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Land of Strangers
Book by Budd, Lillian
Paperback
Published January 1, 1980
8 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
February 9, 2015
I was very interested in the daily life of an immigrant to America who settled in a city, as the majority of books I have read in this time frame have been about those Pioneers who came to farm. How disappointing to think you are coming to a place where the streets are paved in gold when in reality you live in worse poverty than you left behind in the 'old country'. It is amazing to me that so many people came and didn't know the first thing about the place, couldn't speak the language, didn't understand the money, etc, etc. I am split between applauding their courage and admonishing them for their ignorance.
I wanted to like this book more than I did. I just couldn't get past my dislike for the main character Karl/Carl. Carl is someone that in real life I would try to avoid. He is whiny, self-absorbed and indecisive. He makes life-altering decisions based on emotion and misinterpretation. I find this extremely frustrating - it is like watching a train wreck. While Carl does everything he can and gives up everything he has (his only overcoat, his entire pay packet, eventually his life) to help strangers, he does not show even a fraction of this compassion for his own family, and while his wife found it in her heart to forgive him for this, I could not.
I wanted to like this book more than I did. I just couldn't get past my dislike for the main character Karl/Carl. Carl is someone that in real life I would try to avoid. He is whiny, self-absorbed and indecisive. He makes life-altering decisions based on emotion and misinterpretation. I find this extremely frustrating - it is like watching a train wreck. While Carl does everything he can and gives up everything he has (his only overcoat, his entire pay packet, eventually his life) to help strangers, he does not show even a fraction of this compassion for his own family, and while his wife found it in her heart to forgive him for this, I could not.
May 4, 2012
I loved this book, about a Swedish immigrant family in New York and Chicago in the 1890's. This is the 2nd book in the April Snow trilogy. I can't believe these books are totally out of print. This book was the saddest of the three, but it really shows how hard the life of an immigrant could be.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews