Comments for My Mortal Enemy

My Mortal Enemy: 07/23/07

I picked up Sixteen Short Novels at the September BookCrossing meeting last year. I'm ahead of schedule for my September deadline. I might get the book finished in time for the August meeting which is on the fourteenth.

"My Mortal Enemy" by Willa Cather is the next in the book and the first piece by Cather I've ever read. In about 20,000 words it chronicles the rise and fall of the marriage of Myra Driscoll and Oswald Henshawe from the point of view of young Nelly Birdseye who must balance the stories she heard of Myra with the truth she is painfully confronted with.

While Nelly is the narrator, Myra is the protagonist. She is introduced as an irresponsible and spoiled woman but her happy marriage ends in poverty and pain, hinging on her Catholic faith. What the novel doesn't tell us is how the marriage turned sour. We are left to guess from the few glimpses we've seen of Myra through Nelly's eyes.

For another take on "My Mortal Enemy", I highly recommend the review posted at The Occasional Review.

sixteen short novels | books | bookcrossing | fiction

Comments (3)

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Comment #1: Friday, July, 13, 2007 at 09:37:34

Gabriella Hewitt

"This sounds like an impressive undertaking. I look forward to reading any comments you have on each of the short novels. Good luck! "

Comment #2: Sunday, July, 15, 2007 at 15:43:42

JennieBoo

I bet it will be fun reading those short stories! I look forward to your "re-caps"!"

Comment #3: Sunday, July, 15, 2007 at 18:07:01

Pussreboots

Thanks. I'm actually more than halfway through my "recaps". When I'm all finished, I'll post links to all of the reviews."

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