Winter Wheat

I liked the characters. Thought that they were finely drawn and saw them all as individuals.

What a lovely story. Set in the 1940s, this is a coming of age story set in the wheatfields of central Montana. A young girl at the start of the story, Ellen Webb is the only child of a WWI veteran and his Russian immigrant wife. She's happy. She doesn't see her ramshackle house, the grinding poverty, or the tension between her parents. She loves her environment. She's a good girl. Her parents have a relatively good harvest, enough to send her to college. She makes a friend. She loves her classes. She learns, uses her common sense, and delights in growing up.But then she falls in love and the boy, a senior at the same college, comes home to meet her parents, and everything changes. Seeing her beloved farm life through his eyes, Ellen's simple world is rocked. Then she learns some hard truths about her parents' relationship. Her perception of them changes, suffering ensues, but always, Ellen is resilient and evolves. When tragedy strikes, she must grow beyond the pain and learn to find joy again.Always, the story unfolds in the context of the joy and frustration of dryland farming. The growing of wheat is such a rich metaphor for Ellen herself. And the descriptions! I could almost hear the Grain Market Broadcast in my head, as read every morning over the Webb's radio. The varieties of wheat are so beautifully named. "One heavy dark Northern Spring...fifty-two. One dark hard Winter...fifty-three." How dramatic.The mother, Anna Petrovna, met Ellen's father when he was wounded while fighting in Russia in the winter. Anna, a child of war who'd seen her parents and brother slaughtered, latched on to the handsome young American immediately. The two fell in lust, and when he was well enough to return to America, she told him she was pregnant. An honorable man, he brought her home with him.For Anna, being a wheat farmer in the heart of Montana was the ultimate freedom. She loved the openness, the solitude, and the land, and she passed that along to her daughter. However, Ben was an Easterner, a gentle man, well educated and destined for a more genteel life. In learning about their marital compromises, Ellen grows in her understanding of her parents and of human nature. In a subtle but gratifying character arc, she arrives at a more mature version of herself. Without an epilogue, the reader is allowed to let her imagination roam as to what next might have happened, as the story ends on a positive note.Such a beautiful story. A classic equivalent to My Antonia by Willa Cather.

I grew up in the part of Montana where most of this fascinating story took place. My father was a homesteader there and my memories of this land were vividly revived while reading this book. If you've ever wondered what it would be like to grow up on the prairie this is an excellent way to find out. The story is compelling and moves along quickly. There are very surprising developments and even the ending is not what you may expect. This is no light little novel, but rather the story of a woman of mixed heritage coming into her own, with challenges that will shape her life forever. It's an excellent read and I highly recommend it.

Mildred Walker resided in and wrote about the area of Montana I was born and raised in. This book transported me once again to relive my experiences in farm life. And it was about the same era. What a trip! Thank you Mildred Walker.

This is a very slow-moving, old-fashioned novel about an intelligent young girl growing into womanhood on a farm in Montana. There isn't much action but a lot of beautiful description. She loves the land and the natural world around her, and she is a keen observer of the (few) people in her life. There is no excitement, no suspense, and nothing titillating about this book, just the thoughts and feelings of a rather solitary young woman during WW II. I absolutely loved it. I know it isn't for everyone but if you'd like to go back to the rural 1940s, this is the novel for you.

Probably one of the most beautiful and heart-wrenching books I've ever read. I did not want it to end. Ellen Webb will not be forgotten, and I will think about her life in Montana, the dilemmas, and wonder about her unwritten future. As a teacher, I especially loved her semester as a teacher in a one-room school. Her love of the children and their individual personalities. The scrutiny and misinterpretation of the parents are very contemporary scenes! This rich character and setting based coming -of-age novel is an American classic and should be treasured as such. Poetic. Reminiscent of Jetta Carlson's Moonflower Vine.

The book is well written. I felt the book moved at a very slow pace. The pace of the book reflected the movement of the story. It’s a slower pace in the country on a farm. I did enjoy the author’s writing style.

I was really enthused about this book when I started it. Then the dreariness of the characters' lives made it hard to finish. Why did they not see any other choices in life? And what child is so involved in their parent's love life and life in general? The wheat metaphor was very overdone. Do not recommend.

Well written beautiful story. Yelena (Ellen) is trying to figure out her parents marriage. Just why did they marry. Just how does her silent mother feel about things. But the end of the book she knows that her parents love her and love each other and are quite happy together