antonia

BiblioLitten With all the Cather love on Litsy, I have to find a copy to read soon! 😃 5y

CarolynM @BiblioLitten You won't be sorry if you do🙂 5y

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A Lost Lady | Willa Cather

I couldn‘t stop, so I finished this morning. I‘ll hold off on my review to avoid spoilers. #catherbuddyread I‘d forgotten how they used to put mini-catalogs in the back of paperback books. There‘re about 12 pages of this, so the ending of the novel snuck up on me. @Graywacke

Graywacke See something you‘d like to order? Anxious to see your thoughts on finishing, but I haven‘t picked it up to read the end yet. (edited) 5y

Lcsmcat @Graywacke If I could get them for 1977 prices! 5y

Graywacke @Lcsmcat 🙂 5y

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Lost Lady | Willa Cather

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Such a pick. I'm so glad I stumbled upon the #catherbuddyread led by @Graywacke. I'm sure that much of the message and nuance was lost on me, but the writing was beautiful. Willa Cather never disappoints me.

Hoopiefoot Oooh-I love Willa Cather but have somehow never read this. Thanks for sharing! 5y

Sace @Hoopiefoot I hadn't even heard of it! 5y

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A Lost Lady | Willa Cather

#catherbuddyread
A Lost Lady Part 1 : 6-9 & Part 2 : 1-3.

How to summarize Niels bitter loss of innocence and some exposure of Marian‘s character? It‘s compact and elegant. Add $$, appearances, living life and principles, mix, then take out the $$. What do get? What have you lost? What have you learned? Wait, or did you just get lost in that prose? What were your thoughts?

Graywacke @Lcsmcat @CarolynM @batsy @jewright @crazeedi @Tanisha_A @Caterina @Louise @Sace @Tamra @rubyslippersreads 5y

Graywacke This section has many wonderful lines including the whole book captured in a field of morning flowers and a muddy marsh. I‘ll post some longer key quotes next... 5y

Graywacke Purity: “All over the marsh, snow-on-the-mountain, globed with dew, made cool sheets of silver, and the swamp milk-weed spread its flat, raspberry-coloured clusters. There was an almost religious purity about the fresh morning air, the tender sky, the grass and flowers with the sheen of early dew upon them. 👇👇 5y

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Graywacke Divinity: “There was in all living things something limpid and joyous—like the wet, morning call of the birds, flying up through the unstained atmosphere. Out of the saffron east a thin, yellow, wine-like sunshine began to gild the fragrant meadows and the glistening tops of the grove. 👇👇 5y

Graywacke “ Niel wondered why he did not often come over like this, to see the day before men and their activities had spoiled it, while the morning was still unsullied, like a gift handed down from the heroic ages.” 👇👇 5y

Graywacke Sex? : “Under the bluffs that overhung the marsh he came upon thickets of wild roses, with flaming buds, just beginning to open. Where they had opened, their petals were stained with that burning rose-colour which is always gone by noon,—a dye made of sunlight and morning and moisture, so intense that it cannot possibly last . . . must fade, like ecstasy. 👇👇 5y

Graywacke Afterward? “Niel took out his knife and began to cut the stiff stems, crowded with red thorns. He would make a bouquet for a lovely lady; a bouquet gathered off the cheeks of morning . . . these roses, only half awake, in the defencelessness of utter beauty. “ 5y

Graywacke Alas: “In that instant between stooping to the window-sill and rising, he had lost one of the most beautiful things in his life. Before the dew dried, the morning had been wrecked for him; and all subsequent mornings, he told himself bitterly. This day saw the end of that admiration and loyalty that had been like a bloom on his existence. He could never recapture it. It was gone, like the morning freshness of the flowers.” 5y

Graywacke And on a different note, mythology: “The Old West had been settled by dreamers, great-hearted adventurers who were unpractical to the point of magnificence; a courteous brotherhood, strong in attack but weak in defence, who could conquer but could not hold. Now all the vast territory they had won was to be at the mercy of men like Ivy Peters, who had never dared anything, never risked anything. 👇👇 5y

Graywacke “They would drink up the mirage, dispel the morning freshness, root out the great brooding spirit of freedom, the generous, easy life of the great land-holders. The space, the colour, the princely carelessness of the pioneer they would destroy and cut up into profitable bits, as the match factory splinters the primeval forest. 👇👇 5y

Graywacke “All the way from the Missouri to the mountains this generation of shrewd young men, trained to petty economies by hard times, would do exactly what Ivy Peters had done when he drained the Forrester marsh.” 5y

Graywacke And I‘ll leave it there for now 5y

Lcsmcat Re your 8th - 10th comments: that quote rang so true to me. Kind of like how the internet has been in our day. Started by idealists and then taken over by those determined to monetize it. (edited) 5y

Caterina The quotes you share about the romanticized "settling" of the "Old West" strike me in a different way now that I have driven from NC to CA and live in Berkeley. I cannot read quotes like that without grieving the white supremacist and Christian supremacist ideology that led to that "settlement," the doctrine of discovery and manifest destiny, the genocide committed against the true people of this land. 5y

Caterina I was interested that Mrs. Forrester loves the natural state of the land so much and is so connected to it, but is financially desperate enough to lower her morals and invest in a business that cheats the Indigenous people of their rights. 5y

Lcsmcat The passage about the roses really does seem to be about sex, and that Niel is no longer innocent at the end of it confirmed it for me. 5y

Lcsmcat Sidebar @Caterina I didn‘t know you were from NC. I grew up here, moved west as a young woman, and came back 22 years later. 5y

Caterina @Lcsmcat Strong yes to the rose/sex passage! Also I'm originally from SC, but went to Davidson College and spent a year living in the Uwharrie forest before moving out to CA. I'll probably end up back in NC someday too! 😊 5y

batsy I agree with @Caterina. The prose is so lush, I get swept up, but there is an underside to it about the idealists of the Old West—a "courteous brotherhood" —that made me deeply uncomfortable. Would the indigenous people agree? Do we chalk it up again to Niel being naive? This is an aspect of Cather's American mythology that I also struggled with in One of Ours. In that one, too, I told myself it was seen through the eyes of a naive male character. 5y

batsy I thought we learned so much about Mrs Forrester: claiming to be against cheating indigenous people of their land in principle, but doing it if needed to maintain a lifestyle. Cather is at times acerbic and dare I say ruthless in her portrayal (not in a bad way at all) that I felt at times I was reading an Edith Wharton novella! The formal structure of the work is interesting: it is like a dream, or a myth. 5y

CarolynM I'm interested is the theme of "doing the right thing". Captain F chooses his reputation over his pecuniary interest. The Judge struggles with his conscience over whether he'd have done the same and sees the law as complicit in the declining business ethics. Ivy Peters cheerfully takes all he can get. Mrs F is unfaithful and willing to compromise her principles for material gain. How will Niel respond to all of these influences in his life? 5y

Graywacke @Lcsmcat - interesting to compare to the Internet and think through the parallels in the evolution. (Trying really hard not to go off on some off-topic rant...or many of them... ) 5y

Graywacke @Caterina cool perspective, but mainly I‘m glad you saw under the myth. I think Cather is a little disingenuous here - but it‘s not super clear to me. (edited) 5y

Graywacke @Caterina I think Mrs. Forrester‘s love of the land is exposed as untrue or less sincere than she implied. Her morals...hmm... I have thoughts, but holding off a moment. 5y

Graywacke @Lcsmcat @Caterina the roses... 5y

Graywacke @batsy @Caterina we can‘t put contemporary eyes on Cather, but I think she is getting there. The ethnic cleansing/genocide is maybe somewhat captured in the contradiction of the railroad man preserving his marsh. And hinted at in Ivy‘s schemes with natives. It‘s all there, the pieces, but it‘s not a passionate despair. She seems more focused on a character study of the evolution of settlers and $$. 5y

Graywacke @batsy like a dream... can you tell more about what you see... 5y

Graywacke @batsy @Caterina @CarolynM my take on Mrs F: we open this book with her a trophy wife, 25 yrs younger than her husband. But Cather has exposed another side too. She‘s no victim taken advantage of. Like the US 1st lady, seems she is at core a gold digger. She married for money, she‘ll do anything to get it. The rest is just a mask, a performance that took everyone in. Niel, lost in his paradise, innocence, is a little slow to see under the hood... (edited) 5y

Graywacke We‘re all a little slow to see her real nature... maybe 5y

Graywacke @CarolynM the morality intrigues me. Did the Captain make his decision with Mrs F‘s affair in mind? Was he really principled, or just playing his own game? Did he really care about those railmen? Guess we don‘t really know. The Judge seems sincere, but advised on screwing all the railmen. That‘s something to ponder - human nature...uncomfortable, no? This is a great point. I‘m curious how Niel will respond, but maybe he‘s really just an observer. 5y

Graywacke As a last thought tonight (US CST) I see Niel has having sort of lost his paradise, his innocence is really undone and he‘s horrified by what was always around him. (The morning marsh and the roses in the mud. A rough awakening) He‘s the key, the ballast in perspective that makes this American exposé have a counter force, that gives it some weight. 5y

Lcsmcat @CarolynM I‘m interested to see how Cather ultimately treats those who “do the right thing.” So far, not so well, if Captain F. is any indication! Will Ivey get his comeuppance? 5y

Lcsmcat @batsy I agree that we learned a lot about Mrs. F in this section! And the idea that having to rent out your land and do your own housework meant you were destitute said a lot about her and her whole social group (and none of it flattering.) 5y

rubyslippersreads @Graywacke @batsy @Caterina @CarolynM This is exactly how I see Mrs. F. Everything she lets most people see is a facade. It‘s a rude awakening for Niel. 5y

Graywacke @Lcsmcat @CarolynM Regarding how Cather will handle those who do the right thing - maybe I‘m jaded, but I‘m not betting on any rewards for morality 5y

Graywacke @Lcsmcat compare Mrs. F‘s destitution with Ántonia... ?? ? 5y

Graywacke @rubyslippersreads it is a rude awakening...😳 5y

Lcsmcat Yes, because Ántonia is in a different “class” and her sin of love without marriage is considered worse than Mrs. F‘s marriage without love. And her dalliances would be considered forgivable by her social group as long as she was discreet. 5y

Lcsmcat @Graywacke On the “rewards for morality” front, I have mixed feelings. Cather‘s characters are rarely one dimensional enough to be treated that way. They‘re all varying amounts of good and bad, and sometimes their fates seem justified and sometimes so very unfair. (Just like life.) 5y

Graywacke @Lcsmcat so true that, judge the impoverished. I was thinking about Ántonia working the fields and Mrs F exhausted by taking care of her house. (But, I feel I should add that as a lazy one myself who does as little as possible, and finds all cleaning torturous, I can kind of relate to Mrs F there... ☺️ ... Where‘s my staff, darn-it?) 5y

Graywacke @Lcsmcat I‘m putting you down as optimistic for moral rewards. 🤣 Will see how she plays it out, but I‘m placing my bets on Ivy coming out ahead, Mrs F dependent on him, and Niel getting spun off to other places, deriding the lost pioneer-land-paradise. In my head Cather sees this robber-baron era as power trumps dignity. 5y

Lcsmcat @graywacke The Act of Lear we read this week addresses it well: Through tatter'd clothes small vices do appear; / Robes and furr'd gowns hide all. / Plate sin with gold, / And the strong lance of justice hurtless breaks: / Arm it in rags, a pigmy's straw does pierce it. (edited) 5y

Lcsmcat And I can‘t find my staff either. 🤷🏻‍♀️ I guess we‘ll have to be destitute and clean our own houses. 😁 5y

Graywacke @Lcsmcat bummer 😕 But very apt line from Lear. 5y

Sace I'm looking for my staff as well. Household tasks are for the birds. I don't have anything eloquent to say. My head is swimming from all the comments. I can't quite see Captain F as this morally upstanding man because he chose to go broke in order to pay people he was party to exploiting to start with. (At least that's what I think of the entire system.) 5y

Sace And I can't quite see Mrs F as entirely wicked since as a woman she probably never had many prospects beyond being a pretty wife anyway. I can't quite blame her for being the frivolous person she is. Something about self fulfilling prophecy or something. Society assumed women of that class were simple and frivolous so she was. 5y

Sace As for @Lcsmcat and the Lear quote. Are Robber Barons a thing of the past? I can think of a certain current world leader that fits that quote and reminds me an awful lot of those Old West settlers who made a lot of money in land speculation and exploitation. 5y

Lcsmcat @Sace I never said they were a thing of the past! It was true in Shakespeare‘s time, in Cather‘s, and in ours. And probably earlier and later too. 5y

Sace @Lcsmcat I don't communicate well lol. It was more a question for me. I'm just working through all my thoughts. Perhaps I should do that in a notebook and not clog the comments here 😂 5y

Lcsmcat @Sace No no - don‘t apologize. I was just agreeing with you!!! I worked in criminal defense for 5 years and I saw it daily. 5y

Sace @Lcsmcat 😁 5y

Graywacke @Sace @Lcsmcat definitely feels worse these last three years than the previous 90 or so 5y

Louise Hello, All—I‘m enjoying all your insightful comments. I‘ve done the reading but been down with flu and headaches for several days, so my critical thinking skills are in the soup. One of my main impressions from this recent section of the book is how brilliantly Cather‘s descriptions of the natural world serve as mirrors for what‘s happening with the human story. 5y

Graywacke @Louise wishing you well and headache-free. (Hate headaches 🙁) And appreciating your impression. 5y

Louise Thanks very much, @Graywacke. 5y

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A Lost Lady | Willa Cather

Had he “never used to have” that feeling because it hadn‘t cost her in the past, or, as I suspect, because he wasn‘t mature enough to spot it before? #catherbuddyread

batsy I'm with you—I suspect it's the latter. 5y

rubyslippersreads I agree with you and @batsy 5y

Sace I'm also inclined to suspect it's the latter. 5y

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Graywacke Love this line. To me it‘s about an awakening, but I think it‘s news to the reader too. 5y

Lcsmcat @Graywacke Good point. Had I not read the essay you linked to before I started the novel it might have caught me by surprise. I‘m not sure. 5y

Graywacke @Lcsmcat oops... 😁☺️ 5y

Lcsmcat @Graywacke No, it gives it that much more depth! Don‘t apologize!! 5y

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A Lost Lady | Willa Cather

"The Old West had been settled by dreamers, great-hearted adventurers who were unpractical to the point of magnificence; a courteous brotherhood, strong in attack but weak in defence, who could conquer, but could not hold."

And this is just the beginning of a passage that took my breath away. #catherbuddyread @Graywacke

Sace Oh...er...random image from a search for "prairie background" within the pic collage app. 5y

Lcsmcat This bit caught my attention too. It rings so true! 5y

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rubyslippersreads

A Lost Lady | Willa Cather

#Catherbuddyread and my first peppermint mocha of the season. 😊☕️ #litsypartyofone ##MrBook1inaMillion #bookandsnack #gratefulreads

Alisnazzy, MrBook, Lynnsoprano, Clwojick, OriginalCyn620, Andrew65, Rachel.Rencher, Lucas.Rencher, Graywacke, jb72, BeansPage

Andrew65 Anything with mint in is good during this season. 5y

OriginalCyn620 Love peppermint mochas! 😊 5y

Linsy Yum! 😋 5y

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MrBook Time for the peppermint! 😁👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻 5y

Clwojick I wish i wasn't allergic to mint - These smell so good! 5y

batsy Such a pretty and inviting photo! 5y

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A Lost Lady | Willa Cather

“in one those grey towns along the Burlington railroad which are so much greyer to-day than they were then”

Cather has a way. I‘m thinking not much is going on and then suddenly I have a town of vibrant characters, stratified by temporary hierarchies, with tensions and subtle clashes between practical and presentation; and it all reflects in the control and preservation of quietly vibrant natural surroundings.

Thoughts? Was it hard to stop?

Graywacke #catherbuddyread A Lost Lady, Part 1 1-5 5y

Graywacke @Lcsmcat @CarolynM @batsy @jewright @crazeedi @Tanisha_A @Caterina @Louise @Sace @Tamra @rubyslippersreads 5y

Graywacke ( Sweetwater, NE is a real place on the Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNSF) railroad line. Almost certainly grayer today, just a handful of buildings on google maps. ) 5y

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Lcsmcat So hard to stop! But I was afraid if I didn‘t I‘d accidentally write spoilers. 5y

Sace "I'm thinking not much is going on..." That's what I love so much about Cather. People will ask "What is __ about?" and I find it hard to say exactly what any of her books are about. I usually just end up saying "it's not what it's about, it's how you FEEL when you read Cather. It's hard to stop but I also like to stop and just let it sink in. 5y

Lcsmcat @Sace I agree - Cather‘s ability to make us feel and sense the places she writes about is one of the great pleasures of reading her work. And I like that the structure of a buddy read makes me slow down and notice things. 5y

Graywacke @Sace @Lcsmcat That feel, or texture she creates - and how she does it here with several characters interacting - it‘s a whole atmosphere. Feels very natural, rich and it‘s such a nice place to hang around. And, of course, she‘s doing a lot to create all this. 5y

jewright @Sace I agree with this completely! 5y

Sace @Graywacke and to me, she does this with minimal words and simple sentences. I love that about her writing. 5y

Lcsmcat @Sace @Graywacke Her writing is deceptively simple. It‘s not the self-conscious simplicity of Hemingway. I know she worked hard, but she makes it seem so natural. 5y

Sace @Lcsmcat ❤️⬆️ 5y

Graywacke @Lcsmcat I read this Monday (and had to force myself to stop. All this stuff was in place and ... well ... my own fault). Anyway, I reread a lot this morning to refresh and in rereading I could see a lot more of what she is doing, and it‘s not simple. She‘s careful and precise in everything. It‘s...you can‘t see it in a quote. It‘s about setup and how it‘s woven. (Well, and it‘s dependent on her mastery of prose.) @Sace @jewright 5y

Lcsmcat @Graywacke Yes! She makes it seem simple, but it‘s masterful. 5y

Louise I agree with what‘s been said so far. I find that Cather‘s work is like poetry, in that it expresses so much more than the surface meaning of the words. One senses a meaning-filled space between the lines, the words simply way-markers for the world she invites the reader to experience. I recently picked up a book by Sarah Orne Jewett and noticed the difference very strongly. Both have great descriptive powers, but I found that Jewett‘s work . . . 5y

Louise . . . fills in all the spaces, while Cather‘s work allows a different kind of breathing room that lets us see the characters in clearer focus. @Graywacke @Lcsmcat @Sace @jewright (edited) 5y

Lcsmcat @Louise Yes! Cather trusts the reader. She doesn‘t feel like we need to be spoon fed. 5y

Graywacke @Louise “fills in all the spaces, while Cather” - does like the opposite here, right? Every word essential...and with a light touch, such that the reader may not notice. I think she would appreciate your poetic comparison, particularly here. @Lcsmcat agree, she trusts us. 5y

batsy @Sace @Louise Beautifully put, I agree completely. 5y

batsy @Graywacke Yes, I found it hard to stop! But I managed to ration it out for this week's discussion; here's hoping I have the same discipline for the next two. Like @Lcsmcat I'm also afraid I'll inadvertently reveal spoilers in discussion if I read ahead! 5y

batsy And so true about how much that Cather does with mood, effect, style, etc. can't be summed up in extracted quotes. Even Mrs. Forrester's discreet description of Niel to Ellinger reveals so much in context; she finds him both beautiful and useful and that lets me see her in a whole new light beyond how she's seen by others. 5y

rubyslippersreads I‘m late in starting. I love the writing style, but I have to confess I had to skip over the woodpecker scene. 😕 5y

CarolynM I'll come back in a couple of days when I've actually read the chapters and read these comments and hopefully make some too🙂 5y

Louise @rubyslipperreads I felt the same about the woodpecker scene. In fact, if I‘d known the book contained any animal abuse, I would have skipped reading it altogether. 5y

Lcsmcat @rubyslippersreads @Louise That scene was distressing, but I‘m sure Cather thought it was necessary. It was certainly, as my sister used to say to her creative writing students, “a character defining moment.” 5y

rubyslippersreads @Louise I have a feeling I tried to read this book years ago, but stopped because of that scene. @Lcsmcat I got the gist of it (not to mention that character‘s previous behavior with dogs). (edited) 5y

Graywacke @rubyslippersreads @Louise @Lcsmcat this scene was hard to read and I skipped over that part when rereading. It‘s skin crawling shocking. But I think it‘s doing many things. The idea of a railman putting track over the frontier but not developing his land to preserve its natural aspect is an irony that this episode highlights. 👇 5y

Graywacke To try to elaborate, and hopefully not going too far, mixing the practical and romantic doesn‘t come without a cost. I suspect Poison Ivy is another ruthless railman, just without funds. Hyper and ruthlessly practical. Mr. Forrester has a romantic streak, and he just lost his strength. He‘s in trouble in a quietly dangerous world hungry for what he‘s got. 5y

Graywacke @batsy isn‘t Mrs Forrester is a wonderful character? I love Cather‘s descriptions, how M makes herself be what she appears to be basically in defiance of social norms. Great observation of her discreet view of Niel. (Niel is the books real protagonist so far, no?) 5y

Graywacke @CarolynM curious about your bottling wine. !! You‘re not really far behind. Look forward to your take 5y

Graywacke Side note everyone - it‘s worth noting, especially if you‘re rereading, how Cather‘s nature/landscape descriptions and atmosphere reflects the story. 5y

Lcsmcat I agree that Mrs. Forrester is a wonderful character, but disagree that Niel is the protagonist. I think he‘s just the lens through which we see her. 5y

Louise I hear what you all are saying about the woodpecker scene. Cather must have had a reason to highlight such cruelty in a character. Stephen King talked in an interview about an opening scene in one of his books, in which the MC abuses a dog. The scene was meant to be a “character defining moment”. King said he was flooded with angry letters from readers. “You guys really love dogs!” he said. 👇 5y

Louise Personally, I have a hard time getting certain images out of my head once I‘ve read them, which is why I avoid books with scenes of animal abuse. But here we are. I‘ll tell myself that in the world of fiction, all healing is possible and write a little scene inside my head for the woodpecker, who was, let‘s say, really just play-acting for the sake of the story! 😌 (edited) 5y

Graywacke @Louise I just stepped outside and there‘s a woodpecker on one of my trees. Beautiful, but outside of the range of my iPhone camera. I didn‘t tell it what I was reading. (edited) 5y

Graywacke @Lcsmcat yes...yes, you‘re correct. What did I mean? 🤔😊😑🤭☺️ Not entirely sure anymore. I guess I‘m just trying to explain that I relate more to him, worry more about him than anyone else. ( @batsy ) 5y

Lcsmcat @Louise I get it, and perhaps there was another way Cather could have contrasted Niel‘s goodness with the Ivey‘s badness, and have Niel injured seriously enough to have to be carried into her bedroom. But what she chose to do worked. And I won‘t be surprised if we see more of Ivey later on. 5y

Lcsmcat @Graywacke I worry about N too. He‘s more fragile than Mrs. F in my opinion. 5y

Louise @Graywacke How beautiful for you to have seen a woodpecker in your yard! And it‘s totally appropriate that it would be outside the reach of human hands or cameras! 👍 5y

Graywacke @Louise 🙂 Yeah, how nice. And yes appropriate. 5y

Graywacke @Lcsmcat Niel is more real, sincere, and humble, of course. M is, to me, always performing. A little bird herself... wait...um. That‘s not good...(I haven‘t read ahead, I‘m guessing) (edited) 5y

batsy @Graywacke I'm quite torn about who's the protagonist! But I feel it's Niel; Mrs Forrester is a wonderful character but she moves in and out of his vision like a symbol. The loss of innocence, loss of a particular form of the world as he understood it...she symbolises his awakening. And what's happening to the land & the natural world is beautifully mirrored in the characters. (I've read ahead & will most likely finish the novel soon 🙈) 5y

Graywacke @batsy “she symbolizes his awakening” - 👀 !! 5y

rubyslippersreads @Graywacke A little bird ... oh dear ... 😟 (edited) 5y

CarolynM Only just now caught up this far. Love the conversations. @Sace @Lcsmcat @Louise lovely thoughts on Cather's writing. I find her such a pleasure to read. @Graywacke the wine bottling is part of a wine making program run by a winery a couple of hours from the city. We pick and crush the grapes, they ferment for a week before we press them and leave them to ferment further for about 6 weeks, then transfer the wine to a barrel for about 6 months👇 5y

CarolynM ...before bottling. This is the 3rd vintage we've made. It's a lot of fun and a great value🙂 5y

Graywacke @CarolynM cool! 5y

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A Lost Lady | Willa Cather

For anyone else in the #catherbuddyread who didn‘t know what a Democrat wagon is, I Googled it. Looking forward to our discussion tomorrow! @Graywacke

batsy Oh cool! Thanks 5y

Sace Thanks! I'll have to see if I can find the etymology of the term too. I had to Google astrachan collar too. How did I ever read before Google? 🤣 5y

Graywacke Huh, thanks! @Sace - I have uncounted thoughts related to and in answer to that question... 5y

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Sace @Graywacke part of me loves it because it adds so much more learning to my reading....but so much more distraction too 🙄 5y

Lcsmcat Cowboy Bob‘s Dictionary says: “A light, flat bed farm or ranch wagon, usually without a top, with a skeleton frame and two or more seats. It sometimes has a wire rack for a side. The term "Democrat" was not a partisan designation, but referred to the availability of this inexpensive, easy to handle, wagon to a wide range of people. A Democrat Wagon was so light that if it got stuck a single individual could often lift it out by hand.” 5y

Graywacke Thank you Cowboy Bob. Appreciate the detail, L. Lets the era pop out a little. 5y

Lcsmcat @Graywacke Kind of like horse-drawn minivans. 5y

Sace Thanks for the info! 5y

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A Lost Lady | Willa Cather

Finished up on schedule for the #catherbuddyread! That's rare for me!

I confess, I was nervous going in to this because the description of the book just made it seem very different from other works I know. Cather's writing is like an old, dear friend to me. I am enjoying the read.

Graywacke I‘m calling this picture a tease. 🙂 I‘m enjoying this a lot too. 5y

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A Lost Lady | Willa Cather

"Her vowels seemed to roll about in the same way her eyes did."

Not a profound quote but I always love when an author comments on the sounds of language.

#catherbuddyread

Graywacke It‘s a nice window into Mrs. Ogden - and a reminder Cather is a storyteller instead of simply a reporter. 5y

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A Lost Lady | Willa Cather

#catherbuddyread
The mixing of solid boundaries and empty space, of formality and passion. Feel like I‘ve failed this scheduling thing again for our group. It‘s difficult to stop so soon for Saturday‘s section.

jewright I loved both this part and the description with the sparks right below it. 5y

Graywacke @jewright the ⚡️‘s! (That‘s why I didn‘t blur out the surrounding text. 🙂) 5y

Suet624 This is so beautiful. It made me remember experiencing that feeling. 5y

Graywacke @Suet624 🙂 5y

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Graywacke @Lcsmcat @CarolynM @batsy @jewright @crazeedi @Tanisha_A @Caterina @Louise @Sace @Tamra @rubyslippersreads @Litshappenings 5y

A Lost Lady | Willa Cather

#catherbuddyread

1st Litsy discussion a week away:

November 9 - Part 1 : 1-5
November 16 - Part 1 : 6-9 & Part 2 : 1-3
November 23 - Part 2 : 4-9

The above essay beginning is a little teaser. (Full essay, titled WILLA CATHER'S A LOST LADY ART VERSUS THE CLOSING FRONTIER, is available here: http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2634&context=greatplai... )

Louise Thanks for the article. I look forward to reading it on a bigger screen. 5y

Sace Just the teaser has me giddy with anticipation! 5y

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Lcsmcat Thanks for sharing this! 5y

Tanisha_A Thankee! Very excited. 5y

Graywacke @Louise @Lcsmcat @Tanisha_A you‘re welcome 👍 @Sace has me excited too. I never know what to expect... 5y

batsy Thanks for sharing! Lovely teaser; I'm excited too! 5y

42 likes7 comments

Lost Lady | Willa Cather

@Graywacke #catherbuddyread

I'm all ready! #bookmail was just delivered.

TheBookHippie Ooooo pretty. 5y

Graywacke That‘s gorgeous! All these beautiful editions. I‘m regretting my choice of an ebook... 5y

Sace @Graywacke I considered the e-book, but if we're discussing I wanted to be able to flip through a physical book quickly. I struggle with e-books when trying to find things or go back to read certain things. 5y

See All 9 Comments

Sace @TheBookHippie I totally copied off @batsy 😊 5y

TheBookHippie @Sace I now “need” this 😆 5y

batsy Those Vintage Cather editions are irresistible 😁 5y

Sace @batsy I can't wait to read it! 5y

erzascarletbookgasm Pretty edition! 5y

Sace @erzascarletbookgasm thanks! 5y

54 likes9 comments

Lost Lady | Willa Cather

Ordered and ready for the #catherbuddyread!

Lcsmcat 👏🏻👏🏻 5y

batsy 🎉🎉 5y

Sace @Lcsmcat @batsy I'm getting excited! 5y

40 likes3 comments

batsy

A Lost Lady | Willa Cather

Good #bookmail day 🙂 Got my copies for both the #catherbuddyread and #NYRBbookclub

Tanisha_A Oh my god - these editions. 😭 5y

erzascarletbookgasm Soooo pretty! 😍😍 5y

saresmoore Beautiful! 5y

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Graywacke Gorgeous pair. (And yay, Cather! 👏 ) 5y

batsy @Tanisha_A @erzascarletbookgasm @saresmoore @Graywacke Was lovely to come home to these 🙂 5y

readordierachel 😍😍😍 5y

Centique Ohhh they‘re so pretty! 5y

batsy @readordierachel @Centique ❤️❤️ 5y

LeahBergen Pretty! 😍😍😍 5y

TrishB They‘re gorgeous ♥️ 5y

batsy @LeahBergen @TrishB 😘😘 5y

rubyslippersreads Those covers! 😍 I didn‘t even know there was a #catherbuddyread. 5y

youneverarrived Beauties 😍 5y

batsy @youneverarrived They make me happy 😁 5y

95 likes14 comments

A Lost Lady | Willa Cather

I‘ve got my copy for the #catherbuddyread. 1972 Vintage Books edition, it looks like it was never read. I love the cover art which appears to be signed “J K Lambert.” @Graywacke

Graywacke Looks beautiful! 5y

saresmoore Lovely! 5y

batsy Wow, that's gorgeous! 5y

Lcsmcat @batsy Another library sale find. 5y

32 likes4 comments

A Lost Lady | Willa Cather

A little prompt for our upcoming #catherbuddyread ... and an actual schedule. (I‘ll post another reminder next week.)

November 9 - Part 1 : 1-5
November 16 - Part 1 : 6-9 & Part 2 : 1-3
November 23 - Part 2 : 4-9

@Lcsmcat @CarolynM @batsy @jewright @crazeedi @Tanisha_A @Caterina @Louise

Graywacke ( @catebutler @Tamra @bromeliad @squirrelbrain @Hooked_on_books @Amiable @jmofo @saresmoore ) 5y

Lcsmcat Yay! I‘ve missed our Cather discussions. 5y

batsy Thanks! Can't wait. 5y

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Tamra I‘m sorry to miss it! Will be reading posts though. 5y

Louise Looking forward to it! 5y

Tanisha_A Yay! 🙂 5y

CarolynM I'm all set. Looking forward to it. 5y

Graywacke @Lcsmcat @batsy @Louise @Tanisha_A @CarolynM 👍 I‘m ready too. 🙂 @Tamra 👍 5y

Graywacke @Lcsmcat @CarolynM @batsy @jewright @crazeedi @Tanisha_A @Caterina @Louise - I think I should highlight that these are Saturdays. Hope that‘s ok with everyone. 5y

Lcsmcat Saturday works for me. 5y

Tanisha_A Yesss! Even better! Mon to Fri is crazy these days. 5y

batsy Yup, totally fine 👍🏽 5y

Caterina Sounds good! I think I'll probably have time for this. 👍😊 5y

CarolynM Works for me. 5y

Graywacke @Sace 🙂 5y

Graywacke @Lcsmcat @Tanisha_A @batsy @Caterina @CarolynM good, or maybe phew 😅... (edited) 5y

Graywacke @rubyslippersreads tagging you for the schedule here. 5y

rubyslippersreads @Graywacke Thanks! Can you please add me to the list of Littens to be tagged for the #catherbuddyread? 5y

Graywacke @rubyslippersreads you‘re on the list. 5y

Graywacke @rubyslippersreads i should add, I‘ll post a discussion thread on Saturday for A Lost Lady, part 1, chapters 1-5. and I will tag everyone on the list. 5y

rubyslippersreads @Graywacke Thanks! I just wanted to make sure I didn‘t miss anything. 😊 5y

Graywacke @rubyslippersreads You‘re good. 👍 When in doubt, try clicking the hashtag and you will see everyone‘s latest posts. #catherbuddyread 5y

36 likes22 comments

LitsyHappenings

A Lost Lady | Willa Cather

Repost for @Graywacke :

Planning the next #catherbuddy read. Looking at reading this 1923 novel in November.

We‘re a small group, but anyone is welcome to join. Leave a comment and tag me if you‘re interested.

kspenmoll Will try & get a copy. Love to read this. 5y

56 likes1 comment

Graywacke @catebutler @crazeedi @Tanisha_A @Caterina @squirrelbrain @Hooked_on_books @jewright @Amiable @jmofo @saresmoore @bromeliad @Louise @LitsyHappenings 5y

A Lost Lady | Willa Cather

Planning the next #catherbuddyread. Looking at reading this 1923 novel in November.

We‘re a small group, but anyone is welcome to join. Leave a comment if you‘re interested.

Lcsmcat Count me in. 😀 5y

batsy Can't wait 🙂 5y

See All 36 Comments

jewright I‘ll have to order a copy! 5y

Crazeedi I'll have to see if I can find 5y

Louise Perhaps I‘ll join in this time. I haven‘t read this one yet. Thanks for tagging me. 🤓 5y

CarolynM Look forward to it. Thanks🙂 5y

Caterina Thanks for tagging me! Things are crazy right now with school, but it looks very short and it's on #SerialReader, so I think I'm in! 👍 5y

Tanisha_A Yesss, I am in! 5y

Graywacke @Lcsmcat @batsy @jewright @Crazeedi @Louise @CarolynM @Caterina @Tanisha_A 👍 There time to order paper copies, also it‘s $1 on amazon and free in other places. 5y

Graywacke @Louise I love your picture. Is it from Sandra Boynton? (A favorite to read to my kids when they were little ones) 5y

Graywacke @Caterina On Goodreads most editions list around 150 pages or less. I plan to set up a 3 week schedule, which I‘ll post closer to the time we read. 5y

Lcsmcat @Louise My daughter had a Boynton wallpaper border in her room when she was learning to talk. She would lie in bed and say “‘pommus, hippo, bear, ‘pommus” counting the animals around her ceiling. Love Boynton! 5y

Louise Yes, I believe it is one of Boynton‘s. Her pictures have such charm! Re: Cather, I‘ve requested the large print edition from my library. I find the large font so relaxing for the eyes! 🤓 5y

Louise @Lcsmcat Oh, that is so sweet! I hope you let Sandra Boynton know about that via one of her social media pages! She‘d be so pleased. 😊 (edited) 5y

Lcsmcat @Louise I might have to do that. Since that daughter is 27 now, social media wasn‘t a thing at the time. 😀 5y

Graywacke @Lcsmcat @Louise - we memorized some of her books. We could “read” them with the lights out. We also made up our own tunes and sang them. 🙂 ❤️ Boynton. Miss those days. 5y

Louise @Lcsmcat @Graywacke Such sweet stories! I hope you both let Sandra Boynton know what wonderful memories her books helped your families to create! 💕 5y

Lcsmcat @Louise @Graywacke Yes! We can still recite “But Not the Hippopotamus!” 5y

Graywacke @Lcsmcat One of our first and favorites!! One HIppo all alone,,, 5y

Graywacke @Louise Honestly, hadn't considered doing that. I should. 5y

Louise @Graywacke @Lcsmcat Well, I suggested it because I‘ve been following her for a while on FB, and she is very friendly in her interactions with people. She takes joy in that, I think. 5y

jewright My paper copy is in the mail! 5y

CarolynM @Louise @Lcsmcat @Graywacke Boynton was a huge favourite in our house too. I can still recite Moo, Baa, La La La by heart 🙂 It's my go to gift for new parents along with a bib. You can never have too many books or bibs😂 5y

Lcsmcat @CarolynM My kids loved that one too. Now I read them to my granddaughter. 😀 5y

Graywacke @jewright 👍 5y

jewright When are we starting this one? My fall is swamped, but I want to read this one with everyone. 5y

Graywacke @jewright I‘m thinking first discussion Nov 9, last Nov 23 (before us Thanksgiving). I was going to announce it two weeks out - next week. Maybe I should post something tomorrow 5y

jewright @Graywacke Thanks! I felt badly about bothering you, but I‘m trying to plan my reading for the next couple of weeks. My kids are keeping me so busy! 5y

Graywacke @jewright oh goodness, no worries. I think everyone was wondering. (And kids do that, phew) 5y

Sace I would be interested in joining... Is it too late? 5y

Graywacke @Sace definitely not too late. First discussion is Nov 9 (a Saturday), 2.5 weeks away, and I think we‘re only reading ~50 pages for it (not really sure though 😁) I‘ll add you to the list and tag you in the post with the schedule. 5y

Sace Yay! I'll order my copy now. Hopefully I'll be better participant than I've been for other alongs. 🤣 5y

Graywacke @Sace 👍 You have a clean slate here 😉 (and no expectations, of course. ) 5y

rubyslippersreads I just saw this, but would like to join in. 5y

Graywacke @rubyslippersreads 👍 adding you to the list and I‘ll tag you on the schedule post too. 5y

40 likes36 comments

SW-T

A Lost Lady | Willa Cather

pick

No one writes like Willa Cather. Here, young Niel Herbert tells the story of the decline of Mrs. Forrester. It‘s also about the West, the spreading of the railroad, capitalism, idealism, and the complexities of growing up and realizing your idols are only frail humans.

#willacather

28 likes3 stack adds