This is our monthly book club episode, where we discuss "Giants in the Earth" by O.E. Rölvaag. This novel was originally written in Norwegian, and translated to English in the 1920s.

This is a story of Norwegian immigrants, crossing the prairie, and finding a new life in a new country. This is not the "Hallmark version" of the immigrants. Reading this book, you can see the midwest culture develop before your eyes, in a historical context.

This book also talks about the immigrants struggle without a church, a minister, and how they wrestle through their theology as laypeople. Should they just baptize their children, or marry a couple without a pastor to do it? What happens to their baptism or "christening" if they change their name to an American name?

The story focuses on a husband and wife: Per Hansa and Berit. Per Hansa is an eternal optimist. He believes all he sees is his kingdom, and opportunity is around every corner. He goes around the law, forces his own desired destiny, and does what he wants. 

Berit is homesick for the old country, terrified of the frontier, and worries for their souls with everything changing as the liturgy changes. 

They establish a new community of other Norwegian immigrants, and they all build sod houses, living surrounded by the ground. They are the giants in the earth.

This is a masterful piece of literature, with the earth or nature taking on a character of its own, as the immigrents struggle to survive, and hold their relationships together.

Giants in the Earth

Support the work of 1517