Review: The Little House on the Prairie

The Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Having loved the TV series as a child, I thought this would make for a nice comfort read. But, I was wrong - there's nothing comforting about this book. It's not really explained why "Pa" decides to uproot his family to go West - other than he's got fed up with how busy it is where they were currently living - so the move did come across as reckless, especially considering the numerous dangers the face trying to make a new home for themselves. In fairness to Pa though, he's certainly a handy chap to have around. There doesn't seem to be much he can't build or make himself.

There is a fair bit of blatant racism towards Native Americans - "Ma" comes out with some eye-wateringly shocking things at times. That said, Pa acknowledges that Native Americans have a right to hate the "white man" because they, effectively, keep being pushed from their lands.

I am not inclined to read any the other books from the series but I would be interested in reading a book about these times from an adult perspective - particularly one that considers that the Native American voice.



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