O PIONEERS! by Willa Cather (Vintage: $9;...

O PIONEERS! by Willa Cather (Vintage: $9; 159 pp.). The first great novel by the Pulitzer Prize-winning author, “O Pioneers!” established the independent feminist heroine who draws her strength from the land as a vital element in American fiction. In this epic tale of Swedish immigrants, it is Alexandra Bergson who carries her family from poverty to affluence in the Nebraska territory. Her shrewd intelligence and foresight eclipse the skills of her feckless brothers, who work the holdings she amasses. But Alexandra discovers that her tie to the soil is one that binds as well as strengthens, and she longs for broader horizons. Readers curious to discover the literary ancestors of many female characters in contemporary fiction should turn to this elegant, powerful story.