Swede Hollow

Ola Larsmo is a critic and columnist for Sweden’s largest newspaper, Dagens Nyheter, and the author of nine novels and several collections of short stories and essays. He received the BjØrnson Prize from the Norwegian Academy of Literature and Freedom of Expression and, after the publication of Swede Hollow, two prestigious Swedish awards: the Lagercrantz Critics’ Prize from Dagens Nyheter and Natur & Kultur’s cultural prize. He was president of PEN Sweden from 2009 to 2017 and editor of Bonniers Literary Magazine from 1984 to 1990.  Tiina Nunnally is the award-winning translator of Sigrid Undset’s novels Kristin Lavransdatter, Jenny, and Marta Oulie. Her many translations from the Scandinavian languages include Vidar SundstØl’s Minnesota Trilogy (Minnesota, 2013–15) and The Complete and Original Norwegian Folktales of AsbjØrnsen and Moe (Minnesota, 2019).

"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 the 1890s and struggles to create new lives for themselves in a hidden quarter of the city. Ola Larsmo writes with sympathy and grace, and his tale is a quiet epic, full of wonder and dreams and loss. Not to be missed."-Larry Millett, author of Metropolitan Dreams"Ola Larsmo presents a sober and realistic portrayal of the suffering and hardships that awaited Swedish immigrants after they arrived in America. Swede Hollow is a moving, at times harrowing, always convincing novel on a truly epic scale."-Steve Sem-Sandberg, author of The Emperor of Lies"Ola Larsmo has animated a singular place and moment in the story of Minnesota’s settlement by Europeans. Larsmo is a faithful storyteller, rooted in historical incident, hearing the voices and breathing life into people who risked everything to forge new beginnings and raise up families by sweat, fist, and the ragged, life-giving fabric of clan."-Peter C. Brown, author of The Fugitive Wife"Swede Hollow captures the travails of a group of Swedish immigrants who find refuge in this poor neighborhood in St. Paul. Ola Larsmo gives the reader a remarkable sense of the struggle and dislocation that is ever present in these people. A rich and worthwhile read addressing the basic question of immigration-how does one make a life in a new country?"-Mary Logue, author of the Claire Watkins mysteries"Ola Larsmo’s Swede Hollow follows in the rich and remarkable tradition of Scandinavian luminaries like Rolvaag and Moberg. Here’s a novel that makes the epic intimate and the intimate profound and enduring. You’ll no sooner forget these characters than you will your own kinfolk, and if you’re like me, you will love them much the same."-Peter Geye, author of Wintering"Those looking for a conventional plot won't find it here: Larsmo writes believable scenes grounded in sensory experience, with relatively complicated characters, in some sort of chronological order, but also seems content to branch out into what are essentially self-contained short stories about characters peripheral to the main intertwined family saga. A worthy addition to the shelf of books about the immigrant experience."-Kirkus Reviews"Larsmo's (Deceit, 2012) sobering, realistic portrayal of Swedish immigration to America pulls readers into a richly detailed world peopled with unforgettable characters. Extensively researched and beautifully translated, Larsmo's novel is the epic story of a family and a community struggling to survive and an intimate look at the complexities of immigration."-Booklist"As the family scrambles to make ends meet, they face poor living conditions, disease, and discrimination. But they find love and friendship as well in the tight-knit, hardscrabble community. Larsmo’s well-researched, dynamic story illuminates the Swedish immigrant experience and will transport readers into a little-known historical community."-Publishers Weekly"Ola Larsmo’s epic novel Swede Hollow is a stirring complement to [Vilhelm Moberg’s The Emigrants] and a timely reminder of the trials and uncertainties often faced by immigrants - and the courage they show in overcoming them."-Star Tribune"Larsmo writes vividly about his characters’ lives in the Hollow, which had no running water or electricity and rudimentary plumbing. . . . What saves the novel from gloom is the sense of community shared by people who spoke many different languages." -Twin Cities Pioneer Press"Swede Hollow is one of the most important works of fiction to come out of Scandinavia in the last few years largely for how it casts important new light on a history that is all too easily forgotten."-Swedish American"Larsmo’s work is very solid in quality and depth. For those who have Scandinavian heritage and live in or have family ties to Minnesota, it is certainly worth a read into seeing what Swedes in the Minnesota of 1900 lived through and in some cases, in, as part of their initial years here in America."-1776 Books"Filled with references to local and world events, and extensively researched through local media of the time, Larsmo’s historic novel deserves every award it received since it was first published in Swedish in 2016."-Nordstjernan"Centering on the Klar family’s American journey, Swede Hollow paints vignettes of emigrant life in St. Paul’s Swede Hollow in a sweep of time to illustrate the inhabitants’ determination to survive, if not thrive in their new land."-Lavender Magazine