Cather: Stories, Poems and Other Writings (Library of America)

I still haven't figured out why I find such enjoyment in Willa Cather's work. But I do. It often creates a wistful feeling for me; there are themes about music; there are themes about the midwest in the days of the early settlers; something about that combination really works. And then there appear the odd story about World War I, or even the early days of French Canada, plus various other unexpected items.

This is a volume that probably is considered the odds and ends of Cather's works. I didn't intend to read through the entire volume (just under 1000 pages) but ended up getting through at least 3/4, mostly at the gym, and finding a number of very nice pieces. Mostly shorter stories; some reviews; some poetry (I mostly skipped the latter two categories).

I liked a set of stories titled "Youth and the Bright Medusa" - including "The Diamond Mine," "A Gold Slipper", "Paul's Case", "A Death in the Desert."

"Neighbour Rosicky" is a delightful, warm story - the description of his Bohemian wife and the way she interacted with her five children and others, certainly brought to mind my wife. Just check out the part where they are discussing the five breakfasts with the doctor. Nice.

Another strong character (in "The Best Years") also brought to mind my little wife - this woman was Scandinavian - perhaps it was the way the four children insisted on sleeping in one large room even as they grew up. The title refers to a quote: "Well, this I know: our best years are when we're working hardest and going right ahead when we can hardly see our way out."

Cather ran into a favorite niece (Caroline) of Gustave Flaubert - put together a short work titled "A Chance Meeting" - interesting in its own right, plus I liked the discussion of Flaubert, Balzac, Turgenev, Tolstoy, Stendhal, etc. Apparently Flaubert was very close to this Caroline, wrote her lots of letters (which are compiled), somewhat relied on her.