Their Fathers' God

by O.E. Rølvaag and Ole Edvart; Ager Trygve M. (Translator) Rolvaag

Book Overview

Susie Doheny, an Irish Catholic, and Peder Holm, a Norwegian Lutheran, fall in love and marry in South Dakota in the 1890s. Soon their marriage is tested by drought, depression, and family bickering. Susie believes they are being tested by their fathers' God.

Peder blames Susie for the timidity of her beliefs; Susie fears Peder's pride and skepticism. When political antagonism grows between the Norwegian and Irish immigrant communities, it threatens to split their marriage.

Against a backdrop of hard times, crisscrossed by Populists, antimonopolists, and schemers, R lvaag brings the struggle of immigrants into the twentieth century. In Giants in the Earth the Holm family strained to wrest a homestead from the land. In Peder Victorious the American-born children searched for a new national identity, often defying the traditions their parents fought to uphold. In Their Fathers' God, R lvaag's most soul-searching novel, the first-generation americans enter a world of ruthless competition in the midst of scarcity.

The University of Nebraska Press also publishes Peder Victorious and Paul Reigstad's R lvaag: His Life and Art.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0803289111
• ISBN13: 9780803289116
• Release Date: January 1983
• Publisher: Bison Books
• Length: 338 Pages
• Weight: 0.85 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.3" x 8.1"

Customer Reviews

Non Unum Sint

They survive the common enemies of wind and weather, blizzard and drought; only to find that they "have met the enemy and he is us." In the end, Catholic and Lutheran, Bryan and McKinley men, will sooner fall back on their prejudices than work to solve the common problems. Thus will it be for decades out on the plains and prairies. We're left to guess whether Peder Victorious will acheive either happiness or success, he's been quite wisely told he will not have both. The dream of Per Hansa really dies with the death of Beret, who never seemed to know how strong she was. Let these books be her memorial.

Their Father's God

This series should be a must read. I only wish there were more books in the series. Easy characters to get to know and you only want to know more. Start with Giants in the Earth, Peter Victourious, then Their Father's God. Awesome reading!