University of Nebraska Press -- tpbLincoln and London -- ©1931, 1955, 1983 -- 338pp
ISBN: 0-8032-8911-1
translated by Trygve M. Ager
A Nowegian Lutheran man marries an Irish Catholic girl in 1890's South Dakota. Their marriage is tested by drought, depression, and family.
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This is a remarkable book.
Certainly this appeals to me on many levels. As a person of Scandinavian descent, I'm enjoying reading books which appeal to my heritage. As a Scandinavian Lutheran who has married an Irish Catholic, I was able to view the relationship, particularly the religious discussions, with understanding and empathy. Certainly the times are different now, and more such 'mixed' marriages have taken place, but it was not particularly common among the immigrants of the 19th century.
What struck me most was the incredible passion that Susie and Peder had for each other. They did, indeed love one another deeply, but it was their respective faiths that kept interfering in their lives.
I got indignant when the priest interfered and created one of the larger rifts in the marriage. I was angry with Peder's stubbornness and his audacity to teach all things religion. Their problem was obvious to the casual, modern reader ... their lack of talking. Rather than discuss religion, they avoided the subject or Peder took a know-it-all tone. The instances when they were able to talk about religion congenially, and when Peder told Susie that she should take the carriage in to go to her church, showed glimpses of promise between them.
Though Susie seemed to slide into a depression that become a mental illness, at the heart of their problems was religion. The change in farming, the political ring, the illness and death in family ... it was all solveable. The religion brought back deeper, long-term harm that would not be overcome.
A fascinating read. Highly recommended. Reminds me of Cather's O Pioneers (for the immigrant problems) and Flaubert's Madame Bovary (for the lack of communication in a marriage) with dogma.
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