Three Rivers Regional Library System discussion

Born into a farm family in late nineteenth-century Finland, the three Koski siblings—Ilmari, Matti, and Aino—are brought up on the virtue of maintaining their sisu in the face of increasing hardship, especially after their nationalist father is arrested by imperial Russian authorities, never to be seen again. Lured by the prospects of the Homestead Act, Ilmari and Matti set sail for America, and the politicized young Aino, haunted by the specter of betrayal after her Marxist cell is disastrously exposed, follows soon after. Not far from the majestic Columbia River and in the shadow of Douglas firs a hundred meters high, the brothers have established themselves among a logging community in southern Washington, and it is here, in the New World, that each sibling comes into their own—Ilmari as the family’s spiritual rock; Matti as a fearless logger and the embodiment of the entrepreneurial spirit; and Aino as a fiercely independent woman and union activist who, time and again, sacrifices for the political beliefs that have sustained her through it all.

*This book is available in ebook form on RBdigital: https://threeriversga.rbdigital.com/

1. What are some of the conflicts that occur when the Koski siblings strive to rebuild lives and families in America, while at the same time, holding to the traditions of Finland?

2. In what ways do we see the themes of idealism, materialism, and God, personified in this one family?

3. One major aspect of this novel is immigration. Do any of the themes regarding immigration mirror current events, in your opinion? Why or why not?