The Emigrants III and IV The Settlers and Last Letter Home

by Vilhelm Moberg

Book Overview

A STORY OF EPIC PROPORTIONS BY A MASTER STORYTELLER' ; This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0140288155
• ISBN13: 9780140288155
• Release Date: January 1999
• Publisher: Penguin Books
• Length: 608 Pages
• Weight: 0.60 lbs.
• Dimensions: 7.1" x 1.5" x 4.3"

Customer Reviews

Two of the best books ever written

Vilhelm Moberg (1898-1973) was one of Sweden's leading men of letters, and is chiefly remembered today for his peerless emigrant tetralogy. These four books tell the story of Karl Oskar Nilsson, a Swedish farmer, who decides to emigrate to the United States to find a better future for his children. But, emigration is hard, and building a new life in a strange land is harder still. These books spoke to all Swedes who saw family members leave and never return, and they speak to Americans whose ancestors made similar voyages. Overall, I found these books to be very moving. The characters are so human, that I found myself suffering with them, and sharing their joy. I wish that I could do justice to these books, but fear that I am not eloquent enough to convey just how wonderful they are. If I could recommend any books above all others that I have reviewed, it would be the Emigrants books. Please consider reading this volume and The Emigrants I and II! Here are what the two books contained in this volume are about: The Settlers - This book follows the experiences of Karl Oskar Nilsson, and his wife Kristina, from 1853 to 1860. In 1853 Karl Oskar is surprised to find something new in the woods around his homestead - a neighbor. The mass migration of Swedes has begun, and soon there is a community, with a schoolhouse and a church. Karl Oskar's younger brother Robert returns from the California gold rush, seemingly broken in health and spirit, and reluctant to say what happened to him. It is a bittersweet time of change, a time of gaining and a time of losing. The Last Letter Home - This final book follows the experiences of Karl Oskar Nilsson, and his wife Kristina, from 1860 to 1890. The American Civil War has come, and Karl Oscar agonizes over whether or not to join in the defense of his new country. However, things become a good deal worse when the Dakota Indians become tired of the treatment they are receiving at the hands of the United States, and begin a war against the white inhabitants of Minnesota. Life goes on after these upheavals, but not without costs. This bittersweet book follows the emigrants through to the very end, as the new generation grows up and becomes Americans. [For those of you with young children, I would like to recommend the Kirsten books in the American Girls series. Written for young readers (primarily girls), it tells the story of a Swedish family that immigrates to Minnesota in 1854.]

THE SWEDISH STATE OF MINNESOTA...

This is an epic work by its Swedish author, who is considered to be one of Sweden's greatest writers. Translated from Swedish into English, this beautifully written work of historical fiction contains the last two books in a four part fictional opus on the nineteenth century Swedish emigrant experience, "The Settlers", which was first published in 1956, and "Last Letter Home", which was first published in 1961. The first two books in this critically acclaimed quartet are "The Emigrants" and "Unto a Good Land". In these wonderful books, the Swedish emigrant experience is viewed through the lives of the fictional Nilsson family and their friends. One should read these books in the order in which they were written for maximum reading pleasure, even though each book can stand on its own. In "The Settlers", the third part of the author's opus, he continues the saga of the Nilsson family and their friends. It is the story of a group of Swedes who emigrated to the United States and then struggled to prevail in Minnesota, an alien land of harsh, inhospitable winters and scorching summers. The book continues to chronicle their lives and their adaptation to the adopted country that they would forever call home. It tells the story of the divided Nilsson brothers, each of whom would forge a path alien to the other. The author hones in on the fact that the early settlers were subject to being taken advantage of by the unscrupulous. He highlights the mass migration of disaffected Swedes to Minnesota and details their contribution to the prosperity of that part of the country. The author shows how these early Swedish settlers consolidated themselves into a thriving, bustling community, despite the obstacles and hardships that were to be their lot in the early years of their struggle to make the new land yield to their will. The fourth and last part, "Last Letter Home", is a bittersweet continuation of the story of the Nilsson family, as well as that of their friends. With the fabric of their lives now firmly woven into the tapestry of their adopted country and with the birth of a new generation, they have earned the right to call themselves Americans. With their destiny now firmly intertwined with that of their adopted country, they face new challenges in this new country. Having conquered the wilderness and having achieved a measure of stability and comfort, they believe that the worst is over, only to find themselves thrust into a Civil War. Moreover, the blood of their friends and family would be shed, as a Sioux uprising, an angry outgrowth of broken treaties and governmental promises, wreaks havoc in Minnesota and its surrounding environs, a region mostly inhabited by Swedish settlers. Still, the Nilssons prevail and leave their mark, not only on the pages of these books but in the heart of the reader. I have enjoyed all four volumes of this well-written and vibrant epic work. The author, a master storyteller, has woven a captivating