Ah, pioneers!

Author: Willa Cather
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2003-01-01
Features: Willa Cather was one of the greatest American novelists of the 20th century. O Pioneers! is her masterpiece. The female protagonist, Alexandra Bergson, a Swedish immigrant, comes to the wild wilderness of Nebraska with her father in her childhood. After her father's death, she inherits the family business and struggles hard under extreme poverty, facing a series of setbacks and blows: a three-year drought, crop failures, an economic crisis, and the surrounding people abandoning their land and fleeing to the city; when the family's financial situation improves, her two older brothers hinder her marriage by fighting over the family property; her carefully nurtured younger brother dies of a murder after graduating from university. She does not waver or yield but moves forward with unwavering perseverance and confidence, taming the untamed wilderness with diligence and wisdom, turning it into a vast fertile land through far-sighted planning and scientific management. This book also includes the author's two short stories, A Golden Slipper and Gossip of the Town, which depict the cunning and hypocrisy of the bourgeoisie and the independent personality of the artist, showcasing the author's talent in short story writing.