Cather’s semiautobiographical bildungsroman about the evolution of an artist revolves around young Thea Kronborg, who leaves smalltown Colorado for Chicago in order to realize her dream of becoming a trained pianist and piano teacher. But her tutor, Mr. Harsanyi, soon discovers Thea’s talent for singing and persuades her to pursue that path. Along the way, Thea is championed and romanced by Fred Ottenburg, the rich heir of a beer magnate. Christine Williams is an able reader: her narration is clear and clean, though a little dull. More problematic is Williams’s rendition of Thea, which feels flat. Additionally, the narrator’s speech becomes breathy during emotional moments (e.g., a kiss)—a tic that affects every character, even the males. As such, it is often difficult to distinguish vocally between Thea and her beau, Fred. (Feb.)

A moving tale of an artist's self-discovery.”

Cather knew some important truths and kindly took the time to write them down eloquently to share them with us—uncommonly valuable truths—even a hundred years later.”

The Song of the Lark is one of several works in which Cather displays her lyrical powers.”

• "There are some things you learn best in calm, and some in storm."
• "The world is little, people are little, human life is little. There is only one big thing — desire."
• "People live through such pain only once. Pain comes again—but it finds a tougher surface."
• "Artistic growth is, more than it is anything else, a refining of the sense of truthfulness. The stupid believe that to be truthful is easy; only the artist, the great artist, knows how difficult it is."

― Willa Cather , The Song of the Lark

"This authoritative edition of Cather's perhaps least understood novel is a welcome addition to the Willa Cather Scholarly Edition, begun under the general editorship of Susan Rosowski and now under that of Guy Reynolds. The Song of the Lark is important for taking the portraits of European immigrants in the US in O Pioneers! and adding the element of art as it traces the evolution of Thea Kronborg from small-town girl to opera singer acclaimed in Chicago, New York, and Europe. . . . Embellished with handsome photographs and presented in an easy-to-read format, this is a necessary edition for any scholar of Cather."—N. Birns, Choice

"Cather fans will be captivated by the store Moseley unravels behind the work's composition, as well as the intellectual and geographical influences underpinning it."—Debra Cumberland, Great Plains Quarterly

"Embellished with handsome photographs and presented in an easy-to-read format, this is a necessary edition for any scholar of Cather."—N. Birns, Choice

— N. Birns