A book club meeting on Thursday forced me to put down the "Otherland" series so that I won't feel guilty at the meeting. I still feel bad about "The Lemon Tree". Having heard from the book club organizer that Cather was her husband's favorite and from my mother that she could barely make it through Cather's work, I was unsure what to expect. I found the writing poetic at times, but also a bit impersonal. It almost had the feel of a non-fiction book - somewhat detached. While I feel I learned something about the life of a Bishop in New Mexico during the late 1800s, I didn't feel attachment to Father Latour. It was romanticized life in the west and while it wasn't distasteful, it wasn't fully satisfying either.
Since, I bought this as a compilation of several books by Cather in one volume, I'll read a few others before making a decision on whether it stays.
2 comments:
I was struggling to describe what about the novel I found lacking and you hit it on the head for me by describing the writing as somewhat detached! I felt more connected to/intrigued by some of the secondary characters than I did Father Latour. The novel was highly recommended to me by my husband and a colleague so my expectations didn't match the experience. I'm glad I read it, but it may be awhile before I tackle the other Cather novels on my bookshelf. I'm looking forward to hearing what others have to say at book club on Thursday!
Tanya
I haven't read any Cather. I suppose I'll try at some point...
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