Emigrants: The Emigrant Novels Book 1 (The Emigrant Novels / Vilhelm Moberg, Book 1)

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Binding: Paperback Dewey Decimal Number: 839.7372 EAN: 9780873513197 ISBN: 0873513193 Label: Minnesota Historical Society Press Manufacturer: Minnesota Historical Society Press Number Of Items: 1 Number Of Pages: 400 Publication Date: 1995-09-01 Publisher: Minnesota Historical Society Press Studio: Minnesota Historical Society Press
Related Items Unto a Good Land (The Emigrants, Book II) Settlers: The Emigrant Novels Book 3 (The Emigrant Novels, Book 3) Last Letter Home: The Emigrant Novels Book 4 (The Emigrant Novels / Vilhelm Moberg, Book 4) A History of the Swedish People: Volume II: From Renaissance to Revolution A History of the Swedish People: Volume 1: From Prehistory to the Renaissance
Editorial Reviews: Book One introduces Karl Oskar and Kristina Nilsson, their 3 young children, and 11 others who make up a resolute party of Swedes fleeing the poverty, religious persecution, and social oppression of Smaland in 1850.
Spotlight customer reviews: Customer Rating: Summary: HISTORICAL FICTION ABOUT 19TH CENTURY SWEDISH EMIGRATION... Comment: This is an epic work by its Swedish author. Translated from Swedish into English, this beautifully written book of historical fiction was first published in the early nineteen fifties and met with rave reviews at the time. It is part of a four part opus, the first of which is "The Emigrants". It is followed by three additional books, "Unto a Good Land", "The Settlers", and "Last Letter From Home". In this, the first volume, the author lays the ground work for the emigration of a Swedish family, grounding it in the reasons for the exodus of so many Swedes from their mother country in the middle of the 19th century. The focus of the book is on the family, relatives, and friends of Karl Oscar Nilsson, a peasant farmer who unceasingly worked his farm, only to find that, no matter what he did, he could not progress and would continue to live on the cusp of total poverty. Gathering up his family and friends of the family, he decides to take the monumental step of making a fresh start by emigrating to the new world, specifically the United States of America. The book focuses on the set backs the Nilsson family encounters in Sweden, as it is their travails that act as the catalyst for such journey. The book grounds the reader in the Swedish social and religious mores of the time, and the impact that such would have on this particular group of people. The author enables the reader to understand why some would risk all to begin life anew in an unknown part of the world. This book is the story of the first leg of their journey, which takes the reader through the nature of their lives in Sweden, the decision to make such a journey, and their sea voyage to the new world. I enjoyed the first volume so much that I look forward to continuing that journey with them by reading the remaining three volumes. Customer Rating: Summary: Interesting, but plodding in the 2nd half Comment: Interesting story; good description of Swedish society in the era, but the story downright plods during the ship passage to America. Would have been better if Moberg had made that relatively boring passage shorter and moved on past the landing in this part of the series. He spends a lot of pages describing the hopes and fears of each of the emigrants in the group; too much, in my opinion. This 1st novel in the series did not inspire me to get the rest and continue reading the entire story. Customer Rating: Summary: A masterpiece... Comment: I was born in Sweden and grew up in France (Swedish mom, French dad). I now live in the US and finally decided to read this book. I am currently starting the 3rd one and can not get my hand of it. The Emigrants is an amazing piece of art, a book with so many themes, characters and information! The book is at times very grim, but also shows some strong optimism regarding condition improvement. I would recommend this book to everybody with a Swedish background, but also anybody whose ancestors immigrated to America during the 19th century, and more generally anybody interested in the subject and looking for a great read. You'll get so attached to the Nilsson family you won't be able to stop reading. Customer Rating: Summary: Apropos of Today Comment: This book describes the Swedish emmigration to the US in the mid 1800's when one quarter of the Swedish population left for the US. One quarter! This book will give you insight into the myriad of reasons and the myriad of personality types that made the arduous and life threatening journey. If you've ever thought of the Swedish as all being the same, don't. If you've ever thought that sweet little Sweden couldn't have social problems, don't. This book is appropriate to the current spirited discussion of illegal Mexican immigration into the US. It is a good way to understand a big event in Swedish history as well as something about the causes of human migrations. On top of that the book is sad -- a Grapes of Wrath sort of sad..... BTW, I gave this book 4 stars but in general I give fewer stars that the average reviewer.....I'm a harhser critic. Customer Rating: Summary: A great read Comment: I received this book as a gift from our Swedish exchange student's parents. It was wonderful! Finished it in a day and am now after the other three. While it may or may not totally accurately portray Sweden, it is historical FICTION and most of it tracks with what I know of European history in general. Of course I cannot read it in the original Swedish, but the translated version does flow well. Now I can't wait to find out what happens to Karl Oskar and his family! More Reviews