One of Ours

Description

One of Ours by Willa Cather won the Pulitzer Prize for the Novel in 1923. First published in 1922, the book tells the story of Claude Wheeler, and is set in the early twentieth century. Claude is the son a farmer, and is fully expected to continue on in his father's footsteps. However, he finds himself very unhappy in his life and feels like he has no purpose. Unable to go to the University he wanted to, obligated to work on the farm, and married to a Christian missionary, he feels stifled and when World War I breaks out, he enlists in the army.

The first part of the novel takes place on the farm in Nebraska, the second in France, as Claude battles in the war, which despite the obvious hardships it gives, finally gives him a sense of purpose.

Ernest Hemingway criticised the novel, saying it was overrated and in particular that the final scene was 'Catherized' - that Cather had taken the scene from Birth of a Nation and that the 'Poor woman, she had to get her war experience somewhere.' Indeed, much of the criticism from elsewhere too, focused on Cather's apparent argument that for some people, the war had been an inspiring event.

Nonetheless, it did win the prize and brought a larger audience to Cather's work.

The 1923 Novel winner in the Pulitzer Prize list.

This book has 253 pages in the PDF version, and was originally published in 1922.

Production notes: This ebook of One of Ours was published by Global Grey on the 8th September 2021. The artwork used for the cover is 'Song of the Lark' by Winslow Homer.