I was resistant to My Antonia back in the early days of reading Cather because, to me, its wide-spread readership, praise, and scholarly attention seemed to come at the cost of neglect or disparagement of other Cather novels which are less commonly read. In my case, I wanted to champion other Cather novels that didn’t seem to get enough attention. Those afflicted with the condition avoid reading what is considered popular or trendy and either stick with their core “masters” or champion the underdog, be they overlooked or forgotten writers or books. I attribute this to a condition from which I’m healing, a condition that inhibited me from reading and/or enjoying books that are “popular.” This condition is a form of book snobbishness that can be both the cause and effect of the closing of the mind and spirit that has been known to plague people such as English majors and booksellers. In the past, My Antonia was NOT one of Cather’s novels that I gushed over.
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