A nice Virago edition with a patterned border surrounding the page numbers, little pencil illustrations at the start of each chapter, and an introduction by AS Byatt. A serendipitous bargain at a charity shop in a gap between lockdowns. But the writing, characters, setting, and plot… ugh. I don't believe it, and don't care about any of them (which isn't dependent on liking them). The only saving grace was that it was very short. Previously, I loved the rural landscape and strong female lead in C...

Who is the "Mortal Enemy" ? Oh, yes, it's "My..." Willa Cather is not writing about a disappointing marriage, or any marriage. In a moment of personal crisis (what, why, we don't know), she's writing about the damage done to ourselves by making one mistake that alters our life, the damage done by optimistically letting any passion guide us. Here, Cather explores what a bad decision can cost us, but -- we don't realize it at the time. Do what you want, but be prepared, always, for wreckage. A...

An excellent book. This is a story about Love.This is a story about marriage.This is a story about redemption.This is a story about forgiveness.The story is really short. The prose is economical. The impact, I got, was tremendous.The story is about a rich girl deserting her riches for the love of her life. She is an Irish Catholic and the boy for whom she leaves everything is related to German Protestantism. The life seems to be good. But when at the end of her life as the couple is reduced to a...

I really liked this, perhaps the most unlikable of Cather's novels. This very brief book tells the story of Myra Henshawe who chose love over money and seemingly has regretted it ever since. Willa Cather writes unsparingly about this mess of a marriage, making you feel sad for both parties, although my allegiance was with the husband, Oswald. The best part of the novel, for me, was the description of New York City at Christmas time. I had not heard of this novel and I am glad Chris Wolak of The

A wonderful novella which tells the story of Myra Driscoll who elopes with the impoverished Oswald Henshawe.We meet them twenty-five years later living in poverty.'People can be lovers and enemies at the same time, you know. We Were...A man and a woman draw apart from that long embrace, and see what they have done to each other. Perhaps I can't forgive him for the harm I did him. Perhaps that's it'Beautifully written.

When kindness has left people, even for a few moments, we become afraid of them, as if their reason had left them. When it has left a place where we have always found it, it is like shipwreck; we drop from security into something malevolent and bottomless. (pg. 51)This novella reads easily, with some beautiful passages, like the one above. It is quite intense, as perhaps a short work should be.I struggle a bit with characters, portrayed from the outside, who seem to be universally loved, though

Gently ruthless. That's a stolen phrase. I read this with a group on Litsy and that was roughly one person's* description. Cather is undermining the romance of the runaway bride. Here Myra marries Oswald Henshawe against the wishes of her wealthy great Uncle, John Driscoll, spurning a large inheritance and her life in Parthia, IL for one as a socialite in New York City. She leaves behind not a stained reputation, but an impression more along the lines of a fairy tale. This is roughly the impress...

Another excellent novel by Willa Cather. I've never been disappointed in anything she has written.

I love this novella. I am fairly new to Cather despite my age(catching up here folks) but in the course of reading her first two novels and this totally unique novella (her eight book) she has cemented herself as one of my top three authors of all time. I didn’t give this book five stars only because it is so very personal and disturbing. It warrants five stars and maybe I will change that later as I come to terms with its emotional baggage. I totally identified with Myra in this story and I agr...

This is the second book I've read by Willa Cather and I think I can fairly say she is one of my very favourite authors. This is a small little gem of a story, so beautiful and yet so sharp. And the way she tells it, the words she chooses, it's all pure beauty. I'm so thankful that I found her and her work. It's always wonderful to meet a kindred spirit, even though a couple of centuries lie between us.

Love alone isn’t always enough to sustain us especially in a long marriage, it’s really not healthy holding onto resentment and anger, this was why divorce was invented so we don’t end up like Mrs Henshawe! Bitter and regretful. This short novella is sharp and poignant. I’m curious to know who Myra’s mortal enemy is supposedly. Is it her husband Oswald, or herself?? Definitely one to ponder over.

A short story with a moral, so let's call it a parable.A bitter old woman lies dying. She blames others for how she has chosen to live her life. She feels no regret and fails to acknowledge her own mistakes. I get annoyed. I cannot relate to Myra, the central character, neither when she is young and healthy nor when she is old and sick. The mortal enemy of the title is her husband Oswald.(view spoiler)[Constancy is praiseworthy. In old age many fall back on religion and how they were raised. (hi...

oh Mother, oh Father! I sorta get you now, thanks to My Mortal Enemy. such a short little piece but such a powerful punch. I'd give this 5 stars for personal impact, but the impact was so painful and intense, I could never consider this a favorite.once upon a time, Myra and Oswald eloped. they were, and are, the love of each other's life. such are the things of happily ever afters! but such is not reality; it is certainly not the reality I've experienced.their lives are witnessed by a niece - in...

Hmmm. This was more of a novella than a novel. It was just okay. 2.5 starsThe narrator is a young woman, Nellie Birdseye. She has an aunt who knows Myra Henshawe and her husband Oswald. When she first met Mrs. Henshawe, she was 15 years old and the Henshawes were in their 40s and comfortably well off. (view spoiler)[ Apparently Oswald Henshawe was given some expensive cufflinks as a Christmas present by a woman and eventually his wife finds out. Whether that is what makes her bitter or something...

This short novel certainly leaves a powerful impression. Once encountered who can ever forget the bitterness of Myra Henshawe? My Mortal Enemy is a such a slippery and complex story. My thoughts below seem half-baked. You'd think it would be easier to talk about such a short novel, but I find it's harder to put down in writing what's on my mind about this one than other Cather novels that we've read so far.My initial reaction to My Mortal Enemy was that it's a cautionary tale about youthful pass...

Left no impression whatsoever. I read it only about 2 months ago, and I can't even remember how it ended or if it ever really went anywhere. All I remember is feeling extremely bored and impatient the whole time. I suggest you read Paul's Case instead. Now THAT'S a story.

At first I expected this to be a turn-of-the-century indictment of marriage. It appears now to be more of an psychological study of a unique case of bipolar character. Myra, in fact, demonstrates mood shifts from humble to disdainful, amorous to jealous, etc., intensifying as she grows old. I wish the novella were long enough to draw out her husband Oswald's story and thoughts. Perhaps I am too "male" a reader to appreciate My Mortal Enemy.I do appreciate the parallels between the two parts – th...

’ve had this strange, sad little novella for some time, the trouble with tiny little books is that they are easy to overlook. I do love Willa Cather’s writing, there’s a sense of place in her novels I feel right at home in. Her characters step from the pages fully formed and believable – as if from life. My Mortal Enemy was written during Willa Cather’s most creative period, I’m surprised it isn’t better known. One can’t help but feel that in the character of Myra Henshawe we must have someone w...

Nellie, young and inexperienced, tells the story of Myra, an older woman from her town who gives up a fortune to elope with Oswald, the man she loves. Nellie begins by relating the stories and gossip of her Aunt Lydia, who had once helped Myra elope. Then she relates three meetings with Myra in the course of Myra's life and marriage, and each meeting is filled with both mystery and with accurate, aching details of a life that has not gone according to plan. In a way the novel is a slight fragmen...

There's a hidden authorial pain and anguish laced through this book and hidden in the character of Myra. Having read through Cather's works chronologically to this point, I sense an underlying conflict and despair that is somewhat obfuscated by the plot in this love/fate/hate story. It is short and succinct like Alexander's Bridge, and it is about a strong woman who forges her own trail like A Lost Lady, but even though it reads simply and holds you at a distance from its characters, this book g...