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The Awakening Land #1-3
The Awakening Land: The Trees, The Fields, & The Town
Sayward, a pioneer in Ohio's forest, helps clear and farm the land and watches the town develop
630 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1940
12 people are currently reading
982 people want to read
About the author
Conrad Richter
62 books147 followersConrad Michael Richter (October 13, 1890 – October 30, 1968) was an American novelist whose lyrical work is concerned largely with life on the American frontier in various periods. His novel The Town (1950), the last story of his trilogy The Awakening Land about the Ohio frontier, won the 1951 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction.[1] His novel The Waters of Kronos won the 1961 National Book Award for Fiction.[2] Two collections of short stories were published posthumously during the 20th century, and several of his novels have been reissued during the 21st century by academic presses. (wikipedia.org)
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 48 reviews
December 15, 2008
Conrad Richter wrote some of the most wonderful books about pioneer life in the mid-West. I read The Awakening Land (actually 3 seperate books) after I watched the mini-series back in the early 80's. His book, "A Light in the Forest" is one of my all-time favorite novels.
February 22, 2010
I loved, loved, loved this book! (Actually it's three books bound in one: The Trees, The Fields, The Town.) I liked reading them bound together so the story could continue on immediately.
Conrad Richter was an excellent writer! His descriptions put me "right there" in the frontier of the early 1800's. Richter evoked the essence of what it must have been like, how the people talked, lived, survived, suffered, and triumphed.
I was led to read The Awakening Land after reading one of Richter's short stories, "Early Marriage." I was enthralled with his style in that story and was not disappointed in his longer works. In fact, I now must read all of his books! I'm not surprised he received many awards for his writing! I've read many books by selected authors because they write really good, hard-to-put-down stories. But I believe this is the first author I choose to read just because he writes so beautifully.
Conrad Richter was an excellent writer! His descriptions put me "right there" in the frontier of the early 1800's. Richter evoked the essence of what it must have been like, how the people talked, lived, survived, suffered, and triumphed.
I was led to read The Awakening Land after reading one of Richter's short stories, "Early Marriage." I was enthralled with his style in that story and was not disappointed in his longer works. In fact, I now must read all of his books! I'm not surprised he received many awards for his writing! I've read many books by selected authors because they write really good, hard-to-put-down stories. But I believe this is the first author I choose to read just because he writes so beautifully.
September 18, 2011
A wonderful historical novel, telling the bittersweet story of a pioneer family in Ohio, roughly from 1800 to 1870. They come to Ohio when it is a howling wilderness (hard for me to imagine) with wolves, poisonous snakes, Indians, and an endless forest. To the north are the English Seas, to the east are the Old States.
The dialog and even the narrative are written using language from that era, with strange vocabulary and unexpected twists to the grammar. Trees, for example, are called “butts”. The people have names from the period. The main character is a woman named Sayward, with husband Portius.
The book is filled with memorable characters, both good and bad. At the end Sayward thinks that the first settlers in the rugged wilderness were all different, but when civilization comes everyone is the same.
Much of the book is almost poetic. When the author describes the forest it sounds as magical and forbidding as Tolkien would have it. The long war that Sayward wages against the forest is an epic. She wins, but as an old woman she misses the trees and plants new ones.
The dialog and even the narrative are written using language from that era, with strange vocabulary and unexpected twists to the grammar. Trees, for example, are called “butts”. The people have names from the period. The main character is a woman named Sayward, with husband Portius.
The book is filled with memorable characters, both good and bad. At the end Sayward thinks that the first settlers in the rugged wilderness were all different, but when civilization comes everyone is the same.
Much of the book is almost poetic. When the author describes the forest it sounds as magical and forbidding as Tolkien would have it. The long war that Sayward wages against the forest is an epic. She wins, but as an old woman she misses the trees and plants new ones.
Read
July 14, 2021When game began to get scarce in the woods of Pennsylvania, Worth Luckett and his family started walking west. Because hunting was what Worth did for a living. He fed the meat to his family, and he sold the skins for Indian meal and whatever else they needed to buy. Being a woodsy was the only life he knew, and the only life he could imagine living. Worth loved hunting so much that he could hardy stop shooting animals long enough to build a house for his family. They lived in a lean-to, open to the weather, and were all in danger of freezing to death when the snow started. Worth only finished the cabin because his wife Jary put her foot down.
Worth’s love of the woodsy life reminded me of Little House in the Big Woods, where Laura said that when Pa could hear the sound of another man’s ax ringing in the woods, he knew it was time to move on. A lot of things in The Trees reminded me of Little House in the Big Woods: the telling of stories, the making bullets, the children going out to round up the cows and bring them home, the fear of bears and panthers in the night, Pa setting off on foot when he went to town to trade. The Trees is like Little House in the Big Woods for grownups. It’s darker. (Of course now we know that Laura Ingalls Wilder’s real life was darker than the depiction of it in her books. There was hunger and struggle for her, as well.)
Worth Luckett walked into the Northwest Territory, into what would become Ohio, with small children, and a wife who was terminally ill. They walked because they had no horse or wagon, and anyway, there were no roads. The oldest of the children was Sayward, a girl of fifteen. She would become the main character in the future books. Life in the woods was rich with life. It was also terrifying. It was constantly dark, as the canopy blocked out the sun. It was possible, even easy, to get lost, and wander forever. The trees, unimaginably huge (“the big butts”), were a looming, brooding presence that could literally drive a person mad.
And there were Indians. Worth got along with them woodsman to woodsman. His wife Jary feared them as “savages” who took scalps, and resented them for coming in her house and eating the food she was saving for her children. What she has to say would probably not have been put in a book today (The Trees was published in 1940) but I’m sure it represents what many people thought at the time.
The Trees is fascinating for describing a way of life (and an environment, the old growth forest) that is vanished, and very different from ours. It is also fascinating in recording a language that is no longer spoken, a dialect of English with its own vocabulary and pronunciation and syntax. You can understand it, but nobody talks like that anymore. Author Conrad Richter thoroughly researched the language he put into the book, as I believe he thoroughly researched everything.
The Awakening Land is a trilogy of three books: The Trees, The Fields, and The Town. In The Fields, Sayward, married now, to lawyer Portius Wheeler, begins clearing the trees in order to plant crops. Those trees, as I said, unimaginably huge, were felled by chopping at them with hand axes, and then burned, as they were “useless.” The physical labor required was unending. A settlement begins to form among the stumps: first a store, then a church, then a school.
In The Town, business begins to spring up along the river, with a mill, and a boatyard, and streets with brick houses. Ohio becomes a state. Portius goes to the capital to plead successfully for their own county, and county seat. Then their settlement of Moonshine Church gets incorporated with the fancy new name Americus. (At times this description of the “taming” of the wilderness reminded me of Ken Follett’s Pillars of the Earth series, where a hamlet in the woods also turned into a thriving metropolis, with a ferry, then a market, then a bridge, although that was set on another continent and in other centuries.)
The Awakening Land is about history, but it has survived, when many other books of its era have been forgotten, because of the human stories it tells. It is about physical survival, but also about love, and death, and betrayal, and hopes, and shame. It’s about snakebite, and wolf bite, and missing children. And the character of Sayward Luckett Wheeler is one of the strongest female leads in all of literature. She is afraid of nothing. She is a fierce mother bear when it comes to her children, and sometimes very strict toward her children. Her son Chancey talks about seeing the hard set of her mouth when she had her mind made up and would not be moved.
The marriage of Sayward and Portius was an interesting one, with her being barefoot and illiterate (although hardly stupid), and him a Bay State lawyer who could quote poetry, and read Latin and Greek, although when she married him he was living as an unkempt, solitary hermit in the woods. Their marriage seemed to come out of nowhere. There was no courtship, just Sayward saying she would have him, if the men would fetch him to her house. They had hardly spoken, except that Sayward had seen in a dream that she would marry him. They must have seen something they liked in each other, but it’s hard to say what, since they didn’t talk about their feelings, and if the word “love” was ever used between them, I missed it. And yet they understood each other. There was that time when Sayward said that eight babies was enough for her, and she would no longer share Portius’s bed. That didn’t work out well, but they overcame it.
I wondered at times if this unlikely marriage was a convenient piece of symbolism, a way of personifying two ways of life: the “woodsy” and the “civilized.” In The Trees, Sayward seems the stronger character. Portius, out of his element, follows Sayward’s lead. She decided to clear the trees. He joins her in the field. In The Fields, their give and take is more balanced. She continues planting, harvesting, milking, sheep-shearing, spinning, and weaving, as well as cooking, and soap-making, and birthing of babies. Portius begins to return to lawyering, and politics, and schoolteaching. They are both exercising their various gifts, and they attach a second room to the cabin: one that stayed the same as in the old times, one that contained Portius’s law office and bedroom. In The Town, Portius blossoms and thrives, and it’s Sayward, the one-time firebrand, who becomes the follower. He basically tricks her into moving into town. He is once again among fine furniture and fine clothes, giving speeches, and being a pillar of the community. Sawyard seems to shrink, investing her energy in the lives of the children and grandchildren, remarking that maybe the old ways were better, but hey, life goes on, and you can’t stop the tide of change.
There are many side stories as well, and much of The Town becomes Chancey’s story. Chancey is Sayward and Portius’s youngest child. He was born sickly, and was coddled as a boy, as Sayward didn’t believe he would survive. He was a strange child, with strange notions, who lived in a daydream world. As he grew he would develop a special relationship with Rosa Tench, who, unbeknownst to both of them, was his half sister.
Sometimes historical fiction reads like people of today were transplanted back into the past, seeing things through modern sensibilities. This does not. This feels like the people of the past are telling us their own stories in their own way. It feels real. And I’m not the only one who felt that there was something gripping in these stories, for The Town (although probably not the best of the trilogy) won the Pulitzer Prize, and the series was made into a miniseries.
My last comment is to say that the character of Sayward reminded me of “Lucinda Matlock” from Spoon River Anthology. Since my review is already far too long, I might as well include the poem in full:
I went to the dances at Chandlerville,
And played snap-out at Winchester.
One time we changed partners,
Driving home in the moonlight of middle June,
And then I found Davis.
We were married and lived together for seventy years,
Enjoying, working, raising the twelve children,
Eight of whom we lost
Ere I had reached the age of sixty.
I spun, I wove, I kept the house, I nursed the sick,
I made the garden, and for holiday
Rambled over the fields where sang the larks,
And by Spoon River gathering many a shell,
And many a flower and medicinal weed—
Shouting to the wooded hills, singing to the green valleys.
At ninety-six I had lived enough, that is all,
And passed to a sweet repose.
What is this I hear of sorrow and weariness,
Anger, discontent and drooping hopes?
Degenerate sons and daughters,
Life is too strong for you—
It takes life to love Life.
Worth’s love of the woodsy life reminded me of Little House in the Big Woods, where Laura said that when Pa could hear the sound of another man’s ax ringing in the woods, he knew it was time to move on. A lot of things in The Trees reminded me of Little House in the Big Woods: the telling of stories, the making bullets, the children going out to round up the cows and bring them home, the fear of bears and panthers in the night, Pa setting off on foot when he went to town to trade. The Trees is like Little House in the Big Woods for grownups. It’s darker. (Of course now we know that Laura Ingalls Wilder’s real life was darker than the depiction of it in her books. There was hunger and struggle for her, as well.)
Worth Luckett walked into the Northwest Territory, into what would become Ohio, with small children, and a wife who was terminally ill. They walked because they had no horse or wagon, and anyway, there were no roads. The oldest of the children was Sayward, a girl of fifteen. She would become the main character in the future books. Life in the woods was rich with life. It was also terrifying. It was constantly dark, as the canopy blocked out the sun. It was possible, even easy, to get lost, and wander forever. The trees, unimaginably huge (“the big butts”), were a looming, brooding presence that could literally drive a person mad.
And there were Indians. Worth got along with them woodsman to woodsman. His wife Jary feared them as “savages” who took scalps, and resented them for coming in her house and eating the food she was saving for her children. What she has to say would probably not have been put in a book today (The Trees was published in 1940) but I’m sure it represents what many people thought at the time.
The Trees is fascinating for describing a way of life (and an environment, the old growth forest) that is vanished, and very different from ours. It is also fascinating in recording a language that is no longer spoken, a dialect of English with its own vocabulary and pronunciation and syntax. You can understand it, but nobody talks like that anymore. Author Conrad Richter thoroughly researched the language he put into the book, as I believe he thoroughly researched everything.
The Awakening Land is a trilogy of three books: The Trees, The Fields, and The Town. In The Fields, Sayward, married now, to lawyer Portius Wheeler, begins clearing the trees in order to plant crops. Those trees, as I said, unimaginably huge, were felled by chopping at them with hand axes, and then burned, as they were “useless.” The physical labor required was unending. A settlement begins to form among the stumps: first a store, then a church, then a school.
In The Town, business begins to spring up along the river, with a mill, and a boatyard, and streets with brick houses. Ohio becomes a state. Portius goes to the capital to plead successfully for their own county, and county seat. Then their settlement of Moonshine Church gets incorporated with the fancy new name Americus. (At times this description of the “taming” of the wilderness reminded me of Ken Follett’s Pillars of the Earth series, where a hamlet in the woods also turned into a thriving metropolis, with a ferry, then a market, then a bridge, although that was set on another continent and in other centuries.)
The Awakening Land is about history, but it has survived, when many other books of its era have been forgotten, because of the human stories it tells. It is about physical survival, but also about love, and death, and betrayal, and hopes, and shame. It’s about snakebite, and wolf bite, and missing children. And the character of Sayward Luckett Wheeler is one of the strongest female leads in all of literature. She is afraid of nothing. She is a fierce mother bear when it comes to her children, and sometimes very strict toward her children. Her son Chancey talks about seeing the hard set of her mouth when she had her mind made up and would not be moved.
The marriage of Sayward and Portius was an interesting one, with her being barefoot and illiterate (although hardly stupid), and him a Bay State lawyer who could quote poetry, and read Latin and Greek, although when she married him he was living as an unkempt, solitary hermit in the woods. Their marriage seemed to come out of nowhere. There was no courtship, just Sayward saying she would have him, if the men would fetch him to her house. They had hardly spoken, except that Sayward had seen in a dream that she would marry him. They must have seen something they liked in each other, but it’s hard to say what, since they didn’t talk about their feelings, and if the word “love” was ever used between them, I missed it. And yet they understood each other. There was that time when Sayward said that eight babies was enough for her, and she would no longer share Portius’s bed. That didn’t work out well, but they overcame it.
I wondered at times if this unlikely marriage was a convenient piece of symbolism, a way of personifying two ways of life: the “woodsy” and the “civilized.” In The Trees, Sayward seems the stronger character. Portius, out of his element, follows Sayward’s lead. She decided to clear the trees. He joins her in the field. In The Fields, their give and take is more balanced. She continues planting, harvesting, milking, sheep-shearing, spinning, and weaving, as well as cooking, and soap-making, and birthing of babies. Portius begins to return to lawyering, and politics, and schoolteaching. They are both exercising their various gifts, and they attach a second room to the cabin: one that stayed the same as in the old times, one that contained Portius’s law office and bedroom. In The Town, Portius blossoms and thrives, and it’s Sayward, the one-time firebrand, who becomes the follower. He basically tricks her into moving into town. He is once again among fine furniture and fine clothes, giving speeches, and being a pillar of the community. Sawyard seems to shrink, investing her energy in the lives of the children and grandchildren, remarking that maybe the old ways were better, but hey, life goes on, and you can’t stop the tide of change.
There are many side stories as well, and much of The Town becomes Chancey’s story. Chancey is Sayward and Portius’s youngest child. He was born sickly, and was coddled as a boy, as Sayward didn’t believe he would survive. He was a strange child, with strange notions, who lived in a daydream world. As he grew he would develop a special relationship with Rosa Tench, who, unbeknownst to both of them, was his half sister.
Sometimes historical fiction reads like people of today were transplanted back into the past, seeing things through modern sensibilities. This does not. This feels like the people of the past are telling us their own stories in their own way. It feels real. And I’m not the only one who felt that there was something gripping in these stories, for The Town (although probably not the best of the trilogy) won the Pulitzer Prize, and the series was made into a miniseries.
My last comment is to say that the character of Sayward reminded me of “Lucinda Matlock” from Spoon River Anthology. Since my review is already far too long, I might as well include the poem in full:
I went to the dances at Chandlerville,
And played snap-out at Winchester.
One time we changed partners,
Driving home in the moonlight of middle June,
And then I found Davis.
We were married and lived together for seventy years,
Enjoying, working, raising the twelve children,
Eight of whom we lost
Ere I had reached the age of sixty.
I spun, I wove, I kept the house, I nursed the sick,
I made the garden, and for holiday
Rambled over the fields where sang the larks,
And by Spoon River gathering many a shell,
And many a flower and medicinal weed—
Shouting to the wooded hills, singing to the green valleys.
At ninety-six I had lived enough, that is all,
And passed to a sweet repose.
What is this I hear of sorrow and weariness,
Anger, discontent and drooping hopes?
Degenerate sons and daughters,
Life is too strong for you—
It takes life to love Life.
August 2, 2015
I read this many years ago. It remains one of my favorite pieces of literature ever. I intend to go back and read it again as soon as time allows! Sayward and her journey through this young country are moving and timeless.
August 3, 2017
excellent
July 24, 2021
The story of a family struggling to survive in Ohio has been oversold and this version offered no additional insights to me and was a painful read. (I only read the first offering.)
December 16, 2016
Conrad Richter won the Pulitzer in 1951 for the Town. However before I read The Town I did some research and found that it was critical to read The Tree and The Fields first. I found a volume with all three at the library. I'm glad I read the first two - he wraps up a lot of loose ends in the Town that wouldn't make any sense otherwise. The books center around a family of pioneers in Ohio, with the oldest daughter, Sayward (or Saird as she's known) being the pivotal character. Richter does something fascinating with his prose. In The Trees Sayward her parents and 4 younger siblings are settling in a remote area of Ohio, clearing Trees and building a log cabin. The way they talk to each other makes it just a little difficult to read as he tried to be accurate in his portrayal of life in the early 19th century. But once you get used to the nomenclature (i.e. using the word "butts" for "trees" for instance)it's a great read. They endure hardships, lose people to the wilderness, to sickness or just running off but at the heart are a family and the theme of family stays strong throughout the books. In The Fields, the story continues with Sayward in her mid-to-late 20s - newly wed (an old maid at that time) and more trees have been removed to make way for fields and more houses. More people have moved in and they aren't as alone. Richter's prose reflects that and introduces more "educated characters" including Sayward husband, a lawyer from Rhode Island. In The Town (which is as long as the first two combined) they have incorporated, Sayward and married and has 10 kids of her own. Again Richter changes the style and as her kids are all educated formally; the "pioneer" language all but disappears. As sayward ages through the book the central character shifts some from Sayward to her youngest child. Sayward also starts to lament the loss the wilderness and the theme of family returns as she remembers her original family that came to settle, many traits of whom she sees in her own kids. She even plants trees as so many are cleared thus bringing the books full circle. Richter does a great job with his characters and a view into the world of the settlers. All in all a great series.
August 16, 2011
Sean years ago located this amazing and rare collection for me. I have an obsession with the passage of time, how fields become cities, and the people who made it happen. That's what the three books in this collection do, take you from forest to city, accompanying a very compelling no-nonsense heroine, from girl to old lady.
September 15, 2011
The three books take the main character from childhood to old age and the land where her family settled from wilderness to a thriving town. An American classic. The Town won the 1951 Pulitzer for fiction. I read these books as a child and the stories stayed with me. Enjoyed the second reading just as much.
December 21, 2011
By far, one of the best trilogies I've ever read. Richter's style is poetic and deep. The series centers on the primary character, Sayward, following her from youth to matriarchy and old age. At the same time, the frontier itself is a character, developing from wild forest to fields to town. Richter puts you right there in the thick of it. An amazing accomplishment.
October 22, 2010
You will enter the world of families beginning a new life in the Ohio wilderness. The saga is told through the voice of Sayward, the eldest daughter.
The edition contains all three of the trilogy - The Trees, The Fields, The Town. They can also be purchased separately.
The edition contains all three of the trilogy - The Trees, The Fields, The Town. They can also be purchased separately.
November 2, 2020
At the recommendation of David McCullough, a favorite writer of mine, I decided to read Conrad Richter's trilogy: The Trees, The Fields, and The Town. In my opinion, well worthy of the Pulitzer! Richter's story is immense and so layered that I feel I will be revisiting it in my thoughts for years to come. My local library keeps the three separate books rather than the bound volume, so it is really reading three relatively short books. Order is essential. The story of the Luckett family and their decades in the wilderness of Ohio before it was tamed is one you will never forget. It amazes me that a male author can seemingly understand so much about motherhood and a woman's deep connection to her children. Family dynamics abound. A nagging question I have in my mind after this read is how history has been influenced by the meeting of eastern/New Englanders with the earthy 'woodseys' of the frontier of the day. How each of us is influenced not only by our genetic make-up, but by the cultural influences of our ancestors...their lifestyles and beliefs all contribute to who we have become today. Our national melting pot has a long and varied past!
February 21, 2021
I've been looking at this on my bookshelf the past year or more, remembering how I liked the movie and so have been looking forward to re-reading it after decades. However, now being about 3/4 of the way through book 1, I'm bogged down on it and not sure I want to continue. I find the style that it's written in very hard to relate to and not easy to read. Many of the sentences, I think, are just confusing. I'm not a fan of reading something I have to work at too hard. It surely no longer seems as good as I remembered and expected it to be.
Certainly Richter writes well, but I just don't care for the style, which I realize was carefully researched so as to be accurate to the historical dialect of the 19th century pioneers of the Ohio Valley. Still, I just can't get used to it and don't know many of the terms he refers to.
UPDATE: I couldn't finish it. Simply gave up. About 40 pages to go and couldn't read another word. Despite the great reviews, I found this to be one of the most boring books I've ever read. The characters, to me, are just names in the story. I have no feel for them whatsoever since there is no character development. They're like cardboard cut-outs. The book is simply devoid of any feeling. It and the other two books go right in the flea market box.
Certainly Richter writes well, but I just don't care for the style, which I realize was carefully researched so as to be accurate to the historical dialect of the 19th century pioneers of the Ohio Valley. Still, I just can't get used to it and don't know many of the terms he refers to.
UPDATE: I couldn't finish it. Simply gave up. About 40 pages to go and couldn't read another word. Despite the great reviews, I found this to be one of the most boring books I've ever read. The characters, to me, are just names in the story. I have no feel for them whatsoever since there is no character development. They're like cardboard cut-outs. The book is simply devoid of any feeling. It and the other two books go right in the flea market box.
December 29, 2019
An absolute treasure! Every student of American History needs to read this. Every Political Science expert needs to read this.
This was written at a time where the history that it depicts was not centuries old - just a few generations. The simple, powerful message that is told shows the value of hard work, determination, and family in overcoming nature’s worst punishment and the rewards reaped by those who have the courage to endure.
No entitlement, no government programs, no monarchy, no insurance.
Taking a small area through the phase of trees - hundreds of square miles of old-growth forests - and carving out a farmstead that evolves into a town with businesses, schools and churches.
This is the original, uncensored, version. There are highly offensive portrayals of native Americans and of freed slaves. This can easily detract from the story and is most unfortunate. On the other hand, it accurately depicts the prevailing attitudes and biases of the author and his society.
The writing skill of the author is beyond reproach. One of the few historical novels that I dreaded finishing. I was sad to say ‘good bye’ to my dear friend.
Highly recommended
This was written at a time where the history that it depicts was not centuries old - just a few generations. The simple, powerful message that is told shows the value of hard work, determination, and family in overcoming nature’s worst punishment and the rewards reaped by those who have the courage to endure.
No entitlement, no government programs, no monarchy, no insurance.
Taking a small area through the phase of trees - hundreds of square miles of old-growth forests - and carving out a farmstead that evolves into a town with businesses, schools and churches.
This is the original, uncensored, version. There are highly offensive portrayals of native Americans and of freed slaves. This can easily detract from the story and is most unfortunate. On the other hand, it accurately depicts the prevailing attitudes and biases of the author and his society.
The writing skill of the author is beyond reproach. One of the few historical novels that I dreaded finishing. I was sad to say ‘good bye’ to my dear friend.
Highly recommended
August 13, 2023
I grew up in Ohio, so I was surprised to learn of the Pulitzer Prize winning trilogy The Awakening Land, by Conrad Richter. Why hadn’t we read the stories in The Trees, The Fields, and the Town about the early settlements is the land that is now Ohio. The Lockett family saga begins shortly after the Revolutionary War when the land north of the Ohio river was largely vacant and untamed. Everything the family needed, they made, grew or killed. No neighbors or general stores. The central character is Sayward Lockett, a strong woman who grows from a teenager in The Trees, to a mother in The Fields, and a grandmother and matriarch in The Town. These are stories of a growing nation as told through one fictional family’s experiences. I thoroughly enjoyed reading all three books and only wish we had read them back in my student days in Ohio.
February 7, 2025
Sayward is a compelling and unforgettable character. She is a woman of great courage and determination, facing hardship and loss with unwavering resolve. Her journey is one of self-discovery, as she navigates the complexities of love, family, and community in a rapidly changing world.
"The Awakening Land" is more than just a historical novel; it is a story about the human experience. It explores themes of love, loss, resilience, and the enduring power of the human spirit. Richter's characters are complex and relatable, their struggles and triumphs resonating with readers long after the final page is turned.
This novel is a must-read for anyone interested in American history, historical fiction, or simply a beautifully written and engaging story. It is a timeless tale that will stay with you long after you finish reading it.
"The Awakening Land" is more than just a historical novel; it is a story about the human experience. It explores themes of love, loss, resilience, and the enduring power of the human spirit. Richter's characters are complex and relatable, their struggles and triumphs resonating with readers long after the final page is turned.
This novel is a must-read for anyone interested in American history, historical fiction, or simply a beautifully written and engaging story. It is a timeless tale that will stay with you long after you finish reading it.
April 4, 2019
I bought the trilogy after watching the miniseries starring Elizabeth Montgomery and Hal Holbrook several times growing up and I just fell in love with this book series. Sayward is my all-time favorite heroine and I loved reading about her and the life she led. The books go into a lot more detail then the movie did and of course she has a brother in the books where in the movie they left him out completely. I will always love the movie but the books are so much better!
January 19, 2024
If pioneer books about (in my opinion) sad pioneer life told through the life of one formidable pioneer woman are your thing this is the best. The writing is quite good but I just couldn’t get over the poverty and sadness that seemed to drape over the whole story.
January 3, 2018
My favorite book of all time! This was a reread.
April 2, 2018
I really loved this. While I read it many years ago, several parts of the book still stick with me.
June 20, 2019
The best book on the settling of pioneers I have ever read. Setting is what is now the state of Ohio. It is actually a series of 3 books. I have read it 3 times.
September 4, 2020
Great use of dialect, fascinating narrative, a link to times gone by.
July 15, 2021
Awesome classic... I highly recommend series and author. Have reread several times.
May 8, 2022
This classic pioneering trilogy was totally engaging for me.
January 22, 2024
So so good. A grownup Little House on the Prairie. Full of wit and wisdom and so much reality.
February 6, 2024
Written very well. I'm glad this was a combination of his works. His philosophy of life gave me much to think about both in pioneer times and today.
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May 26, 2024I read this book when I was really young. It is beautifully written and the imagery has stayed with me all my life.
September 25, 2024
The trees: 3 stars
The fields: 3 stars
The Town: 3.5 stars
The fields: 3 stars
The Town: 3.5 stars
February 26, 2017
A very long, detailed novel, but so good.
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