My Ántonia

by Willa Cather

This novel is set somewhere in the Midwest and chronicles the story of young Jim Burden. Bohemian neighbours move to America and live nearby, and My Ántonia tells of how the children grow up together. The Bohemians speak little English, so the Burdens help them, as well as aiding them in surviving the winters. Ántonia (or Tony) is Jim Burden's little friend. Tony is a few years older than Jim, but they still watch out for each other.

Quite honestly, I didn't really understand the point of this story. It was sweet, but I'd rather not have read it. Not quite as slow as Siddhartha, My Ántonia took me long enough to read as it was.

Siddhartha

by Hermann Hesse

Siddhartha is a fictitious novel portraying the journey of the life of the founder of Buddha. Laden with symbolism and descriptions, this puny just-over-one-hundred-page novel is like wading uphill through molasses in the dead of winter. I actually had to read it twice just to understand it, and regretted the second read-through. Unless you really enjoy this type of novel, I do not recommend it. On a nice night, I think I'm going to burn it.