She is frustrating and brilliant. This book offers some great insight into her contributions to film-making as well as intimate snapshots into her perShe is frustrating and brilliant. This book offers some great insight into her contributions to film-making as well as intimate snapshots into her personal life. BUT, and this is a significant but, Leni was very involved in the publication of this book, so if you are looking for something objective, this isn't a good source. Still, for the first time you get to see some of the photos from her scuba-diving ventures later in life....more
One of the best books I've ever read. It reminded me of why I love history, art, traveling, reading and, most importantly, why every little bit of leaOne of the best books I've ever read. It reminded me of why I love history, art, traveling, reading and, most importantly, why every little bit of learning you can acquire from another person deserves to be shared....more
I'm not sure how many times I have read The Great Gatsby at this point. It remains an utter gem each and every time. I'm not sure how many times I have read The Great Gatsby at this point. It remains an utter gem each and every time. ...more
This is another book I somehow neglected to read during high school and college. High school is excusable, as the school I attended had a joke of an EThis is another book I somehow neglected to read during high school and college. High school is excusable, as the school I attended had a joke of an English curriculum. But I'm rather surprised that I never had to read this in any of my American Literature classes at UWM.
I was hooked after reading the poem that precedes Part I, (The Wild Land). She combines lyricism and spareness of prose in a way that I've always admired. My friend Kate told me that F. Scott Fitzgerald was actually so concerned about copying her style in The Great Gatsby that he wrote her a letter of apology. While he certainly is his own author, it is impossible to deny her influence on his writing. Even some of the characters in The Great Gatsby seem as though they could have been born out of his reading of O Pioneers!
But this is about Willa Cather. She is tremendous. The land is as much a character as any person in the book. And the relationship of the people with the land is of equal substance to that of the interpersonal relationships to the characters. Perhaps it is this quality, this combination of love, awe and respect for the land that defines American Literature. When you think about the canon of American writers, doesn't an image of land come to you as much as that of a memorable character. Who is Huck Finn without the Mississippi River?
I want to write more, but there are so many layers of accomplishment within this book that my mind is slowly working its way through, that it would take ages. For now, it's suffice to say that the story is as engaging as the writing is remarkable....more