** spoiler alert ** This was a really lovely novel.

Cather has a true talent for descriptive writing, and she makes the Nebraska plains of the late nineteenth century come alive. The best part of reading this novel for me was the fact that it overtook me without my realizing it. I didn't begin the novel thinking that it was a particularly spectacular book. But it also wasn't hard to get into. The writing went down smooth and easy.

Cather's writing subtly draws you in, and although it's not one of those novels that you're desperate not to put down, at the same time, you want to keep reading.

As a reader, your sympathies are allied with Jim Burden and you soon fall in love with Antonia. Cather manages to make Jim's feelings known, without ever stating what they are, and only later retrospectively declaring that he was once very much in love with Antonia. And although you could describe this as a romance, it is not a romance of the typical fashion. As a reader I wanted Jim to marry Antonia, but we know from the very first page of the novel that that never happens. And yet, in very poetic language, Cather expresses the boundless love that Jim has for Antonia.

This was a divine treat to read. I had heard of this book, but had never read it, nor even knew what it was about. I'm glad I finally read this wonderful book.