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92nd out of 514 books
—
501 voters
Giants in the Earth: A Saga of the Prairie
The classic story of a Norwegian pioneer family's struggles with the land and the elements of the Dakota Territory as they try to make a new life in America.
Paperback, 560 pages
Published
August 4th 1999
by Harper Perennial Modern Classics
(first published 1927)
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Dec 10, 2007
Mike
rated it
1 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
students, masochists
Shelves:
boasting-shelf
I hated this book. It felt like counting sand. Or corn. Or whatever the hell they were growing. Oh and everyone is named Hansa. Seriously, this book moves so slow, you could literally skip entire chapters (maybe even 2 or three), and NOTHING WOULD HAVE HAPPENED.
Maybe I'm being a bit harsh. To be fair, there is a lot of depth and meaning to the story and it does resonate with many Americans because for some, the story of the prarie life is the story of their ancestery. Most people don't consider...more
Maybe I'm being a bit harsh. To be fair, there is a lot of depth and meaning to the story and it does resonate with many Americans because for some, the story of the prarie life is the story of their ancestery. Most people don't consider...more
Apr 14, 2008
Rachel Penso
rated it
5 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
Kristy Tukua
Recommended to Rachel by:
Alesa
When I was a little girl, I loved to read books about the pioneers heading west. What little girl doesn't like Little House on the Prairie? I had forgotten my enjoyment of such books. But Giants in the Earth was so much better. I was glad it was a longer book, so there was more for me to enjoy.
6 likes · like · see review
Thought I would re-read this book about Norwegian pioneers in South Dakota, in anticipation of the arrival of our exchange student from Norway.
I love this book. It answers many of the adult questions I had when re-reading Little House on the Prairie with my kids. How did the mother bear the intense isolation? What was the psychological impact of that endless horizon? Did bugs crawl out of the sod house walls? (However, like the Little House books, Giants is silent on the subject of frontier outh...more
I love this book. It answers many of the adult questions I had when re-reading Little House on the Prairie with my kids. How did the mother bear the intense isolation? What was the psychological impact of that endless horizon? Did bugs crawl out of the sod house walls? (However, like the Little House books, Giants is silent on the subject of frontier outh...more
6 likes · like · see review
"A small caravan was pushing its way through the tall grass. The track that it left behind was like the wake of a boat - except that instead of widening out astern it closed in again."
This sentence, on the first page of Giants in the Earth, captures many of the conflicting emotions that the book's Norwegian immigrant characters face as they homestead in South Dakota during the 1870s. The settlers are moving forward into new experiences, adventures, and the possibility of wealth and status not a...more
This sentence, on the first page of Giants in the Earth, captures many of the conflicting emotions that the book's Norwegian immigrant characters face as they homestead in South Dakota during the 1870s. The settlers are moving forward into new experiences, adventures, and the possibility of wealth and status not a...more
The saga of Norwegian immigrants by O. E. Rolvaag entitled Giants in the Earth is truly a heroic epic of the settling of the upper plains. Rolvaag keeps his narrative focused on the family of Per Hansa with his long-suffering wife Beret and four children, And-Ongen, Store-Hans, Ole and Peder Victorious. The last of the children is born in their plains home while the others take part in the trek from Minnesota with which the novel begins. More than this family and their neighbors who form the new...more
I read this because I'm the daughter of an immigrant (Holland; not Norway), and I lived in North Dakota for several years.
Thoughts -- randomly:
This is a more gritty, heavier, more serious, more realistic version of the Little House on the Prairie books. Includes braided hay for burning in the winter, grinding wheat in a coffee mill, indian arrowheads and more.
Beret made me sad. I didn't totally get her, and . . . well, she made me sad.
I thought the information about birds and insects and the uns...more
Thoughts -- randomly:
This is a more gritty, heavier, more serious, more realistic version of the Little House on the Prairie books. Includes braided hay for burning in the winter, grinding wheat in a coffee mill, indian arrowheads and more.
Beret made me sad. I didn't totally get her, and . . . well, she made me sad.
I thought the information about birds and insects and the uns...more
1 like · like · see review
Published in 1927, this stark, slow-paced novel mirrors the pace of life experienced by Norwegian immigrants as they staked claims and started settlements in the western territories of the United States during the last half of the 19th century. There was nothing romantic about those times; life was undeniably hard, and Rölvaag doesn't sugarcoat his account of it.
At the center of Rölvaag's story are Per Hansa, a strong-willed, independent, and resourceful man, and his wife Beret, who grows increa...more
At the center of Rölvaag's story are Per Hansa, a strong-willed, independent, and resourceful man, and his wife Beret, who grows increa...more
Though overall I enjoyed this read, there certainly were times when it dragged on. The plot itself advances very slowly, but it is not the plot but rather the character development in this novel which has led to its classic status. Beret is one of the most well-formed characters that I have ever read, and her mental conflict is portrayed absolutely excellently.
Biblical references, especially to the Book of Exodus are aplenty as well - and helps to further show the isolation of the settlers in...more
Biblical references, especially to the Book of Exodus are aplenty as well - and helps to further show the isolation of the settlers in...more
O.E. Rolvaag's epic GIANTS IN THE EARTH is truly an American classic, especially for those of Norwegian or Scandinavian descent or those who've lived in the Great Plains. It seems to be a true description of the life the early settlers lived, the desperation of oppressive freedom, and the claustrophobic effect of too much open space. One comes to love the settlers even as they deal with squatters, locusts, sod houses, and the endless winter of the northern Plains.
Per Hansa, the protagonist of o...more
Per Hansa, the protagonist of o...more
yeah, it moves slowly - at least for the first two thirds - but in a way that i suppose is appropriate, given that prairie life (in my understanding) was the sort of life where the minutiae of day-to-day struggle is what makes up the high action. you're fighting for your fucking livelihood, you know? (setting aside the whole now-moot question of whether the settlers had any right staking claims out there in the first place.)
i didn't have a problem with any similarity in names, but there did get...more
i didn't have a problem with any similarity in names, but there did get...more
There's lots of books about settlers of the American Prairie out there but Rolvaag does one thing remarkably well. Read this about 15 years ago, but still clearly remember Rolvaag's portrayal of the grueling solitude of early settlers of the northern plain. Especially of the wife, often left with her children while her husband went for supplies. Not unlike a sailor's wife, but without the near companionship of other women. Rough living quarters, coping with illness, scarcity of food, etc. Also,...more
6 likes · like · see review
Have you read Willa Cather's books or the Little House books about settlement in the United States in the 1900s? Giants in the Earth gives another perspective on the pioneer story.
A Norwegian family settles in the Dakota territory, having come from the "old country." He views this as an opportunity--she has huge problems over here, struggling with her sanity in a sod house where the wind howled all the time.
A Norwegian family settles in the Dakota territory, having come from the "old country." He views this as an opportunity--she has huge problems over here, struggling with her sanity in a sod house where the wind howled all the time.
We reached Wall, South Dakota on our ride and I was desperate for a book. Trying to find a book while riding a bicycle across the country turns out to be much harder than one would expect. When asked whether there was a nearby bookstore, most hotel clerks looked at me as if I were asking for a brothel. Bookstore? No, they didn't have any idea. Or, yes, there might be one out in the mall, twenty minutes away (by car!)
At Wall Drug, however, they had a surprisingly good selection of books about Na...more
At Wall Drug, however, they had a surprisingly good selection of books about Na...more
This was by far the most depressing pioneer novel I've read (which could have something to do with my penchant for children's literature, and also the general gloominess of Norwegian authors (or so I've heard), but I liked it more than I expected to at the onset. At first glance, it appeared to be written in a stream-of-consciousness style, with a rather lackluster translation, but the book grew on me so much that I nearly missed my tube stop as I was so engrossed in the story! Ultimately, I wis...more
I changed my rating for this book upon realizing that it is a existential novel, inadvertently showing the bad side of commanding one's life.
I think that the majority of people who love this book have no idea what it means or what it is trying to say. It paints South Dakota perfectly -- nothing of the plains has changed but the technology and the will to try anew of the people there.
I think that the majority of people who love this book have no idea what it means or what it is trying to say. It paints South Dakota perfectly -- nothing of the plains has changed but the technology and the will to try anew of the people there.
While typically overrated, this book is an entertaining read, if you like misery, death, bleak landscapes and melodrama. Which I do. I'd say, further, that people overestimate the realism of this book, considering the almost entire lack of death and murder and the abundance of the crops. The locust plague, however, seemed as realistic as a locust plague could be.
This book, translated from Norwegian, is a classic of pioneer life by an author from my home state of Minnesota. It is considered a minor classic of American literature, and I see why. In the story we follow a young family Per Hansa, his wife Beret, and their children. With a handful of other Norwegians they make their way from Filmore county Minnesota to a homestead just north of Sioux Falls South Dakota. This is a story of the stuggle to live on a treeless prairie that gives a much harder efge...more
I have read this book several times, the first time I was on my way to South Dakota to a funeral in about 1975. A cousin had died and I was reading it in the car on the way. Later that day I found myself in a cemetery on the prairie among my ancestors, most born in Norway, some of the stones inscribed in Norwegian, my great-grandfather, and great-great grandfather were buried in that cemetery. The book is a classic pioneer tale, written in Norwegian, translated later into English. The author emi...more
I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this book. I first skimmed it 25 years ago, looking for good quotations to insert into a paper due the next day for a college immigration history class. Of course, the assignment had been to read the book, not skim it, but no such luck. Since then, I've remembered it as bleak and cold and brimming with Hans and Hansas. Now that I've actually read the book, I realize that my earlier assessment didn't do the novel justice. The psychological drama that plays ou...more
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I feel like I have achieved a major accomplishment by completing this book. Though the man who wrote it was not messing around either. He wrote it first in Norwegian for people in Norway to better understand what American pioneers in the Dakota Territory went through. Then he wrote it again in English.
For long stretches the Norwegian pioneers of this story suffer madness, plagues, and famine. The prairie at this time (1870-1880s) is a desert. And this stream of people bring this desert life in a...more
For long stretches the Norwegian pioneers of this story suffer madness, plagues, and famine. The prairie at this time (1870-1880s) is a desert. And this stream of people bring this desert life in a...more
It's 2:45 in the morning and I've finished it. Ron Wilcox, I can't believe you made me read that book knowing full well how it turns out. O.E.Rölvaag, I enjoyed your book so much, I never wanted it to end - and then when it did end I realized I was right in not wanting that to happen because the ending sucked. It sucked, I say. Here's my hasty revision, which I hope will make me feel better:
(WARNING: Contains spoilers. If you haven't read the book, don't read the following until you get to the p...more
(WARNING: Contains spoilers. If you haven't read the book, don't read the following until you get to the p...more
If only there were more than 5 possible stars. This is one of the very few books I've re-read as an adult, and there is also a sequel. Scandinavian immigrants settle in, I believe, South Dakota, in the 19th C. and life is very hard, to the point where it becomes impossible for the wife to carry on. Think how many women living on the prairies must have gone around the bend in those days, where the wind never stopped blowing, pieces of the sod house's dirt ceiling fell down and made a mess, neighb...more
This sits atop my most recommended. It is an intense tale of struggle and determination. It follows a family and their group of friends as they establish a settlement on the prairie. As always I am moved by something the author may not have intended, a story within the story; I regard this among the best love stories I've read. The protagonists' dedication and sacrifice cuts so deep that the love is more bitter than sweet... in the face of their hardships the smallest kindness is a triumph, gent...more
Published in 1927 in English translated from Norwegian, almost 500 pages,
this novel is about pioneering in South Dakota around 1870. I was curious
about why a very good writer, William Kittredge, recommended it so strongly,
but I thought I'd just pay my respects by skimming it. It turned out to be
a gripping story both for the practical facts of life among Norwegian immigrants
and for the penetrating psychological study of the effects of that life on a
small group who traveled together and sett...more
this novel is about pioneering in South Dakota around 1870. I was curious
about why a very good writer, William Kittredge, recommended it so strongly,
but I thought I'd just pay my respects by skimming it. It turned out to be
a gripping story both for the practical facts of life among Norwegian immigrants
and for the penetrating psychological study of the effects of that life on a
small group who traveled together and sett...more
Prairie life saga of a Norwegian immigrant family. A bewitching tale true to the setting and culture of the American Midwest. (If you like Cather, you'll love this.)
Giants in the Earth is an incredibly strong, interesting book. It takes you to a place and time few can imagine. A landscape full of promise for the future but bleak in any natural features.
Per Hansa and Beret and their children arrive in the Dakota territory...he totally optimistic and full of plans; she regretful of leaving Norway and her family and seeing nothing ahead but disaster and years of loneliness in a sod house in the wilderness.
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/award97/n...
This book lets...more
Per Hansa and Beret and their children arrive in the Dakota territory...he totally optimistic and full of plans; she regretful of leaving Norway and her family and seeing nothing ahead but disaster and years of loneliness in a sod house in the wilderness.
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/award97/n...
This book lets...more
A few years ago I bought this old and tattered book at a library book sale. I finally got around to reading "Giants in the Earth" (copyright 1927). I liked it a lot! I was taken in by the life of the story much like the life of the people in it. It's got almost a depressed Kafka feel to it. The way the story plays through and drags on with these people's regular human existence and struggle. I could almost relate to it even though it is not natural to my own life and time. The basic theme is abo...more
Living alone on the prairie. How I think Elizabeth and Harvey Evans experienced the same land.
The books contemporary to Giants in the Earth would be My Antonia and the Great Gatsby, but Giants in the Earth shares a greater kinship to the Leatherstoocking Tales by James Fennimore Cooper. Giants in the Earth is a chronicle of pioneer life in 1873 in the Dakota Territory. The style is simple exposition that fits the simple life being extolled.
This novel is in contrast to the movie version of settling the West where Indians are a small thrteat to existence, but plague (grasshoppers), loneli...more
This novel is in contrast to the movie version of settling the West where Indians are a small thrteat to existence, but plague (grasshoppers), loneli...more
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Apr 27, 2012 02:01pm
May 17, 2013 11:34am