Historical Fiction War Novel Identity and Isolation The American Dream The Horrors of War Search for Meaning
One of Ours is a novel written by Willa Cather and originally published in 1922, for which the author won the Pulitzer Prize the following year. The novel reflects on the simple people of Nebraska and the global impact of World War I.
Claude Wheeler is a young American native of Nebraska, the son of well-to-do farmers, in the first decades of the 20th century. Claude works on the family farm while he studies at the university, in search of his own success outside the shelter of his father.
After meeting a family of German immigrants, he knows other ways of thinking and points of view. However, the young man will have to drop out of school to run the farm.
When the First World War broke out and the United States participated in the conflict, the young man enlisted in the army to flee from his current traditional life, seeking and longing for his freedom.
"Claude Wheeler opened his eyes before the sun was up and vigorously shook his younger brother, who lay in the other half of the same bed. 'Ralph, Ralph, get awake! Come down and help me wash the car...'"
#150 in Literary fiction (this month)
#21 in Historical fiction (this month)
The One of Ours book is available for download in PDF, ePUB and Mobi:
Copyright info
One of Ours by Willa Cather is believed to be in the public domain in the United States only. It may still be copyrighted in other countries. If you are not in the United States, please check your local laws to ensure this eBook is in the public domain in your country before downloading One of Ours in PDF or ePub.
From Nebraska fields to European trenches, Cather follows a young man searching for meaning and finding cost. It’s a quiet novel about idealism, disillusion, and the small mercies that keep people going.
Debates about purpose, service, and belonging haven’t dimmed. This book separates romance of war from reality while respecting why people still long to matter. Empathy, not spectacle.
Patriotism examined without haze.
Compassion keeps motion.
Identity across borders.
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Plain spoken beauty of land work and becoming; art and home in balance.
We have 8 books by Willa Cather in the AliceAndBooks library