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The Works of Laura Ingalls Wilder

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Post  Crowbridge Sun Jul 27, 2014 3:35 pm

I started re-reading the series this weekend, and I'm up to "Little House On the Prairie". Reading these books as an adult makes me see things in a very different light. They're still sweet and enjoyable, but now I feel really, really bad for Pa and Ma. What a hard life they had, having to do everything on their own and never getting a break. Pa especially gets my sympathy; every time he has to go hunting alone or put up a log cabin all by himself, my muscles start to ache. Eesh.

Anyway, what are your thoughts on the series? Any favorite moments/books/characters? Honestly, I could talk about the LH series all day. It was such a big part of my childhood.

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Post  Tabby Mon Jul 28, 2014 10:04 am

I only read bits and pieces of these books as a child, so I read the entire series a few summers ago. They are very enjoyable, but I came away with the idea that Pa was kind of a dick, uprooting his family constantly because he hated being around other people so much. And Ma was a racist (which, to be fair, more common than not in those days). But the descriptions of how pioneers lived were fascinating.

I liked most of the books, but I wish I hadn't read The First Four Years. I found it utterly depressing.

It's interesting to read how the actual story of Laura's life was changed for the books.
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Post  mokey75 Mon Jul 28, 2014 10:15 am

One of my earliest memories is my mom reading these to me as a kid. I've been thinking about rereading them as an adult, and I just saw that MSU is offering a free course this fall. Perfect timing!
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Post  Crowbridge Mon Jul 28, 2014 2:57 pm

Tabby wrote:I only read bits and pieces of these books as a child, so I read the entire series a few summers ago. They are very enjoyable, but I came away with the idea that Pa was kind of a dick, uprooting his family constantly because he hated being around other people so much. And Ma was a racist (which, to be fair, more common than not in those days). But the descriptions of how pioneers lived were fascinating.

I liked most of the books, but I wish I hadn't read The First Four Years. I found it utterly depressing.

It's interesting to read how the actual story of Laura's life was changed for the books.
Yeah, I've been googling like crazy while reading the books, finding little tidbits here and there about the family.  Laura told a story about Pa being part of the vigilante group that went after the Bender family, but who knows if that is true.  Some people say the dates don't match up, so she could have been exaggerating/outright lying.  She didn't tell the story until after the books were published.

Also, Rose Wilder Lane was...kind of a bitch.  I didn't know very much about her, but after reading a few articles, it sounds like she infantilized her mother and basically told her her writing was garbage without her input.  She also called FDR a "dictator" and hoped he would die.  Funny how she was related to the Delanos through her mother's side (I think.)

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Post  inversed Thu Aug 21, 2014 5:25 am


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Post  particle_person Thu Aug 21, 2014 6:00 pm

Ooh, that's going to be awesome. "You read the sanitized version, now here's what it was REALLY like."
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Post  ulkis Thu Aug 21, 2014 9:04 pm

Yeah, I like the books but I'm not a huge fan, but that sounds interesting. Of course, if I WERE a huge fan I might be wary because it could ruin some stuff about the books, lol.

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Post  PirateCatarina Fri Aug 22, 2014 8:20 pm

That's my problem with it...those books were one of my main obsessions growing up and I'm scared to read anything that might ruin them for me. I need someone to read it and tell me just how scarring it is.

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Post  Mulva Fri Jun 24, 2016 12:10 pm

PirateCatarina wrote:That's my problem with it...those books were one of my main obsessions growing up and I'm scared to read anything that might ruin them for me. I need someone to read it and tell me just how scarring it is.

I wouldn't call it scarring, but it reads like old Aunt Tillie rambling on and on about her childhood. If I hadn't read the books, I wouldn't have known what she was talking about. It really lends credence to the "Rose ghostwrote/heavily edited the books" theory.[/heresy]

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