O Pioneers! (Willa Cather Scholarly Edition Series) Book

Alexandra Bergson at a young age , has to take care of her family and farm, in Nebraska, with the untimely death of their father John, he wished his oldest child, ( and smartest ) to guide the poor immigrants from Sweden in the 1880's, everyone agrees at first, struggling on the harsh prairie, are also brothers Lou, Oscar and five year old Emil, her pet, the mother knows little about farming... An endless drought soon after begins , the Sun baking the soil , the crops withering for lack of rain, year after year, fail, many farmers give up and leave for the cities, but the Bergson's endure, because of the wise and strong leadership that Alexandra brings ( the people around there, recognize that fact ). The little town of Hanover, a short distance away takes care of the needs of the local farmers, she Alexandra often meets her only friend Carl Linstrum there, from a neighboring farm, still he doesn't have a clue what to do in life, moody, always daydreaming, unsure, the obvious is in front of his eyes but he cannot focus... 16 years have passed , the land becomes prosperous, prices are skyrocketing, farmers becoming well off, some even rich, the old evil days long forgotten, the Bergson family farm has been divided between Alexandra, Lou, the intelligent brother and Oscar, the harder worker, thus makes more money to the chagrin of Lou, politics is his passion, not farming . The aimless Carl has left, and lonely Alexandra has many Swedish female servants to take care of the new house, and enjoys their company, no log cabin like the old one, even old Crazy lvar works for her, he has occasional spells, nothing to worry about ( as does Lou and Oscar), a man who loves animals better than he does humans, neglected his farm and loses it. Emil has graduated from the University of Nebraska, at Lincoln, he is thinking about becoming a lawyer, a profession that doesn't appeal to him ( or anybody else), he secretly falls in love with a married woman, effervescent Marie Shabata, her brooding, jealous husband Frank treats her badly, no love between the two has existed for years, something will happen soon, that will cause a scandal, so the naive Emil goes to Mexico City. To forget his troubles, have fun and adventures, meet new exciting people, a different society far away from Nebraska, however you can't escape your destiny. Beneath the surface there is a smothering darkness, a black cloud, a cruel spirit, a thing that can't be touched or smelled, it scares yet remains hidden, ready to strike, they all know this truth, nothing will stop, the coming of that ominous force... the cold wind stirs.