Evening star., 1933-02-14
NEW BOOKS
AT RANDOM
M. G..

Earth" etc. Translated from the
Norwegian "Laengselens Baat" by
Nora o. Solum. New York: Harper
g. Brothers.
When In November, 1881, Ole Edward
Rolvaag was claimed by death the
United States lost one Of its most highly
esteemed and valuable citizens. the
readers Of this country lost . beloved
poet and novelist, and the people of his
native land lost one who must to them
have been O spiritual as well as an in
tellectual ideal, q native son for whom
they cherished an intense pride, an in
spiration to other native sons within
whose breasts burned the desire to emf
CRATE to America in quest Of life and
fortune. When Rolvaag left Norway in
1896 and came, an immigrant lad, to
this county, he was but twenty years old.
A fisherboy in his home land, with the
promise of becoming captain Of q fsh-
ing boat, he turned his back upon that
opportunity and embarked, arriving in
New York without knowledge Of single
word Of English and his sole possessions
an American dime, . Norwegian penny
and q railroad ticket to Minnesota.
Endowed with q thirst for knowledge
and being unafraid Of hard work, he
studied and labored, with a definite
purpose In mind. and that purpose he
achieved.
Two years after his arrival in this
country he became an American citizen,
and from then until his death it was
his mission to educate the immigrant
and make Of him useful citizen. He
held to the conviction that the immi-
grant group must preserve everything
possible Of the traditions and culture
Of his own land in order to appreciate
and hest serve the land Of his adoption
Many disagreed with him on that score,
but he stood his ground firmly. and in
his teaching career proved his belief
He was as intensely interested in the
development of American culture as in
preserving the culture Of his own people,
and at the time of his death, as pro-
fessor of Norwegian literature at St
Olaf College, Minnesota, his work had
been recognized as that of an outstand-
ing educator.
"The Boat Of Longing" coming into
publication in this country more than a
year after his death, makes an extraor-
dinary appeal to the emotions. Though
it appears to have been written as far
back as 1921. its content Is in the ma
ture Of a benediction. It is, Of course,
a novel, and yet 1t is so much more
than novel that 1t comes near to being
an Interpretation, or an enhghtening
philosophy, going deep into the pure
heart of the kindly fisherfolk of Norway,
whose lives are bounded by the turbu-
lent sea and the rocky coast. 1t is not
confined to picturing the lives of the
natives in their, own little spheres of
action, but reaches out into the Midwest
Of this country, to Minnesota, and re-
veals also the depths Of the spiritual
and emotional longings of the immi-
grant in isolation, far away from the
surroundings which were familiar and
beautiful in their simplicity and gen.
uineness.
The Boat OF Longing Is a story of
the flsherfolk, but more particularly
that Of Nils Vaag, only son of 40 by
the Sea" and Mother Anna. STEPPED
in the lore Of his home land, knowing
thoroughly the superstitions and the
traditional legends which are bred In
those who live by and on the sea, Mr.
Rolvaag loved his people, and those of
his own creation were as real to him a
though they lived. In . foreword to
his novel. written in 1921, he says:
1T Is not types which are drawn
here. 1t Is merely humankind. :
Through long association with the per-
sons in these pictures have learned to
know and love them. It Is, therefore,
with feeling OF regret that I now part
with them and send them out into the
world. Take them In and be good to
them. They need it."
There Is legend, or Q superstition
or q truth. for who can tell?-along
the coast Of Norway which has its
origin in the mysterious appearance and
dtsappearance Of ''the boat" When
some one reports having seen "the boat
q warning Of something sinister creeps
into the souls Of men and women, for
invariably when "the boat" has made
its appearance separation has followed
in its wake. This novel had its incep-
ton in "the boat" and, phantom or
real, the story which has been built
around it is one which holds the imagi-
nation and rocks the emotions as it
reveals the unshakable faith, the daunt-
less courage and the unflinching con-
stancy which is the heritage Of those
dwellerS m the Land Of the Midnight
Sun.
If the wreckage found wedged be-
tween the rocks had not yielded up a
half-drowned girl. perhaps Nils Vaag
would never have known her and would
have been content to remain a fisher
boy until he succeeded his father as
captain Of a fishing boat. If Nils had
not loved her. and II his parents had
not determined that she should be sent
away so that he might never see her
again, perhaps Nils himself would not
have seen "the boat" But they did
send Zalma away, and not only Nils,
but old 10 by the Sea" and Mother
Anna also saw 1t. And new Nils came
into being. The boy had vanished, and
In his place Nils the man came forth,
and he was not q happy man. Nils
shipped for a short turn ut the sea,
went home again, but the restlessness
grew worse. 50 he came to America, to
sweep and scrub floors In saloons In
Minneapolis. Later he induced his
companion, . worthless chap to whose
father Nils had given a promise to look
after him. to join him in labor at the
lumber camps, where they toiled might
ily for wages which they believed to be
big. And from that, when Per Syv dis
appeared entirely, Nils turned to bridge
repairing.
Meanwhile. this stanch son Of Nor
way had made few friends in the new
land, and his violin was almost his
sole companion. He roomed with a
poet, erratic and undoubtedly in a state
Of mental unbalance, who loved him
and hated him by turns, but for whom
Nils held feeling always Of compass
sion. SO Nils and his violin progressed.
even though few persons ever heard the
compositions which were born of his
own loneliness. 1t was his ambition
to become great musician, but an in
nate shyness and temerity held him
aioof from those who might have helped
him had he known where to find them
And what Of 40 by the Sea" and
Mother Anna. back on the rock-bound
coast at home? They "carry on" con-
f1dent Of the success Of their son. read
ing into his letters many great things
which were not there, believing he was
fast becoming q millionaire and would
soon return to them. But the letters
become more irregular, and then they
cease
This is not story Of triumph and
happiness IT, is a story OF the spiritual
isolation Of the immigrant in a strange
land, an unfolding Of the wells of illu-
sion, leaving the soul bare In its long
ing for beauty, and life, and love n