Growth of the Soil

i loved it at the beginning.. then toward the middle, the characters sagged.. no depth.. i just got bored.. i know it was awarded a pulitzer prize.. but to me it was jagged and didnt flow well.. and then that ending.. ugh.. left a lot on the table

I read this book and struggled, I had to give up in the middle. I love how the story flows, and how there’s a plot laced with subtle spirituality and appreciation for nature as well as some beautiful symbolism, the wonderful depth given to the characters’ human connections and lives a embracing their rural lifestyle. Unfortunately, this book did not age well, and there was just too much misogyny and subservient behavior coming from the women in this story. The characters themselves were lacking and felt like extensions of what the author felt an “ideal,” family should be, more than actual characters with various flaws. The main character, Isak’s main flaw is being a bit dim but this is constantly brushed off and is attributed to him being a simple hardworking man in the woods. His wife Inger is regarded as foolish, easily amused, and eager to please. When she goes into town for a couple of years and returns she is well-spoken and seems to have developed a modern, somewhat haughty disposition. Of course, this is no good but never fear, nothing that can’t be beat out of her by her husband :) Seriously I praise this book for its beautiful depictions of nature but that’s about it.