Giants in the Earth is actually a quote from the Bible, Genesis 6:4 but is also the title of O. E. Rolvaag's book. We discussed this book at book club last night and I could hardly wait for the discussion because I loved it. This book goes in my top 30 favorite books I have ever read. The author was born in Norway. Although he was a poor student he went on to get a bachelors and masters degree from St. Olaf college. Eventually he was a professor at St. Olaf. His son Karl went on to become a governer of Minnesota. Rolvaag does a great job describing the beauty and the desolation of life on the prairie in South Dakota just west of Worthington, Minnesota. He wrote the story in the Norwegian language and had it translated into English. He wrote the story while living near the St. Olaf campus. Norwegian immigrants homesteading and starting a new life had a hard time of it. Wind, weather, drought, grasshoppers, illness, loneliness, poverty, and the lack of schools made life unbearable for some settlers. Others were more resiliant and thrived and prospered and were happy. The story is moving and powerful. I was happy to hear this is the first of a trilogy so I will soon be reading Peder Victorious and Their Father's God.
2 comments:
That is who the library at St. Olaf is named after.
Yep, we talked about that too.
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