Lucy Gayheart was one of Willa Cather's later novels, written in 1935. It tells the story of Lucy, who grows up in a small Midwest town, and then moves to Chicago at the age of 18 to study music. While in Chicago, she discovers her own talent and also falls in love with the great singer Clement Sebastian. After tragedy strikes, she returns home to her small town, where further tragedy ensues. While the story line is not riveting, Cather captures small town life in her usual pitch perfect way. In my opinion, this was not nearly as good as some of her other works that I have previously reviewed.
Here is one of my favorite quotes from the novel:
"In little towns, lives roll along so close to one another; loves and hates beat about, their wings almost touching. On the sidewalks along which everybody comes and goes, you must, if you walk abroad at all, at some time pass within a few inches of the man who cheated and betrayed you, or the woman you desire more than anything else in the world. Her skirt brushes against you. You say good-morning, and go on. It is a close shave. Out in the world the escapes are not so narrow."
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