'This is reality, whether you like it or not. All those frivolities of summer, the light and shadow, the living mask of green that trembled over everything, they were lies, and this is what was underneath. This is the truth.' It was as if we were being punished for loving the loveliness of summer.

I feel like this every winter...

The whole prairie was like the bush that burned with fire and was not consumed. That hour always had the exultation of victory, of triumphant ending, like a hero's death—heroes who died young and gloriously. It was a sudden transfiguration, a lifting-up of day.

Really enjoying this. It's not a page-turner, but Cather can really paint a portrait of a scene.

The first requisite for success is to develop the ability to focus and apply your mental and physical energies to the problem at hand - without growing weary. Because such thinking is often difficult, there seems to be no limit to which some people will go to avoid the effort and labor that is associated with it...

I had the feeling that the world was left behind, that we had got over the edge of it, and were outside man's jurisdiction.

Just started reading this after I saw an article stating that Willa Cather was one of the best and most under-rated authors of the 20th century. This phrase caught my eye.