THE SONG OF THE LARK Prairie Trilogy, Book 2

Laurel Lefkow performs the second in Willa Cather's Great Plains trilogy in a precise, sweet voice that highlights the author's expressive prose. The 1915 novel is the story of Thea Kronberg, a talented girl from a humble home in a Colorado mountain town who, through hard work and luck, goes on to operatic fame. Set in the era of the burgeoning West, replete with railroads, booming cities, and immigrant workers, the story is filled with diverse characters. Lefkow colors their personalities just enough with changes of pace and pitch that conversations are easy to follow. She also lingers appreciatively over Cather's evocative, almost elegiac, descriptions of the Western American landscape. The few instances of casual racist language are a shock that Lefkow efficiently moves past. A.C.S. © AudioFile 2025, Portland, Maine [Published: FEBRUARY 2025]