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The Short Stories of Willa Cather
This rich selection of Willa Cather's short fiction is drawn from every period of her writing life, and mixes the little known with the much anthologised. Here we have a range of stories from short, vivid sketches to novellas. They tell of the bitter lives of Nebraskan immigrants, and of the pull between provincial America and the cosmopolitan world of art; some of the most poignant deal with the challenges and dilemmas for the American artist. Her marvellous late stories are charged with beautifully controlled feeling, and eloquently describe the tensions and complications of family life. Cather also let herself go in these stories in ways she did not in the longer fiction, with harsh satires of New York, chilling glimpses of the supernatural, and strong expressions of sexual feeling. These are stories that add immeasurably to our perception of Cather's range and complexity.
512 pages, Paperback
Published September 7, 2006
About the author
Willa Cather
917 books3,056 followersWilella Sibert Cather was born in Back Creek Valley (Gore), Virginia, in December 7, 1873.
She grew up in Virginia and Nebraska. She then attended the University of Nebraska, initially planning to become a physician, but after writing an article for the Nebraska State Journal, she became a regular contributor to this journal. Because of this, she changed her major and graduated with a bachelor's degree in English.
After graduation in 1894, she worked in Pittsburgh as writer for various publications and as a school teacher for approximately 13 years, thereafter moving to New York City for the remainder of her life.
Her novels on frontier life brought her to national recognition. In 1923 she was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for her novel, 'One of Ours' (1922), set during World War I. She travelled widely and often spent summers in New Brunswick, Canada. In later life, she experienced much negative criticism for her conservative politics and became reclusive, burning some of her letters and personal papers, including her last manuscript.
She was elected a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1943. In 1944, Cather received the gold medal for fiction from the National Institute of Arts and Letters, an award given once a decade for an author's total accomplishments.
She died of a cerebral haemorrhage at the age of 73 in New York City.
She grew up in Virginia and Nebraska. She then attended the University of Nebraska, initially planning to become a physician, but after writing an article for the Nebraska State Journal, she became a regular contributor to this journal. Because of this, she changed her major and graduated with a bachelor's degree in English.
After graduation in 1894, she worked in Pittsburgh as writer for various publications and as a school teacher for approximately 13 years, thereafter moving to New York City for the remainder of her life.
Her novels on frontier life brought her to national recognition. In 1923 she was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for her novel, 'One of Ours' (1922), set during World War I. She travelled widely and often spent summers in New Brunswick, Canada. In later life, she experienced much negative criticism for her conservative politics and became reclusive, burning some of her letters and personal papers, including her last manuscript.
She was elected a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1943. In 1944, Cather received the gold medal for fiction from the National Institute of Arts and Letters, an award given once a decade for an author's total accomplishments.
She died of a cerebral haemorrhage at the age of 73 in New York City.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
June 13, 2019
A collection of short stories that focus on the American midwest at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, and New York city. They explore the lives of hardworking and vibrant people many of whom are immigrants from Europe and Scandinavia. Even the flawed characters are likeable and interesting. The settings of the harsh unending praire coupled with the accounts of politics explore how the people dealt with the natural environment but also the human world. So many of these characters left a lasting impression on me because I liked them so much. The descriptions of the settings are so accurate that at times they almost become characters in their own right, which is important. Every story was a delight to read and this book will stay on my shelf to be reread.
November 13, 2021
7.5/10 Rating - I dipped in and out of these 20 short stories over the course of a couple years with a push towards the end. I didn't read them in chronological order, but it's interesting to see how the author's point-of-view evolved and to compare her protraits of the rural mid-West with cities. I absolutely adore Cather's novels, but I'm not, in general, a big short story fan. Thus, some stories were huge hits and others total misses.
What remains evident is that Willa Cather is the queen of characterisation. She draws such distinct protagonists and conflicts in so little space; a couple pages, and I'm in. Even if the overall story didn't grab me, I sat in awe of the author's ability to know and recreate life. Most stories contained at least one perfectly captured moment: the scene, the characters, their relationship, their history, and the dynamics in the room at that precise moment in time are crystal clear.
We also see sides to Cather I saw new sides to Cather in these stories too. A couple had supernatural elements, a few explored intense romance or sexuality. Many were scathing satire - much meaner than in her novels - especially of city manners. Cities feature more too, and the impact of mdernity, especially after the Great War, is a theme.
The introduction is a real gem - absolutely not to be missed for Cather fans.
I highly recommend certain stories to Cather fans, short story enthusiasts, and, of course, writers. I wouldn't recommend this collection to the average reader, though. I have starred the five stories I would recommend to which I would particularly like to re-read one day. There are a number of wonderful excerpts (marked or dog-eared) from other stories to revisit and appreciate too.
Lou, the Prophet - 7 pages - 1892 - 6.5
On the Divide - 14 pages - 1896 - 5.5
Tommy, the Unsentimental - 9 pages - 1896 - 7.5
The Sentimentality of William Tavener - 5 pages - 1900 - 7.5
'A Death in the Desert' - 23 pages - 1903 - 7.5
A Wagner Matinée - 10 pages - 1904 - 7
The Sculptors Funeral - 16 pages - 1905 - 7.5
Paul's Case - 22 pages - 1905 - 8+*
The Enchanted Bluff - 10 pages - 1909 - 6.5
The Bohemian Girl - 46 pages - 1912 - 8+*
Consequences - 1915 - 7.5
Ardessa - 18 pages - 1918 - 8
Coming, Aphrodite - 43 pages - 1920 - 9*
Uncle Valentine - 43 pages - 1925 - 6
Neighbour Rosicky - 33 pages - 930 - 8*
Two Friends - 18 pages - 1932 - 7.5
Old Mrs Harris - 59 pages - 1932 - 8*
The Old Beauty - 35 pages -1936 - 7.5
Before Breakfast - 12 pages - 1944 - 4
The Best Years - 31 pages - 1945 - 7
'Coming, Aphrodite!', written in 1920, is, for me, the highlight of the collection. A statuesque young actress/singer takes the room next to a rough-around-the edges painter. They are seemingly so different, yet both look for the interesting details in life. An excellent story, with distinct characters and wonderful turns of phrase; also a clear storyline, unlike some other stories in the collection. Lovely.
'If he but brushed her white skirt with his knee, there was instant communication between them, such as there had never been before. They did not talk at all, but when they went over the gang-plank she took his arm and kept her shoulder close to his. He felt as if they were enveloped in a highly charged atmosphere, an invisible network of subtle, almost painful sensibility. They had somehow taken hold of each other.' p 237
'He was going back to her because she was older than art, because she was the most overwhelming thing that ever come into his life.' p 247
'Paul's Case' is a wonderful character study of an upper middle class (I think) teenage school boy with grandiose ideas and a repulsion of the ugliness and commonest of life. The perfect and precise description on page one immediately grabbed me: '. . . there was something of the dandy about him. . . . His eyes were remarkable for a certain hysterical brilliancy, and he continually used them in a conscious, theatrical sort of way peculiarly offensive in a boy. The pupils were abnormally large, as though he were addicted to belladonna, but there was a glossy glitter about them which that drug does not produce.' pg 89
What remains evident is that Willa Cather is the queen of characterisation. She draws such distinct protagonists and conflicts in so little space; a couple pages, and I'm in. Even if the overall story didn't grab me, I sat in awe of the author's ability to know and recreate life. Most stories contained at least one perfectly captured moment: the scene, the characters, their relationship, their history, and the dynamics in the room at that precise moment in time are crystal clear.
We also see sides to Cather I saw new sides to Cather in these stories too. A couple had supernatural elements, a few explored intense romance or sexuality. Many were scathing satire - much meaner than in her novels - especially of city manners. Cities feature more too, and the impact of mdernity, especially after the Great War, is a theme.
The introduction is a real gem - absolutely not to be missed for Cather fans.
I highly recommend certain stories to Cather fans, short story enthusiasts, and, of course, writers. I wouldn't recommend this collection to the average reader, though. I have starred the five stories I would recommend to which I would particularly like to re-read one day. There are a number of wonderful excerpts (marked or dog-eared) from other stories to revisit and appreciate too.
Lou, the Prophet - 7 pages - 1892 - 6.5
On the Divide - 14 pages - 1896 - 5.5
Tommy, the Unsentimental - 9 pages - 1896 - 7.5
The Sentimentality of William Tavener - 5 pages - 1900 - 7.5
'A Death in the Desert' - 23 pages - 1903 - 7.5
A Wagner Matinée - 10 pages - 1904 - 7
The Sculptors Funeral - 16 pages - 1905 - 7.5
Paul's Case - 22 pages - 1905 - 8+*
The Enchanted Bluff - 10 pages - 1909 - 6.5
The Bohemian Girl - 46 pages - 1912 - 8+*
Consequences - 1915 - 7.5
Ardessa - 18 pages - 1918 - 8
Coming, Aphrodite - 43 pages - 1920 - 9*
Uncle Valentine - 43 pages - 1925 - 6
Neighbour Rosicky - 33 pages - 930 - 8*
Two Friends - 18 pages - 1932 - 7.5
Old Mrs Harris - 59 pages - 1932 - 8*
The Old Beauty - 35 pages -1936 - 7.5
Before Breakfast - 12 pages - 1944 - 4
The Best Years - 31 pages - 1945 - 7
'Coming, Aphrodite!', written in 1920, is, for me, the highlight of the collection. A statuesque young actress/singer takes the room next to a rough-around-the edges painter. They are seemingly so different, yet both look for the interesting details in life. An excellent story, with distinct characters and wonderful turns of phrase; also a clear storyline, unlike some other stories in the collection. Lovely.
'If he but brushed her white skirt with his knee, there was instant communication between them, such as there had never been before. They did not talk at all, but when they went over the gang-plank she took his arm and kept her shoulder close to his. He felt as if they were enveloped in a highly charged atmosphere, an invisible network of subtle, almost painful sensibility. They had somehow taken hold of each other.' p 237
'He was going back to her because she was older than art, because she was the most overwhelming thing that ever come into his life.' p 247
'Paul's Case' is a wonderful character study of an upper middle class (I think) teenage school boy with grandiose ideas and a repulsion of the ugliness and commonest of life. The perfect and precise description on page one immediately grabbed me: '. . . there was something of the dandy about him. . . . His eyes were remarkable for a certain hysterical brilliancy, and he continually used them in a conscious, theatrical sort of way peculiarly offensive in a boy. The pupils were abnormally large, as though he were addicted to belladonna, but there was a glossy glitter about them which that drug does not produce.' pg 89
August 24, 2019
from Early Stories of Willa Cather (1957):
Lou, the prophet --1
On the divide --3
Tommy the unsentimental --2
The sentimentality of William Tavener --3
***
The affair at Grover Station --1 (racist by today's standards)
Clemency of the court --4
The fear that walks by noonday --1
from The Troll Garden (1905):
'A death in the desert' --3
A Wagner matinée --4
The sculptor's funeral --4
Paul's case --4
***
The garden lodge --2
from Youth and the Bright Medusa (1920):
Coming, Aphrodite! --4
***
The diamond mine --2
Uncollected stories:
The enchanted bluff --3
The Bohemian girl --2
***
The burglar's Christmas--2
My mortal enemy--3
from Uncle Valentine and Other Stories: Willa Cather's Short Fiction 1915-1929 (1986):
Consequences --2
Ardessa --3
Uncle Valentine --3
***
Double birthday --3
The bookkeeper's wife --3
from Obscure Destinies (1932):
Neighbour Rosicky --5
Two friends --3
Old Mrs Harris --4
from The Old Beauty and Others (1948):
The old beauty --3
Before breakfast --2
The best years --3
Lou, the prophet --1
On the divide --3
Tommy the unsentimental --2
The sentimentality of William Tavener --3
***
The affair at Grover Station --1 (racist by today's standards)
Clemency of the court --4
The fear that walks by noonday --1
from The Troll Garden (1905):
'A death in the desert' --3
A Wagner matinée --4
The sculptor's funeral --4
Paul's case --4
***
The garden lodge --2
from Youth and the Bright Medusa (1920):
Coming, Aphrodite! --4
***
The diamond mine --2
Uncollected stories:
The enchanted bluff --3
The Bohemian girl --2
***
The burglar's Christmas--2
My mortal enemy--3
from Uncle Valentine and Other Stories: Willa Cather's Short Fiction 1915-1929 (1986):
Consequences --2
Ardessa --3
Uncle Valentine --3
***
Double birthday --3
The bookkeeper's wife --3
from Obscure Destinies (1932):
Neighbour Rosicky --5
Two friends --3
Old Mrs Harris --4
from The Old Beauty and Others (1948):
The old beauty --3
Before breakfast --2
The best years --3
April 29, 2008
I love Willa Cather, what more can I say. Anyone who can make Nebraska seem foreign and romantic is a true genius.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews