The Cotter's Son: A Story from Sigdal

by H.A. Foss, Joel G. Winkjer (Translator)

This book is considered the most popular Norwegian-American novel, and the publication of this edition makes it available in English for only the second time. First written in 1884 in America by Norwegian immigrant H.A. Foss, this book has enjoyed great popularity among Norwegians, as evidenced by the 16 editions that have been published in Norwegian. It tells the story of Ole Haugen, the son of the poor cotter (farm workers who lived in the small cottages on large European farms) and the love that develops between him and Marie Hovland, the daughter of the owner of the large farm. Class differences are evident in her father's discouragement of their relationship, and Ole emigrates to America to make some money and become financially stable to look better in the eyes of Marie's father. Many adventures await Ole during this three years living in Wisconsin and Chicago. But after some successful business ventures, Ole returns to Norway to once again seek the hand of his beloved Marie.

344 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 1998

Reviews

[Nick Haeg · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute book that I enjoyed reading, but it was not really throwing any surprises at the reader. Good characters are always good and end up happy, and bad characters are always bad and get what's coming to them. Alcohol is bad. Working hard is good.

Norway is cool. Chicago and the midwest is cool. Farming is cool.