One of Ours

· Alfred A. Knopf
3.2
4 reviews
Ebook
459
Pages

About this ebook

Willa Cather (1873-1947) was awarded the 1922 Pulitzer Prize for this stirring novel about World War I. She brings to life the simple Nebraska farm folk and their tranquil rural lifestyle, showing how the Great War, seemingly so far away on the Old Continent, eventually touches them all. Protagonist Claude Wheeler, a strong, healthy farm boy, is physically typical of his sturdy sodbuster family and hard-working neighbors. But mentally the boy has little in common with their narrow outlooks, and the limited horizons of his parochial community make him restless and filled with a barely suppressed discontent. When the United States finally enters the conflict in Europe, Claude is one of the first to enlist, seeing purpose, adventure, and commitment to some larger ideals in the call to arms. One of Ours is a memorable testament to the shattering effects of war on youth and ideals, a powerful depiction of mechanized battle and the war's life-changing effects on one Nebraska farm boy and the people he left behind. Book jacket.

Ratings and reviews

3.2
4 reviews
A Google user
April 6, 2010
Claude Wheeler is a Nebraska farm boy who isn't sure about the meaning of what he's doing with his life. As the story begins, he's living at his parents' farm and preparing for the future. He's attending the college that his parents picked. They made their choice after being visited by a man Claude's mother referred to as Brother Wheldon. Weldon had been preaching nearby and came to the rance and spoke of the benefit of attending a theological school. Claude was sent to Temple College in Nebraska and lived with Weldon and Weldon's sister. This was an unhappy choice. Although Claude was somewhat stoic, he didn't like the school, and didn't care for Weldon or Weldons clinging sister. When he finally persuaded his parents to allow him to attend State University, his view of the world widened. He also met and became friends with Julius Elrich and Julius' family. This family was so full of fun and could speak about many matters that sounded as if they knew and enjoyed life. Mrs. Elrich became fond of Claude and invited him to many family gatherings. Claude was finally summoned back to the farm by his father. There, Claude took over much of the daily work of the farm. When he had spare time, he liked to visit with Enid Royce, the daughter of the grain merchant. That summer, Claude was injured and while recouperating, Enid visited him daily and they became romantically inclined and married. When the war broke out, the people around Claude didn't know much about world history or geography. As the German army invaded Louxembourg, Claude didn't know if it was a country or a city. He like many of his neighbors had to search for maps so they could see where the war was being fought. The story is told in narrative style with Claude representing much of middle-America as to being innocent about world matters prior to the United States entering the war. The author also describes how a person's faith can govern their lives and we see Claude's growth from a sensitive farm boy to a new army lieutenant, helping the men under his command as many of them became sick on the voyage to Europe. Although not the author's best book, it does give a picture of America at a time prior to WWI and is based on letters that Cather's cousin wrote when he was in the army. An entertaining and informative read.
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About the author

Willa Siebert Cather was born in 1873 in the home of her maternal grandmother in western Virginia. Although she had been named Willela, her family always called her "Willa." Upon graduating from the University of Nebraska in 1895, Cather moved to Pittsburgh where she worked as a journalist and teacher while beginning her writing career. In 1906, Cather moved to New York to become a leading magazine editor at McClure's Magazine before turning to writing full-time. She continued her education, receiving her doctorate of letters from the University of Nebraska in 1917, and honorary degrees from the University of Michigan, the University of California, Columbia, Yale, and Princeton. Cather wrote poetry, short stories, essays, and novels, winning awards including the Pulitzer Prize for her novel, One of Ours, about a Nebraska farm boy during World War I. She also wrote The Professor's House, My Antonia, Death Comes for the Archbishop, and Lucy Gayheart. Some of Cather's novels were made into movies, the most well-known being A Lost Lady, starring Barbara Stanwyck. In 1961, Willa Cather was the first woman ever voted into the Nebraska Hall of Fame. She was also inducted into the Hall of Great Westerners in Oklahoma in 1974, and the National Women's Hall of Fame in Seneca, New York in 1988. Cather died on April 24, 1947, of a cerebral hemorrhage, in her Madison Avenue, New York home, where she had lived for many years.

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