[desertblues]

Originally Posted by Bookworm_Girl

Willa Cather incorporates auto-biographical elements into her books. I found an interesting statistic that the foreign-born population in Nebraska during her childhood significantly outnumbered the native-born (3 to 1 in the 1910 census). It bothered her that native-born Americans ignored the traditions of the foreign-born or with snobbish attitudes looked down upon them. (...)

Thank you for this information, Bookworm_Girl. So that's why her book reminds me of some Scandinavian novels I read a long time ago.

Spoiler:

I was a bit apprehensive about this book as novels like this actually were deemed proper lecture for us children; to read on Sundays after church; full of values and so on. At the time I was reluctant to read them, but this novel I find rather refreshing. Willa Cather writes about universal problems.