Non-Fiction Book Reviews

Book Review: Portraits of the Prairie

By Sandy Amazeen Jun 7, 2011, 3:22 GMT

“As I looked about me I felt that the grass was the country, as the water is the sea. The red of the grass made all the great prairie the colour of wine-stains, or of certain seaweeds when they are first washed up. And there was so much motion in it; the whole country seemed, somehow, to be running.?—My Ántonia, Willa Cather It is often called “Catherland?—Webster County, Nebraska, where the ...more

The lovely, soft-edged watercolors of Richard Schilling pair up splendidly with the prose of Willa Cather who had a rare appreciation for the prairie grasslands of America’s Midwest. From observing Herefords grazing a sunflower dappled landscape coupled with a charming bit about prairie mushrooms to a surprisingly artistic graffiti bridge, this collection of paintings and prose instills a sense of discovery in what is often an underappreciated part of the country. Readers familiar with Cather’s work will discover a deeper admiration of her writings while those just discovering her will enjoy the gentle introduction making this much more then just another coffee table book.