I have been talking about how much I admire and enjoy Willa Cather's writing. And this small novel does not give me any reason to rescind anything I have said earlier about her prowess as a writer.
My Mortal Enemy is almost a novella, at just over 100 pages. But it is powerful Cather again explores themes looking at loss: loss of principles, loss of honor and how the world seems to deplete these attributes simply by a person living.
Similar to A Lost Lady, but even sparer and more direct, this book seems to be the most disparing of any of her books. Almost the antithesis of My Antonia, it is still beautifully written and elegantly told, while having an opposite effect.
It tells the story of a woman, Myra, who marries an man for love, giving up a fortune to do so. But rather than finding happiness, she finds that love is not the peak of all human interests, and that her "noble" act, does not make her happy in the long run.
My Mortal Enemy is not feel-good reading, but it is very good reading.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment