9781517904517-151790451X-Swede Hollow: A Novel

Swede Hollow: A Novel

ISBN-13: 9781517904517
ISBN-10: 151790451X
Edition: 1
Author: Ola Larsmo
Publication date: 2019
Publisher: Univ Of Minnesota Press
Format: Hardcover 312 pages
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Book details

ISBN-13: 9781517904517
ISBN-10: 151790451X
Edition: 1
Author: Ola Larsmo
Publication date: 2019
Publisher: Univ Of Minnesota Press
Format: Hardcover 312 pages

Summary

Swede Hollow: A Novel (ISBN-13: 9781517904517 and ISBN-10: 151790451X), written by authors Ola Larsmo, was published by Univ Of Minnesota Press in 2019. With an overall rating of 3.7 stars, it's a notable title among other books. You can easily purchase or rent Swede Hollow: A Novel (Hardcover) from BooksRun, along with many other new and used books and textbooks. And, if you're looking to sell your copy, our current buyback offer is $0.55.

Description

A riveting family saga immersed in the gritty, dark side of Swedish immigrant life in America in the early twentieth century


When Gustaf and Anna Klar and their three children leave Sweden for New York in 1897, they take with them a terrible secret and a longing for a new life. But their dream of starting over is nearly crushed at the outset: a fire devastates Ellis Island just as they arrive, and then the relentlessly harsh conditions and lack of work in the city make it impossible for Gustaf to support his family. An unexpected gift allows the Klars to make one more desperate move, this time to the Midwest and a place called Swede Hollow.

Their new home is a cluster of rough-hewn shacks in a deep, wooded ravine on the edge of St. Paul, Minnesota. The Irish, Italian, and Swedish immigrants who live here are a hardscrabble lot usually absent from the familiar stories of Swedish American history. The men hire on as poorly paid day laborers for the Great Northern or Northern Pacific railroads or work at the nearby brewery, and the women clean houses, work at laundries, or sew clothing in stifling factories. Outsiders malign Swede Hollow as unsanitary and rife with disease, but the Klar family and their neighbors persevere in this neglected corner of the city—and consider it home.

Extensively researched and beautifully written, Ola Larsmo’s award-winning novel vividly portrays a family and a community determined to survive. There are hardships, indignities, accidents, and harrowing encounters, but also acts of loyalty and kindness and moments of joy. This haunting story of a real place echoes the larger challenges of immigration in the twentieth century and today.

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