In a book that had thus far been marked by its sensitivity towards the human experience, it was shocking to encounter such inhumanity. Supposed to be a positive description of a talented blind pianist, the tone is condescending beyond belief, and reveals the author’s sense of natural superiority. My enjoyment of the book was abruptly and rudely interrupted by some extremely racist depictions of black people. Unfortunately it is not only the spirit of the time that it captures. I truly believe that writing is an act of empathy

A classic of American literature, it really captures the spirit of the period, and plunges you into the emotional world of the people who scraped a living out in the wilds of the prairies. The contrasting triumphs and failures of frontier life are beautifully written, and despite the ‘lack’ of a plot I found it very gripping. The book has some very carefully written, believable characters. They grow up on the frontier before Jim moves into town, later followed by Ántonia. It doesn’t have a plot as such, but is framed as a man’s memories, so tells the events of their lives in a linear narrative. Set in the Nebraskan frontier, it is a wonderfully evocative novel. The third in her ‘Prairie Trilogy’ of novels, My Ántonia tells the story of Jim Burden, and his almost lifelong friendship with Bohemian immigrant Ántonia. I’m not going to lie: this is a book I found difficult. Now we head across the pond for what is considered an American classic: Willa Cather’s My Ántonia. In the first The Reading List post I talked about Jane Austen’s Mansfield Park. I’ve already finished more books this year than I managed to in the entirety of last year, which is odd given that moving to Australia has separated me from most of them! I’m trying to read more books by women, and especially women of colour, so I hope that The Reading List will be dominated by, if not exclusively made up of, women writers, in contrast to the ‘Western canon’ and my previous reading. With many of us having more time for reading than ever, it seemed a good moment to share with you my thoughts on some of the books that have been holding my attention in The Reading List series. Emotionally insightful book let down by the racism of its day

From my antonia