MY THOUGHTS:
Woohoo, this lovely sequel to Farmer Boy was first published back in 2012 and I only recently found about it. Seeing its cover and blurb pop up on the internet transported me back to a day in my school library when I first discovered the original Farmer Boy. I was about 11 and I'd read the Little House series through to These Happy Golden Years but had no idea Laura had written a book about Almanzo's childhood. All these years later, the delight of discovery was exactly the same. I found an online copy of Farmer Boy Goes West from Internet Archive to borrow and got stuck straight into it.
This story takes Almanzo through his mid teens. His parents decide to travel west to visit Uncle George and Aunt Martha at Spring Valley, Minnesota, with a view to settling down there. Royal and Eliza Jane agree to stay home at Malone and mind the farm, but Alice and Almanzo are privileged to experience the new vistas. They also have Perley, the surprise baby brother who was born 12 years after Almanzo.
Williams' portrayal of Almanzo is consistent with the modest, compassionate and courteous boy we already know him to be. His two great passions, horses and food, still take top place, but he also develops his first crush on a girl, the beautiful Catherine, who is a fictional foil to Laura. Catherine highly values her own traditional beauty, isn't intellectually bright, and hates horses. Williams writes in her Afterword that she loves Almanzo, and adds, 'But who doesn't?' Indeed, he's pretty unique in literature. He never shared the writing ambitions of his wife and daughter, yet achieved vicarious fame simply for being his tranquil, hard-working self.
I love James and Angeline, the Wilder parents, just as I did in Farmer Boy. She's still one of my great role models for running a household with grace and panache. Almanzo's favourite sister, Alice, is her sweet, smart self, sharing a great rapport with him. In this novel, her future husband, Albert Baldwin, is introduced as a fellow, spirited school student.
Poor Eliza Jane still gets a poor profile, which I can't help wondering at this stage is more traditional than deserved. Whenever Royal is in the picture, he delivers some excellent lines. And we meet the witty cousin Willy Wilder, who lived in India with his parents for a period of time. Holding it all together, of course, is the admirable teenager Almanzo, whose headspace is ideal to view all the others from.
The story begins when he's almost 14, and by the end he's nudging 16, which is getting far closer to that brave19-year-old we meet in De Smet, who decides to dash between the blizzards for the life-saving wheat. Heather Williams has filled in the great time gap which was left by Laura Ingalls Wilder between Farmer Boy and The Long Winter which is a fantastic favour for all of us Little House fans.
She's done all the research and clearly knows Laura's stories well. I like it when James and Angeline discuss whether or not to relocate. She says, 'Better to be safe than sorry,' to which he responds, 'Be sure you're right, then go ahead.' Remember that feed store scene from The Long Winter, when Almanzo and Royal throw those very same lines at each other, drawing from their parents' favourite catchlines? Brilliant, subtle nod to canon.
I love everything about this book, but I think my favourite chapters are about the basket social, highlighting Almanzo's gentlemanly nature. What awkward fun.
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