The Emigrants

Rating:
Summary: A poor translation of this sentimental drivle.
Review: A poor translation of this sentimental drivel.

As a Swede (a real one - who still lives in the Kingdom and can trace his roots back almost a thousand years) I have read the original Swedish version of these overtly-sentimental stories and find the English translations to be dismal.

Difficult to read, jarringly poor grammar and simple, dull construction that makes the books a tiresome ordeal to have to get through.

Moreover, I fear that people who read these books (especially so-called "Swedish" Americans) may rely on much of what is stated therein to be sheer fact. I urge you to read more about the history of our great Kingdom and not base your beliefs on what one author wrote about Småland - a pastoral region that is still the butt of many a joke in our country today.

I would then suggest that readers also study a few facts about our modern society - one that has achieved the highest standard of living in the world, and which boasts arguably the most modern, just and comprehensive social structure the world has ever seen.

Whilst attitudes are a changing, I might also point out that Swedes, in general, are not particularly romantic when they refer to the poor, the sick, the tired, and the huddled masses who yearned to break free of their ignorance, bad debts and inter-breeding.

Rating:
Summary: The most moving, authentic and interesting book ever
Review: I read all four books in Swedish language and just couldn't put them down, although I am Austrian...my only connection to Sweden is that I lived there for one year. After having read this book I could understand much better the American society and how it developed, but also got a deeper insight into Swedish history. I am dying to see the musical "Kristina fran Duvemala"!!!

Rating:
Summary: A powerful story
Review: Karl Oskar Nilsson grew up in Smaland, Sweden, determined to set his own course. Selecting his own wife, Kristina, he works his parents' farm, only to find that he simply can't get ahead (or even stay where he's at) in Sweden. Determined to emigrate to the United States, Karl Oskar soon finds himself leading a band of likeminded folk, all leaving for different reasons and with different expectations. This is the story of their experiences in Sweden, and during their dangerous crossing aboard an overcrowded schooner.

This book is the first in a quadrilogy that is now rightly considered a classic in Swedish literature. Vilhelm Moberg did considerable research into the subject, and this book certainly shows it. Also, I must say that I found his characters to be wholly lifelike and believable. If I heard that this was written from the diaries of the actual people, I would certainly believe it.

This is a wonderful book that drew me into the experience of my Swedish forebears, both informing and entertaining me. It is one of the most powerfully written books that I have ever read. If I could give it more than five stars, I would!

[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 emigrates to Minnesota in 1854.]

Rating:
Summary: Fantastic books
Review: the emigrants by wilhelm moberg is a very important piece of work in swedish litterature, every student is likely to read to whole book or parts of it during their high school swedish literature in Sweden. I, myself enjoyed reading it, even though it is a very thick, long book written with an old language, it is definitly worth the time.

Rating:
Summary: The emigrants/Utvandrarna
Review: This is a really good book.
I read it in Swedish.
There are altogether four books.
In this book you will follow a couple of people in their everyday life in Sweden.
There aren't too many names or persons to remember, which is good. You will meet Karl Oskar and his wife Kristina which have a little farm, but in spite of their hard work it doesn't pay. Danjel Andreasson defiance against the church gets him in to trouble. Arvid wants to escape his rumour. Jonas Petter has had enough of his marriage. These are some of the persons you will meet and their reasons for leaving Sweden, with the dream of a better life.
Moberg writes in a realistic way.
This is an important part of the Swedish history written in an interesting way. This book is for everybody, but I especially feel that Swedes and those with Swedish roots should read it.

Rating:
Summary: HISTORICAL FICTION ABOUT 19TH CENTURY SWEDISH EMIGRATION...
Review: This is an epic work by its Swedish author. Translated from Swedish into English, this beautifully written book of historical fiction was first published in the early nineteen fifties and met with rave reviews at the time. It is part of a four part opus, the first of which is "The Emigrants". It is followed by three additional books, "Unto a Good Land", "The Settlers", and "Last Letter From Home".

In this, the first volume, the author lays the ground work for the emigration of a Swedish family, grounding it in the reasons for the exodus of so many Swedes from their mother country in the middle of the 19th century. The focus of the book is on the family, relatives, and friends of Karl Oscar Nilsson, a peasant farmer who unceasingly worked his farm, only to find that, no matter what he did, he could not progress and would continue to live on the cusp of total poverty. Gathering up his family and friends of the family, he decides to take the monumental step of making a fresh start by emigrating to the new world, specifically the United States of America.

The book focuses on the set backs the Nilsson family encounters in Sweden, as it is their travails that act as the catalyst for such journey. The book grounds the reader in the Swedish social and religious mores of the time, and the impact that such would have on this particular group of people. The author enables the reader to understand why some would risk all to begin life anew in an unknown part of the world.

This book is the story of the first leg of their journey, which takes the reader through the nature of their lives in Sweden, the decision to make such a journey, and their sea voyage to the new world. I enjoyed the first volume so much that I look forward to continuing that journey with them by reading the remaining three volumes.

Rating:
Summary: HISTORICAL FICTION ABOUT 19TH CENTURY SWEDISH EMIGRATION...
Review: This is an epic work by its Swedish author. Translated from Swedish into English, this beautifully written book of historical fiction was first published in the early nineteen fifties and met with rave reviews at the time. It is part of a four part opus, the first of which is "The Emigrants". It is followed by three additional books, "Unto a Good Land", "The Settlers", and "Last Letter From Home".

In this, the first volume, the author lays the ground work for the emigration of a Swedish family, grounding it in the reasons for the exodus of so many Swedes from their mother country in the middle of the 19th century. The focus of the book is on the family, relatives, and friends of Karl Oscar Nilsson, a peasant farmer who unceasingly worked his farm, only to find that, no matter what he did, he could not progress and would continue to live on the cusp of total poverty. Gathering up his family and friends of the family, he decides to take the monumental step of making a fresh start by emigrating to the new world, specifically the United States of America.

The book focuses on the set backs the Nilsson family encounters in Sweden, as it is their travails that act as the catalyst for such journey. The book grounds the reader in the Swedish social and religious mores of the time, and the impact that such would have on this particular group of people. The author enables the reader to understand why some would risk all to begin life anew in an unknown part of the world.

This book is the story of the first leg of their journey, which takes the reader through the nature of their lives in Sweden, the decision to make such a journey, and their sea voyage to the new world. I enjoyed the first volume so much that I look forward to continuing that journey with them by reading the remaining three volumes.

Rating:
Summary: A moving story that drew me closer to my roots!
Review: Years ago I had seen the movie that was made based on the book "The Emmigrants." While I found the movie interesting then, I believe that reading the book now as a more mature adult really opened my eyes to what the very early immigrants struggled against as they came to America. My own grandparents came later, in 1909, and that trip would have seemed like a picnic compared to Karl Oscar and Kristina's voyage. Still though many things had not changed all that much. My grandfather, also named Carl, complained all the time of how they had been made to study the cathecism all the time. He longed for a broader education so that he really could have made something of himself. He always said that in Sweden when he was growing up, the church had a say in everything. Just like Karl Oscar. I found some of the same superstitions that were written about still lived on in the mind of my great aunt.

I felt that this was an extremely well researched, warmly written book. The characters came alive on the pages and I became so involved in their voyage that I felt that I too walked the decks of the Charlotta.

This book is not only for those os Swedish descent, but for anyone whose family came across in those early days of settling in America.