
Nikolai's Fortune
Solveig Torvik(Author)
University of Washington Press
Published on 18. January 2006
Book
Hardback
332 pages
978-0-295-98563-3 (ISBN)
Article exhausted; check for reprint
Description
As a child, Solveig Torvik heard stories of a lost, mysterious great-grandfather who left Finland for America to make his fortune - leaving Torvik's great-grandmother and his unborn daughter behind. As a reporter, Torvik determined to discover the fate of the man who followed his dreams to Oregon. She uncovered not only the story of one man, but also the saga of an entire family. In Nikolai's Fortune, a tale of Scandinavian women, the journalist turns fact into fiction and shares the tales of her ancestors as she imagines they would have told them. Nikolai's Fortune is a heartbreaking, multigenerational epic, chronicling family secrets and sufferings against the backdrop of Scandinavian history and culture. Blending memoir and historical fiction, grandmother, mother, and daughter each share their own story: Kaisa, of her mother's love for Nikolai and her own 500-mile trek at the age of twelve from impoverished Finland across the snowy mountains of Lapland; Berit, of child slavery and an obsession with seeking out her grandfather's fortune for her mother; and Hannah, the voice of Torvik, of her childhood during the Nazi occupation of Norway and her family's emigration to Idaho.
Through detailed historical research into census, church, and weather records, as well as academic and museum sources, Torvik recaptures a dramatic story nearly lost to memory and inherits something worth more than a fortune in riches - a sense of her family history, ethnic background, and the generations of remarkable women who came before her. Norwegian-born Solveig Torvik was a reporter, editor, and columnist at the Seattle Post-Intelligencer for thirty years. She was also a reporter for United Press International in Salt Lake City and for the San Francisco Chronicle, and an editor at the San Jose Mercury News.
Through detailed historical research into census, church, and weather records, as well as academic and museum sources, Torvik recaptures a dramatic story nearly lost to memory and inherits something worth more than a fortune in riches - a sense of her family history, ethnic background, and the generations of remarkable women who came before her. Norwegian-born Solveig Torvik was a reporter, editor, and columnist at the Seattle Post-Intelligencer for thirty years. She was also a reporter for United Press International in Salt Lake City and for the San Francisco Chronicle, and an editor at the San Jose Mercury News.
Reviews / Votes
A brooding, often beautiful tale of life in the Far North and the immigrant experience. Kirkus Reviews The saga of countless families who survived starvation, ostracism and war to reach America. The Seattle Times Nikolai's Fortune is a remarkable intergenerational testament to 'sisu,' the Finnish quality of being able to bear the unbearable and persevere. It is a hard book to put down. The Olympian Solveig Torvik has produced a dramatic masterpiece of historical fiction that it hard to put down. Here, at last, is a Finnish Saami relocation and immigration story that exposes the roots of intergenerational trauma. It can easily take its place beside Louise Erdrich's The Master Butchers Singing Club and Alice Walker's The Temple of My Familiar as classics of the genre. Baiki: The International Sami JournalMore details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
Seattle
United States
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Illustrations
x bw photos, 1 maps,
Dimensions
Height: 229 mm
Width: 152 mm
Weight
608 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-295-98563-3 (9780295985633)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
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Solveig Torvik
Nikolai's Fortune
Book
11/2012
University of Washington Press
€26.00
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Additional editions

Solveig Torvik
Nikolai's Fortune
E-Book
11/2012
1st Edition
University of Washington Press
€24.49
Available for download
Person
Solveig Torvik was a reporter, editor, and columnist at the Seattle Post-Intelligencer for thirty years. She was also a reporter for United Press International in Salt Lake City and for the San Francisco Chronicle, and an editor at the San Jose Mercury News.
Content
PrologueBook I. The Road of the Four Winds (Kaisa)1. Meeting Nikolai2. Marie's Past3. Dreams of America4. America Widows5. Sisu6. The Road to Lapland7. The Alps of the North8. Learning Norwegian9. Courting10. Signaldal11. Anton12. Homeless13. The Birtavarre MinesBook II. Under Otertind (Berit)14. Loss15. Aalesund16. The Chosen People17. HannaBook III. Soup from a Nail (Hanna)18. Hamstring19. Making Peace with Peace20. America21. HomecomingNotes on MethodologyAcknowledgments