Title: Peter Olaf: The New World At Last
Author: Richard Grabmeier
Publisher: AuthorsPress
ISBN: TBA
Pages: 360
Genre: Historical Fiction
Reviewed by: David Allen
Pacific Book Review
This historical novel is an epic work, grand in scope, detailing the trials and tribulations of Peter Olaf Hokanson. Young Peter Olaf decides to seek his fame and fortune in America, leaving Sweden and Julia, his first love, to find a new life in the New World.
What happens from there is monumental, heroic, fraught with adventure and adversity. Peter has a rough and tumble initiation in the logging camps of Minnesota, where he learns the trade (he is a quick study), almost freezes to death and narrowly escapes being eaten by timber wolves. He finally graduates to a desk job. Peter’s path is sprinkled with great friends and deep betrayals. Readers get a ring-side-seat on the life of lumberjacks grappling with the forces of nature in the interest of earning a dollar.
It gets even more interesting. The personalities that Peter encounters are rough-hewn, Swedish expats like him; or they are crafty business types; or they are sprung from the soil of a burgeoning America in the throes of expansion and growth. He meets Sarah, a beautiful Chippewa who inducts him in the ways of the earth, moon, sun, and stars…and romance. His boss discourages him from pursuing that love interest – the last thing Peter Olaf needs is excess baggage as he begins his career. Peter, ever the heroic swain, next encounters Lucy and Kathy, sisters who vie for his affection. In this tale of meandering but sometimes forward poised lives, Peter Olaf settles down (although there are intensely memorable meetups with these early loves before the story is through.) Rabbit holes, detours and cul-de-sacs include a lengthy stay in prison in Louisiana following a possible crime of the heart.
Peter becomes an executive at a lumber company; a successful suitor; is reunited with his Swedish family; and is blessed with adoring children. Each stop along the way makes for a captivating hearthside tale. The plot is tight; the characters are ably and consistently depicted. This story moves.
Readers will absolutely enjoy this window into the soul of immigrant workers and sylvan early 1900s heartland America. The pacing is non-stop, the grief and joy are abundant (and real), and the feel is authentic. Shades of Jack London and Giants in the Earth embellish and ground this terrific read. Ultimately, Peter Olaf’s story is that of a hero, a stranger (for a time) in a strange land who returns to his roots and then finds his home.
