Finished: One of Ours (Cather) This was the 1923 Pulitzer Prize winner, but I think I've liked other books of Willa Cather's more. It's the story of Claude Wheeler, a young man whose father is a successful Nebraska farmer, and whose mother is very religious. He is overshadowed by both his older and younger brothers, but mostly because he's unhappy with his life himself. He wants more out of life than just following in his father's farming footsteps. And, even though he's educated at college, he's not even happy with the college he attends. He envies almost every other person he meets...their ambitions, their families, their happiness, their talents. After Claude realizes that his fate is to run the family farm, he finally convinces a childhood sweetheart to marry him. He becomes disillusioned, however, when his wife is more interested in charity and mission work than in him. When she leaves for China to help her ailing missionary sister, Claude enlists in the army and heads for World War I in  Europe. His family has been following the war closely and he feels that maybe he will find purpose in his life after all by going to help fight the Germans. Claude DOES find purpose. He feels alive for the first time...but he still envies most of the other soldiers he meets. He becomes best friends with David Gerhardt, who was a former violinist. Claude is envious of David's musical talent and resents that he was never given the opportunity to learn something outside of farming. However, he still admires and respects his friends. Towards the end of the book, Claude's unit is sent to fight in a particularly bad location, in some trenches that had been occupied by the Germans. He has fallen in love with France and the people there, and thinks he will probably live here instead of going back home. He never gets the chance, though, as both he and David fight bravely and are both killed in action trying to keep the Germans from retaking the trench. I didn't become particularly attached to Claude since I didn't really relate to any of his angst. However, Willa Cather is a good writer, so I enjoyed the book somewhat...just not as much as a few of her others. :-)