The Song of the Lark
With an Excerpt by H. L. Mencken
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- $6.99
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- $6.99
Publisher Description
First published in 1915, The Song of the Lark is a novel by American author Willa Cather. The second book of her Great Plains trilogy, it is the sequel to O Pioneers! (1913) and prequel to My Ántonia (1918).
The story revolves around a talented Colorado artist who turns her hand to singing to the backdrop of a burgeoning American West at the turn of the twentieth century.
Willa Sibert Cather (1873–1947) was an American writer famous for her novels related to frontier life on the Great Plains. Other notable works by this author include: O Pioneers! (1913) and My Ántonia (1918). She won the Pulitzer Prize for her World War I novel One of Ours (1922). This edition contains an introductory excerpt from H. L. Mencken.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Cather's semiautobiographical bildungsroman about the evolution of an artist revolves around young Thea Kronborg, who leaves smalltown Colorado for Chicago in order to realize her dream of becoming a trained pianist and piano teacher. But her tutor, Mr. Harsanyi, soon discovers Thea's talent for singing and persuades her to pursue that path. Along the way, Thea is championed and romanced by Fred Ottenburg, the rich heir of a beer magnate. Christine Williams is an able reader: her narration is clear and clean, though a little dull. More problematic is Williams's rendition of Thea, which feels flat. Additionally, the narrator's speech becomes breathy during emotional moments (e.g., a kiss) a tic that affects every character, even the males. As such, it is often difficult to distinguish vocally between Thea and her beau, Fred.
