Larsmo swede hollow

Review by Deborah K. Frontiera

When we first meet the Klar family, Anna and Gustaf and their children Ellen, Elisabet, and Carl, we think that this may be the “head for America and grow rich” immigrant story. Far from it. In the same way that few high school athletes make it to pro sport’s big bucks, few immigrants made the big bucks either. Most of them struggled their whole lives so that they might leave their children slightly better off. Swede Hollow is a novel about “ordinary” people scrapping by in abject poverty and often running from their past.

The story begins in as the Klars flee Sweden with steerage-class tickets aboard The Mejesickt bound for New York. Among other such passengers, they meet other Swedish families and struggle to get along with the Irish and other groups aboard. Language barriers are a theme throughout the book. Some of these families will continue to cross paths with the Klars.

Vivid descriptions from more than one point of view reveal the personalities of each family member. Here’s is an example from the oldest daughter Ellen’s viewpoint:

“She knew they were on their way to America

&#;Swede Hollow&#; är en ravin mitt i St Paul, Minnesota. Idag är den öde. Men vid sekelskiftet &#; bodde mer än tusen svenskar i en slum som stadens myndigheter beskrevs som ett pesthål. Barnadödligheten var hög, döden i arbetsolyckor likaså. Här samlades några av den miljon svenska migranter som aldrig lyckats ta sig in i det nya samhället &#; illa sedda av såväl amerikaner som mer väl lottade svenska migranter. Vi känner dem till namnen, inte mer.

Människorna i ravinen är några av de svenskar vi sorterat bort ur vår gemensamma historia. Vi har valt att inte se dem, för deras erfarenheter gör något med vår självbild. Men då världen åter präglas av migration och folkvandring stiger de fram på nytt och vill bli sedda.

I Swede Hollow samlas vintern en brokig skara av människor, som endast har det gemensamt att de fallit ur ett Sverige i stark förändring. Familjen Björn från Örebro flyr från en katastrof. David Lundgren jagar en förlorad och hopplös kärlek. Den föräldralösa Inga från Dalsland söker större frihet och kontroll över sitt eget liv. De möter en verklighet präglad av hårda arbetsvillkor, sjukdom och plötsliga utbrott av naket våld &#; men de kom att tillsammans

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 nordlig or nordlig 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 fortsätta 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.

&#;Deeply researched and full of memorable moments, Swede Hollow is the powerful story of a family who makes the long journey to St. Paul from Sweden in t