I've enjoyed some of Berg's other books so I was hopeful this one would be good. I found it in Bismarck's used bookstore and the price was right, so I took a chance. It seemed like a good Christmas read for December.
It was well-written, and seems consistent with some of what I know of the Savior's birth, but was not inspiring or particularly uplifting. The author tried to help us feel what Mary and Joseph may have felt and their struggle is somewhat predictable. It's a good thing it's a short book; it was disappointing. If I hadn't already studied the context of our Savior's birth and life, I might have learned some things...And I didn't particularly like the way she portrayed Joseph or Mary...
Friday, December 21, 2018
Giants in the Earth - A Saga of the Prairie by O.E. Rolvaag
I heard my friends Lyn and Karen talking about this book one day as we were getting ready to work in the temple. They both were amazed at the way these people persevered in their pioneer life on the prairie. After Karen finished it, she passed it on to me.
It's not a pleasant read, but it's a compelling one. The absolute starkness of life as this family settled on the prairie is unsettling. They worked so hard and had so few pleasures. The characters struggle with mental health and the author describes it in ways that I could easily relate to. I was drawn in to the struggle and wanted to know how they would handle the weather, the setbacks, the loneliness, the hard work, the relationships with the other families nearby--all of it. Although this is fiction, it feels very realistic. It gave me more respect and empathy for what was accomplished out here in North and South Dakota by those early pioneers.
Most accounts that I have read are from early Mormon pioneers. This book is about a family that came from Norway and didn't come for religious freedom; they wanted a new and prosperous life with their own land. Yet the mother in the book has religious struggles that eventually drive her and her family crazy.
It's not a pleasant read, but it's a compelling one. The absolute starkness of life as this family settled on the prairie is unsettling. They worked so hard and had so few pleasures. The characters struggle with mental health and the author describes it in ways that I could easily relate to. I was drawn in to the struggle and wanted to know how they would handle the weather, the setbacks, the loneliness, the hard work, the relationships with the other families nearby--all of it. Although this is fiction, it feels very realistic. It gave me more respect and empathy for what was accomplished out here in North and South Dakota by those early pioneers.
Most accounts that I have read are from early Mormon pioneers. This book is about a family that came from Norway and didn't come for religious freedom; they wanted a new and prosperous life with their own land. Yet the mother in the book has religious struggles that eventually drive her and her family crazy.
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