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Deep River
Three Finnish siblings head for the logging fields of nineteenth-century America in the New York Times–bestselling author’s “commanding historical epic” (Washington Post).Born into a farm family, the three Koski siblings—Ilmari, Matti, and Aino—are raised to maintain their grit and resiliency in the face of hardship. This lesson in sisu takes on special meaning when their 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, while young Aino, feeling betrayed and adrift after her Marxist cell is exposed, follows soon after.The brothers establish themselves among a logging community in southern Washington, not far from the Columbia River. In this New World, they each find themselves—Ilmari as the family’s spiritual rock; Matti as a fearless logger and entrepreneur; and Aino as a fiercely independent woman and union activist who is willing to make any sacrifice for the cause that sustains her.Layered with fascinating historical detail, this novel bears witness to the stump-ridden fields that the loggers—and the first waves of modernity—leave behind. At its heart, Deep River explores the place of the individual, and of the immigrant, in an America still in the process of defining its own identity.
820 pages, Kindle Edition
First published July 2, 2019
About the author
Karl Marlantes
5 books695 followersA graduate of Yale University and a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford University, Karl Marlantes served as a Marine in Vietnam, where he was awarded the Navy Cross, the Bronze Star, two Navy Commendation medals for valor, two Purple Hearts, and ten air medals. He is the author of Matterhorn, which won the William E. Colby Award given by the Pritzker Military Library, the Center For Fiction's Flaherty-Dunnan First Novel Prize, the 2011 Indies’ Choice Award for Adult Debut Book of the Year and the Marine Corps Heritage Foundation’s James Webb Award for Distinguished Fiction. He lives in rural Washington.
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Shelved as 'dnf'
July 15, 2019DNF at 34%
The trials and tribulations of the Koski siblings as they flee from Russian-occupied Finland to logging country in Washington state in the early 20th century.
To be fair, I am not the target demographic for this book, and it was made abundantly clear to me the more I read it.
This is the kind of book that boomer-aged white guys love—that thick, historical fiction tome that is both interesting and something you can show off.
Think James Michener or Ken Follett (although I actually kinda like Follett's historical fiction), where men are men and women are...well, they are empowered and strong and totally have agency because men can write women too.
My first clue should have been the blurb, where Aino was touted as one of the book's many "strong, independent women." Remember that Twitter hashtag where people parodied stereotypical male writers writing women?
This author never read that hashtag and totally thought he could.
These women don't quite breast boobily, but they come close.
Never have I ever been as preoccupied with my boobs and my ribs as Aino is.
Not only is this poor writing, but it's really condescending. "Strong in a girl way?" Wtf.
Plus, there's a lovely "she was curvy in all the right places" description, and I'm not quite sure if he was describing a woman, a bed post or a sine wave because what does "curvy in all the right places" even mean??
Somehow, I don't think this is it
Anywho, I really did enjoy the descriptions of logging—this aspect was precisely why I picked this book up—and that it takes place in southwest Washington, close to the Oregon border. While the descriptions of the Columbia River tended to wax a little too poetic, I had serious nostalgia for home. I also was fascinated by the history of the early labor movement and the various politics of Finland, Russia and the United States.
But ultimately my enjoyment of the general plot and the setting wasn't enough to pull me into the storyline. Poorly written female characters (there are probably male authors and male readers who will probably contest me—a woman—stating this) sucked my enjoyment from the storyline, along with two out-of-the-blue n-words (seriously white authors, I don't care how "historically accurate" you wish to be, this is not our word to use).
Honestly, I'm pissed that I didn't enjoy this more and even more pissed that I spent 3 days slogging through it when I have other books to read.
Reasons to read: if you're a white cis male boomer who enjoys long, family-oriented historical tomes that could probably stand to be heavily edited.
Reasons to avoid: if you're literally anyone else.
I received this ARC from NetGalley for an honest review.
Hey, I have a blog! The Suspected Bibliophile
The trials and tribulations of the Koski siblings as they flee from Russian-occupied Finland to logging country in Washington state in the early 20th century.
To be fair, I am not the target demographic for this book, and it was made abundantly clear to me the more I read it.
This is the kind of book that boomer-aged white guys love—that thick, historical fiction tome that is both interesting and something you can show off.
Think James Michener or Ken Follett (although I actually kinda like Follett's historical fiction), where men are men and women are...well, they are empowered and strong and totally have agency because men can write women too.
My first clue should have been the blurb, where Aino was touted as one of the book's many "strong, independent women." Remember that Twitter hashtag where people parodied stereotypical male writers writing women?
This author never read that hashtag and totally thought he could.
These women don't quite breast boobily, but they come close.
Straightening her shoulders, pushing her breasts out, and with the confidence of a queen, she reentered the dance.
Never have I ever been as preoccupied with my boobs and my ribs as Aino is.
She was taller than Aino, but younger, not yet fully developed. She was not beautiful but not ugly, pleasant looking. There was no fat on her, nor was there any on the other girls, but she wasn’t thin. She looked strong, in a girl way.
Not only is this poor writing, but it's really condescending. "Strong in a girl way?" Wtf.
Plus, there's a lovely "she was curvy in all the right places" description, and I'm not quite sure if he was describing a woman, a bed post or a sine wave because what does "curvy in all the right places" even mean??
Somehow, I don't think this is it
Anywho, I really did enjoy the descriptions of logging—this aspect was precisely why I picked this book up—and that it takes place in southwest Washington, close to the Oregon border. While the descriptions of the Columbia River tended to wax a little too poetic, I had serious nostalgia for home. I also was fascinated by the history of the early labor movement and the various politics of Finland, Russia and the United States.
But ultimately my enjoyment of the general plot and the setting wasn't enough to pull me into the storyline. Poorly written female characters (there are probably male authors and male readers who will probably contest me—a woman—stating this) sucked my enjoyment from the storyline, along with two out-of-the-blue n-words (seriously white authors, I don't care how "historically accurate" you wish to be, this is not our word to use).
Honestly, I'm pissed that I didn't enjoy this more and even more pissed that I spent 3 days slogging through it when I have other books to read.
Reasons to read: if you're a white cis male boomer who enjoys long, family-oriented historical tomes that could probably stand to be heavily edited.
Reasons to avoid: if you're literally anyone else.
I received this ARC from NetGalley for an honest review.
Hey, I have a blog! The Suspected Bibliophile
February 22, 2020
Karl Marlantes's DEEP RIVER is similar to the Koski family at the heart of the story: big, sprawling, and unruly.
But, also like the Koski family, DEEP RIVER is spirited, deeply compassionate, and tough as nails.
It's obvious how much affection Marlantes feels for his subjects. They're based on his own family, after all. His novel is their story: a multi-generational saga of his family's lives from Finland in the late 19th century to their new American home in the Pacific Northwest in the first half of the 20th century. We see the shifting fortunes of the Koskis through revolution and war, economic crisis and prosperity, tragedy and triumph. These are no-nonsense immigrants: lumberjacks, midwives, commercial fishermen, bootleggers, labor organizers, soldiers.
I've read a few interviews with the author, and also seen him in person, and he speaks very movingly about his ancestors and why he felt compelled to tell their story. My own family history isn't so dissimilar. I come from Swedes by way of Seattle and Port Angeles, Washington (rather than Marlantes's Finns in the region of Astoria, Oregon). My ancestors were longshoremen and mill workers, and they were in America for many years before one finally attended college. Also like the author, my family continues to make the Pacific Northwest our home.
So I love what he's trying to do here. Unfortunately, for all the good intentions, I think his execution left something to be desired. This is a big historical saga, massive in scope. Maybe too big. We see the Koskis (and those in their orbit) as they encounter every historical event and social movement in America over fifty years. I can almost see Marlantes sitting at his computer doing his background research, reading old newspapers, filing all this material away. I have no problem with deep research, of course, but it somehow feels as if, having obtained all this information, Marlantes felt compelled to find a way to stuff it all into his book. There is a lot of detail, about a lot of things. A lot. Much of the detail is fascinating. But the historical rigging and the wealth of detail often threaten to overwhelm what matters most: the very people he has such affection for. It can be a very impersonal book for a story that is so undeniably personal.
On top of that, his language doesn't help matters. Purple prose abounds. And, to put it politely, dialogue is not his strongest suit. There's also far too much repetition that should have been edited out. The story can be surprisingly clumsy and wooden in the telling.
But, for all its flaws and excesses, it's a rewarding reading experience. Marlantes has a great sense of place. His language is often at its best when he's describing the natural world (and its destruction). The river, ocean, mountains, and trees come alive. He captures the passing of the seasons and the ebb and flow of tides. There's a deep spiritual connection to the landscape that's very pleasing. He knows what it means to live in this corner of the world, and he's captured that on the page. And the sheer vitality of his characters wins the day. You just can't help rooting for these people.
I was in Astoria for a long weekend shortly after reading DEEP RIVER, and it was a true delight to wander the hills, downtown, and old waterfront with his book in mind. The timber mills and fish canneries have been replaced by craft breweries and boutique hotels in the 21st century, but it's amazing how much the look and feel of Astoria today captures the time when the fictional Koskis roamed the streets and lived their lives in that tough place. I also went north into Washington, up to Willapa Bay and inland (very close to the fictional Deep River where much of the book takes place). Everywhere I went all weekend, I felt this book in my bones. And I think that says a whole lot about Marlantes's novel.
His people are my people, and I thank him for telling their story.
But, also like the Koski family, DEEP RIVER is spirited, deeply compassionate, and tough as nails.
It's obvious how much affection Marlantes feels for his subjects. They're based on his own family, after all. His novel is their story: a multi-generational saga of his family's lives from Finland in the late 19th century to their new American home in the Pacific Northwest in the first half of the 20th century. We see the shifting fortunes of the Koskis through revolution and war, economic crisis and prosperity, tragedy and triumph. These are no-nonsense immigrants: lumberjacks, midwives, commercial fishermen, bootleggers, labor organizers, soldiers.
I've read a few interviews with the author, and also seen him in person, and he speaks very movingly about his ancestors and why he felt compelled to tell their story. My own family history isn't so dissimilar. I come from Swedes by way of Seattle and Port Angeles, Washington (rather than Marlantes's Finns in the region of Astoria, Oregon). My ancestors were longshoremen and mill workers, and they were in America for many years before one finally attended college. Also like the author, my family continues to make the Pacific Northwest our home.
So I love what he's trying to do here. Unfortunately, for all the good intentions, I think his execution left something to be desired. This is a big historical saga, massive in scope. Maybe too big. We see the Koskis (and those in their orbit) as they encounter every historical event and social movement in America over fifty years. I can almost see Marlantes sitting at his computer doing his background research, reading old newspapers, filing all this material away. I have no problem with deep research, of course, but it somehow feels as if, having obtained all this information, Marlantes felt compelled to find a way to stuff it all into his book. There is a lot of detail, about a lot of things. A lot. Much of the detail is fascinating. But the historical rigging and the wealth of detail often threaten to overwhelm what matters most: the very people he has such affection for. It can be a very impersonal book for a story that is so undeniably personal.
On top of that, his language doesn't help matters. Purple prose abounds. And, to put it politely, dialogue is not his strongest suit. There's also far too much repetition that should have been edited out. The story can be surprisingly clumsy and wooden in the telling.
But, for all its flaws and excesses, it's a rewarding reading experience. Marlantes has a great sense of place. His language is often at its best when he's describing the natural world (and its destruction). The river, ocean, mountains, and trees come alive. He captures the passing of the seasons and the ebb and flow of tides. There's a deep spiritual connection to the landscape that's very pleasing. He knows what it means to live in this corner of the world, and he's captured that on the page. And the sheer vitality of his characters wins the day. You just can't help rooting for these people.
I was in Astoria for a long weekend shortly after reading DEEP RIVER, and it was a true delight to wander the hills, downtown, and old waterfront with his book in mind. The timber mills and fish canneries have been replaced by craft breweries and boutique hotels in the 21st century, but it's amazing how much the look and feel of Astoria today captures the time when the fictional Koskis roamed the streets and lived their lives in that tough place. I also went north into Washington, up to Willapa Bay and inland (very close to the fictional Deep River where much of the book takes place). Everywhere I went all weekend, I felt this book in my bones. And I think that says a whole lot about Marlantes's novel.
His people are my people, and I thank him for telling their story.
September 25, 2020
Deep River by Karl Marlantes is a long epic family saga. You must be in the mood for this when you pick it up.
The story follows three Finnish siblings, Ilmari, Aino and Matti Koski, all three born in the last two decades of the 19th century. Of the two brothers, Ilmari is the eldest, Matti the youngest. Aino, she is the middle child. The story starts in Finland in 1893. It moves forward chronologically. The Finnish Nationalist Revolution is burgeoning. In 1809 Finland had fallen from Swedish control to Russian. We meet the siblings’ parents. We observe their early years in Finland. The death by cholera of the other children in the family has left a permanent stain on their memories. One’s heritage and one’s childhood irrevocably shape who one becomes. First Ilmari, then Matti and finally Aino flee their homeland. They meet up again in the Pacific Northwest of America, in the forests of the Cascade Mountains, at the border between Washington State and Oregon, on the shores of the Colombia River and its tributaries. They grow roots in a community of Finnish and Scandinavian immigrants.
The book follows the lives of the siblings, their offspring and their friends during the first half of the 20th century in America. Immigrant traditions and culture transported from the old world to the new are depicted alongside the development of logging and fishing enterprises, the growth of unions, establishment of co-ops, conflicts between labor and business, strikes and the technological advances transforming American life at the time. History is the backdrop; members and friends of the family are the actors on the stage.
The book is chockfull of historical and technical details. How timber is selected, sorted, cut, collected, transported and milled is spoken of exhaustively. The implements used and the dangers involved are made real through the characters. The beauty of individual trees and the forests, the vegetation and the land, the stars and the sky, all the elements of nature are vividly drawn. There is not an element of the story that is not meticulously described—food eaten, clothes worn, changing hairstyles, the river itself, construction of boats, the coming of locomotives, cars, telephones, electricity…..
The characters are the actors on the stage. What enthralls each? What does life throw at each? Attachments and friendships evolve. Who will they marry? Will they marry? The central figure is Aino. It is she that ties all the others together. The central focus is on the first decades of the century, but we follow her through to 1969.The characters are realistically drawn. There are those who are wild and daring, others dedicated to a cause, some who are patient and forgiving, others who are not. With the passage of time, they remain true to their identity. Some of them mellow. Who they are is reflected in what they say. I like the dialogue, particularly the exchanges between Aino and her younger brother’s, Matti’s, wife.
The story holds together. Each element is there for a purpose. There is a blend of the sweet and the sad, excitement and adventure. It is a bit schmaltzy and cute at times, but then the tone changes. It is a story about a time and a place, the Pacific Northwest at the start of the 20th century. Historical details add color and interest. Plot events keep the story rolling, more than its characters. The individuals are representative of the many men and women who actually settled the area.
Bronson Pinchot narrates the audiobook extremely well. His narration I have awarded five stars. He alters pacing to fit the lines. Volume and accents he plays with too. The varied intonations he uses for the different characters are all well done, both for the men and the women. Really, he gives a tremendous performance without overdramatizing.
*********************
Books about the growth of unions in the US:
*Deep River 4 stars by Karl Marlantes
*Storming Heaven 4 stars by Denise Giardina
*The Women of the Copper Country 4 stars by Mary Doria Russell
*Triangle: The Fire That Changed America by David von Drehle 3 stars
*The Last Ballad by Wiley Cash
The story follows three Finnish siblings, Ilmari, Aino and Matti Koski, all three born in the last two decades of the 19th century. Of the two brothers, Ilmari is the eldest, Matti the youngest. Aino, she is the middle child. The story starts in Finland in 1893. It moves forward chronologically. The Finnish Nationalist Revolution is burgeoning. In 1809 Finland had fallen from Swedish control to Russian. We meet the siblings’ parents. We observe their early years in Finland. The death by cholera of the other children in the family has left a permanent stain on their memories. One’s heritage and one’s childhood irrevocably shape who one becomes. First Ilmari, then Matti and finally Aino flee their homeland. They meet up again in the Pacific Northwest of America, in the forests of the Cascade Mountains, at the border between Washington State and Oregon, on the shores of the Colombia River and its tributaries. They grow roots in a community of Finnish and Scandinavian immigrants.
The book follows the lives of the siblings, their offspring and their friends during the first half of the 20th century in America. Immigrant traditions and culture transported from the old world to the new are depicted alongside the development of logging and fishing enterprises, the growth of unions, establishment of co-ops, conflicts between labor and business, strikes and the technological advances transforming American life at the time. History is the backdrop; members and friends of the family are the actors on the stage.
The book is chockfull of historical and technical details. How timber is selected, sorted, cut, collected, transported and milled is spoken of exhaustively. The implements used and the dangers involved are made real through the characters. The beauty of individual trees and the forests, the vegetation and the land, the stars and the sky, all the elements of nature are vividly drawn. There is not an element of the story that is not meticulously described—food eaten, clothes worn, changing hairstyles, the river itself, construction of boats, the coming of locomotives, cars, telephones, electricity…..
The characters are the actors on the stage. What enthralls each? What does life throw at each? Attachments and friendships evolve. Who will they marry? Will they marry? The central figure is Aino. It is she that ties all the others together. The central focus is on the first decades of the century, but we follow her through to 1969.The characters are realistically drawn. There are those who are wild and daring, others dedicated to a cause, some who are patient and forgiving, others who are not. With the passage of time, they remain true to their identity. Some of them mellow. Who they are is reflected in what they say. I like the dialogue, particularly the exchanges between Aino and her younger brother’s, Matti’s, wife.
The story holds together. Each element is there for a purpose. There is a blend of the sweet and the sad, excitement and adventure. It is a bit schmaltzy and cute at times, but then the tone changes. It is a story about a time and a place, the Pacific Northwest at the start of the 20th century. Historical details add color and interest. Plot events keep the story rolling, more than its characters. The individuals are representative of the many men and women who actually settled the area.
Bronson Pinchot narrates the audiobook extremely well. His narration I have awarded five stars. He alters pacing to fit the lines. Volume and accents he plays with too. The varied intonations he uses for the different characters are all well done, both for the men and the women. Really, he gives a tremendous performance without overdramatizing.
*********************
Books about the growth of unions in the US:
*Deep River 4 stars by Karl Marlantes
*Storming Heaven 4 stars by Denise Giardina
*The Women of the Copper Country 4 stars by Mary Doria Russell
*Triangle: The Fire That Changed America by David von Drehle 3 stars
*The Last Ballad by Wiley Cash
January 4, 2023
Only $1.99 on Kindle today!
https://smile.amazon.com/Deep-River-K...
Real Rating: 4.5* of five, rounded down
The Publisher Says: Karl Marlantes's debut novel Matterhorn has been hailed as a modern classic of war literature. In his new novel, Deep River, Marlantes turns to another mode of storytelling—the family epic—to craft a stunningly expansive narrative of human suffering, courage, and reinvention.
In the early 1900s, as the oppression of Russia's imperial rule takes its toll on Finland, the three Koski siblings—Ilmari, Matti, and the politicized young Aino—are forced to flee to the United States. Not far from the majestic Columbia River, the siblings settle among other Finns in a logging community in southern Washington, where the first harvesting of the colossal old-growth forests begets rapid development, and radical labor movements begin to catch fire.
The brothers face the excitement and danger of pioneering this frontier wilderness—climbing and felling trees one-hundred meters high—while Aino, foremost of the book's many strong, independent women, devotes herself to organizing the industry's first unions. As the Koski siblings strive to rebuild lives and families in an America in flux, they also try to hold fast to the traditions of a home they left behind.
Layered with fascinating historical detail, this is a novel that breathes deeply of the sun-dappled forest and bears witness to the stump-ridden fields the loggers, and the first waves of modernity, leave behind. At its heart, Deep River is an ambitious and timely exploration of the place of the individual, and of the immigrant, in an America still in the process of defining its own identity.
I RECEIVED A DRC FROM THE PUBLISHER VIA EDELWEISS+. THANK YOU.
My Review: Remember when I warbled my fool lungs out about how awful, painful, and enraging Matterhorn was, and then gave it my annual 6-stars-of-five nod? And told y'all to move quick and get the book? No?! What do you mean, "no"?! You don't commit all my reviews to memory?! Ingrates....
The wattage of warbling is lower this time, but then again I'm ten years older. Everything is lower. (I hate you, Gravity.) What is not lower is Karl Marlantes' level of writing:
It's to your taste, or it's not; but it is not describable as bad. I've heard the "purple prose" calumny tossed lightly about in reference to Marlantes's work; I am not on board with this. What might seem purple to some readers is, in my way of looking at it, period-appropriate formality. And the lush sensory world is a feature, not a bug, to me...in historical fiction it adds a layer of depth to the world I spend time and effort creating in my reading eye.
What is, I fear, describable as "bad" is Author Marlantes's gender politics. Women, I am here to tell you, do not think about their breasts unless a man is ogling them, or they've chosen that man's attention to attract. (I listen when women talk instead of staring at their boobs. Try it sometime! Fascinating what women know.) I fear that the author's cishet maleness rears its head here. Fly over it (my solution, since I care nothing about boobs) or pass on by. Similarly I Rose Above a character's christian beliefs. Mostly because she's an actual, not a religious, christian. Icky, but endurable since she's not all gawd and church and suchlike bullshit.
So all that dealt with, let me say that I think the lushness and enfolding sensual reality of the work is worth the things I don't find to my personal taste. I won't say I'll give it all the stars, I've mentioned places that take away from that level of enjoyment, but the story of the Koskis leaving oppressed-by-colonialism Finland to become the colonial despoilers of the Pacific Northwest's glorious rainforests struck me as very interesting and quite moving.
Their fates are, as one can intuit from early on, set in the Old Country. Who you are, at your core, is set early in life. All the Koskis are Finns to the bone. What they do, as immigrants ever have, is try on the identity of "American" over their Finnishness. This is a process that I've always found deeply, profoundly moving. To leave the place that formed you because it has no room for you is painful. But the fact is that when Home doesn't want you, it ain't home anymore.
There is no part of this read that I was not able to enjoy. Realizing I am not a woman, I offer the caution above; and I am old, so many anti-colonial younger persons aren't going to resonate as I did to the theme of discovering the identity "American" and trying it on for size. A few of the queer young folk (especially my trans friends) might find the enforced emigration from Home familiar.
https://smile.amazon.com/Deep-River-K...
Real Rating: 4.5* of five, rounded down
The Publisher Says: Karl Marlantes's debut novel Matterhorn has been hailed as a modern classic of war literature. In his new novel, Deep River, Marlantes turns to another mode of storytelling—the family epic—to craft a stunningly expansive narrative of human suffering, courage, and reinvention.
In the early 1900s, as the oppression of Russia's imperial rule takes its toll on Finland, the three Koski siblings—Ilmari, Matti, and the politicized young Aino—are forced to flee to the United States. Not far from the majestic Columbia River, the siblings settle among other Finns in a logging community in southern Washington, where the first harvesting of the colossal old-growth forests begets rapid development, and radical labor movements begin to catch fire.
The brothers face the excitement and danger of pioneering this frontier wilderness—climbing and felling trees one-hundred meters high—while Aino, foremost of the book's many strong, independent women, devotes herself to organizing the industry's first unions. As the Koski siblings strive to rebuild lives and families in an America in flux, they also try to hold fast to the traditions of a home they left behind.
Layered with fascinating historical detail, this is a novel that breathes deeply of the sun-dappled forest and bears witness to the stump-ridden fields the loggers, and the first waves of modernity, leave behind. At its heart, Deep River is an ambitious and timely exploration of the place of the individual, and of the immigrant, in an America still in the process of defining its own identity.
I RECEIVED A DRC FROM THE PUBLISHER VIA EDELWEISS+. THANK YOU.
My Review: Remember when I warbled my fool lungs out about how awful, painful, and enraging Matterhorn was, and then gave it my annual 6-stars-of-five nod? And told y'all to move quick and get the book? No?! What do you mean, "no"?! You don't commit all my reviews to memory?! Ingrates....
The wattage of warbling is lower this time, but then again I'm ten years older. Everything is lower. (I hate you, Gravity.) What is not lower is Karl Marlantes' level of writing:
Then, like a seaborne Sisyphus, the ship clawed to the top of the next towering wave, as the sailors fought gravity and slippery decks to maintain their balance and their lives.
–and–
With those you love, you accept that there are only two ways you will not get hurt when you lose them. You stop loving them or you die first.
It's to your taste, or it's not; but it is not describable as bad. I've heard the "purple prose" calumny tossed lightly about in reference to Marlantes's work; I am not on board with this. What might seem purple to some readers is, in my way of looking at it, period-appropriate formality. And the lush sensory world is a feature, not a bug, to me...in historical fiction it adds a layer of depth to the world I spend time and effort creating in my reading eye.
What is, I fear, describable as "bad" is Author Marlantes's gender politics. Women, I am here to tell you, do not think about their breasts unless a man is ogling them, or they've chosen that man's attention to attract. (I listen when women talk instead of staring at their boobs. Try it sometime! Fascinating what women know.) I fear that the author's cishet maleness rears its head here. Fly over it (my solution, since I care nothing about boobs) or pass on by. Similarly I Rose Above a character's christian beliefs. Mostly because she's an actual, not a religious, christian. Icky, but endurable since she's not all gawd and church and suchlike bullshit.
So all that dealt with, let me say that I think the lushness and enfolding sensual reality of the work is worth the things I don't find to my personal taste. I won't say I'll give it all the stars, I've mentioned places that take away from that level of enjoyment, but the story of the Koskis leaving oppressed-by-colonialism Finland to become the colonial despoilers of the Pacific Northwest's glorious rainforests struck me as very interesting and quite moving.
Their fates are, as one can intuit from early on, set in the Old Country. Who you are, at your core, is set early in life. All the Koskis are Finns to the bone. What they do, as immigrants ever have, is try on the identity of "American" over their Finnishness. This is a process that I've always found deeply, profoundly moving. To leave the place that formed you because it has no room for you is painful. But the fact is that when Home doesn't want you, it ain't home anymore.
There is no part of this read that I was not able to enjoy. Realizing I am not a woman, I offer the caution above; and I am old, so many anti-colonial younger persons aren't going to resonate as I did to the theme of discovering the identity "American" and trying it on for size. A few of the queer young folk (especially my trans friends) might find the enforced emigration from Home familiar.
August 13, 2019
At 820 pages, covering 76 years (1893 till 1969) and almost three generations, Deep River is a saga.....a saga of the Koski siblings, Ilmari, Matti and Aino, who one by one flee Russian occupied Finland, at the turn of the 20th century, and come to United States of America to settle down between Washington and Oregon, in the Finnish communities of the Columbia River basin where the main mode of employment is either working in horrendous conditions for the logging and fishing companies or farming your own land. This book is a story of their fortunes and misfortunes, beliefs, dreams, aspirations, hard work, success, failure, love, regrets....through their and many other characters' eyes and experiences we see that life in 'the land of the free' wasn't as golden, rosy and free as it was made out to be, especially for immigrants who had to fight every step of the way for their basic rights.
This book is huge and it did take a bit of time and patience to get through it but by the end of it, I felt it was worth it.
My thanks to NetGalley, Atlantic Monthly Press and the author Karl Marlantes for providing me with an e-Arc of the book.
This book is huge and it did take a bit of time and patience to get through it but by the end of it, I felt it was worth it.
My thanks to NetGalley, Atlantic Monthly Press and the author Karl Marlantes for providing me with an e-Arc of the book.
January 16, 2019
I'm not the biggest fan of historical fiction, so I wasn't expecting to enjoy this 700+ page tome as much as I did. Turns out it was an incredibly fascinating and rewarding read.
This family epic follows the three Koski siblings (Ilmari, Mattie and Aino) as they make their way from Finland to America's pacific northwest in the early 1900s and begin working in the dangerous, grueling logging industry.
Aino is the central focal point of the narrative: a feminist heroine radicalized by her association with revolutionary left-wing political groups back in Finland, she sees an opportunity to organize the logging industry's first unions.
Over the course of four decades, the Koski siblings struggle to build a life for themselves in early 20th century America--from fighting for a living wage and worker safety to establishing themselves as leaders and business owners.
Increasingly torn between her dedication to political organizing and commitment to her family, Aino comes to realize that she can find purpose, meaning and solidarity in both.
I learned so much from this book about the early labor movement, an incredible and essential part of American history. In our current era of late capitalism where movements like Democratic Socialism are gaining more and more ground, it was empowering to read about the initial formation of unions, and I found myself continuously cheering on Aino's impassioned arguments against capitalism.
If you like immersing yourself in big, epic books, definitely don't miss this.
This family epic follows the three Koski siblings (Ilmari, Mattie and Aino) as they make their way from Finland to America's pacific northwest in the early 1900s and begin working in the dangerous, grueling logging industry.
Aino is the central focal point of the narrative: a feminist heroine radicalized by her association with revolutionary left-wing political groups back in Finland, she sees an opportunity to organize the logging industry's first unions.
Over the course of four decades, the Koski siblings struggle to build a life for themselves in early 20th century America--from fighting for a living wage and worker safety to establishing themselves as leaders and business owners.
Increasingly torn between her dedication to political organizing and commitment to her family, Aino comes to realize that she can find purpose, meaning and solidarity in both.
I learned so much from this book about the early labor movement, an incredible and essential part of American history. In our current era of late capitalism where movements like Democratic Socialism are gaining more and more ground, it was empowering to read about the initial formation of unions, and I found myself continuously cheering on Aino's impassioned arguments against capitalism.
If you like immersing yourself in big, epic books, definitely don't miss this.
November 24, 2019
‘Deep River’ starts off slowly with the gradual gestation of communism in Finland and the introduction of the Koski siblings. The story picks up pace once the siblings make it over to the States and settle along the Columbia River. By the end of the novel the reader feels a strong attachment to the characters and is emotionally invested in their lives.
Marlantes writing is not as sharp as I remember it being in his debut novel ‘Matterhorn’; a novel I loved and have on my hall-of-fame shelf. I become frustrated when writers feel the need to explain every comment and action made by their characters, as if the reader is unable to deduce it themselves. Marlantes is guilty of this far too often in this novel.
Marlantes also struggles with female characters. More often than not, they are nothing more than cardboard cutouts. This is ironic since the lead character is female; but Aino is a frustrating character who is often portrayed as nothing more than a fanatic. The novel succeeds despite her.
‘Deep River’ is a flawed novel but is also a difficult book for me to rate. I am going with a high 3 star rating for the pure entertainment value. Very good book but I was hoping for more from Marlantes.
Marlantes writing is not as sharp as I remember it being in his debut novel ‘Matterhorn’; a novel I loved and have on my hall-of-fame shelf. I become frustrated when writers feel the need to explain every comment and action made by their characters, as if the reader is unable to deduce it themselves. Marlantes is guilty of this far too often in this novel.
Marlantes also struggles with female characters. More often than not, they are nothing more than cardboard cutouts. This is ironic since the lead character is female; but Aino is a frustrating character who is often portrayed as nothing more than a fanatic. The novel succeeds despite her.
‘Deep River’ is a flawed novel but is also a difficult book for me to rate. I am going with a high 3 star rating for the pure entertainment value. Very good book but I was hoping for more from Marlantes.
December 3, 2020
Measuring in at 717 pages of reading this might be considered a lengthy book, especially for a work of fiction, but that begs the question “Is that a blessing or a curse.” It was definitely a blessing for me. I was in no hurry for it to finish — Reading Challenge be Damned.
This book did sit on my To Read shelf for a while and the length might have been the reason. That may be the curse.
A legitimate complaint has been voiced about historical fiction containing too much violence against women, children and animals. The first part of this book has those three covered. After that the story moves to America with its more “traditional” violence.
The story centers on a girl/woman Aino and her two brothers Ilmari and Matti. They all separately emigrate to America and end up at a Timber camp in Washington. The brothers as lumberjacks and Aino as a worker in the cook shack. There is a wide cast of interesting and well developed characters involving wives, husbands and friends.
With the current “conversations” regarding immigration it shows the conditions immigrants were leaving that compelled them to leave home, family and friends to endure the trip to America. In addition, it is evidence to explain why they were willing to take such dangerous jobs in this country. Where would our country be without the Steelworkers, Coal Miners, and Lumberjacks, who were mainly new immigrants.
There is a nice trajectory of the historical events of the early twentieth century. We read about real events and meet some real historical figures. This was a delightful history for someone who has been a life-long reader and fan of American history. Being a work of fiction gives the history a human touch. We get a feeling for the fear that wives had for their husbands working these dangerous jobs. We read the efforts and difficulties of the working class to organize for better working conditions and better pay.
There is World War I where we learn about the Spruce Production Division and Brice Disque, a United States Army General who used military troops to spur wartime production of the lumber needed for the war effort. There is an eerie reference to the Spanish Flu Pandemic.
We read about the IWW riot in Centralia Washington, and the fire in Astoria Oregon, about Prohibition and eventually the Stock Market Crash.
Depending on your Socialist leanings you may find the character of Aino interesting as she becomes an active Socialist recruiter. She is a Union advocate for the IWW or Wobblies as they are known. The labor activist, Joe Hill, plays a part in this story. Both are “put out of business” by the start of World War I and the Espionage Act,
and the crackdown by Wilson’s Attorney General Alexander Mitchell Palmer and the new FBI director J. Edgar Hoover.
There is an interesting encounter by Ilmari and a Native American shaman woman named Vasutati. She saves Ilmari from an ax wound he suffers alone in the woods. She eventually mentors him in the ways of the Chinooks. There is a scene where she gives him some mushrooms which cause a very strange psychedelic-like experience. Ilmari is a religious man and the “trip”, with Vasutati’s guidance, helps him square his Christian beliefs in God with the Native American belief in a Holy Spirit.
There are some philosophical musings on life and politics. After a long and difficult life Aino finds some peace in a job managing a boarding house for bachelors.
I hope the length of this book does not deter anyone from starting it. Unless you are bothered by Aino’s socialism this is an interesting story of the characters and their lives during this period. The pace of the story keeps your interest.
This book did sit on my To Read shelf for a while and the length might have been the reason. That may be the curse.
A legitimate complaint has been voiced about historical fiction containing too much violence against women, children and animals. The first part of this book has those three covered. After that the story moves to America with its more “traditional” violence.
The story centers on a girl/woman Aino and her two brothers Ilmari and Matti. They all separately emigrate to America and end up at a Timber camp in Washington. The brothers as lumberjacks and Aino as a worker in the cook shack. There is a wide cast of interesting and well developed characters involving wives, husbands and friends.
With the current “conversations” regarding immigration it shows the conditions immigrants were leaving that compelled them to leave home, family and friends to endure the trip to America. In addition, it is evidence to explain why they were willing to take such dangerous jobs in this country. Where would our country be without the Steelworkers, Coal Miners, and Lumberjacks, who were mainly new immigrants.
There is a nice trajectory of the historical events of the early twentieth century. We read about real events and meet some real historical figures. This was a delightful history for someone who has been a life-long reader and fan of American history. Being a work of fiction gives the history a human touch. We get a feeling for the fear that wives had for their husbands working these dangerous jobs. We read the efforts and difficulties of the working class to organize for better working conditions and better pay.
There is World War I where we learn about the Spruce Production Division and Brice Disque, a United States Army General who used military troops to spur wartime production of the lumber needed for the war effort. There is an eerie reference to the Spanish Flu Pandemic.
Both Women were silent at the mention of the pandemic. It was generally not spoken about, as it held even more terror than the fighting. No one knew its cause or its cure, and it was spreading everywhere.
“It’s killing more of our guys than the Germans”,
We read about the IWW riot in Centralia Washington, and the fire in Astoria Oregon, about Prohibition and eventually the Stock Market Crash.
Depending on your Socialist leanings you may find the character of Aino interesting as she becomes an active Socialist recruiter. She is a Union advocate for the IWW or Wobblies as they are known. The labor activist, Joe Hill, plays a part in this story. Both are “put out of business” by the start of World War I and the Espionage Act,
and the crackdown by Wilson’s Attorney General Alexander Mitchell Palmer and the new FBI director J. Edgar Hoover.
The most serious response was the Espionage Act. When President Woodrow Wilson urged a Democratic-controlled Congress to pass the act, he declared that “these creatures of passion, disloyalty, and anarchy must be crushed out. They are not many, but they are infinitely malignant.” The penalty for violating the act was up to thirty years in prison or death.
There is an interesting encounter by Ilmari and a Native American shaman woman named Vasutati. She saves Ilmari from an ax wound he suffers alone in the woods. She eventually mentors him in the ways of the Chinooks. There is a scene where she gives him some mushrooms which cause a very strange psychedelic-like experience. Ilmari is a religious man and the “trip”, with Vasutati’s guidance, helps him square his Christian beliefs in God with the Native American belief in a Holy Spirit.
There are some philosophical musings on life and politics. After a long and difficult life Aino finds some peace in a job managing a boarding house for bachelors.
It was hard, prosaic, daily work that was never finished and never varied, but it was essential to the lives of everyone living there. She counted. Here was no great cause—other than earning room and board and Eleanor’s keep. However, why wasn’t this as a great a cause as any? Yes, there were no great debates, like syndicalism versus socialism. There were only small ones.
…
The tasks were set before her—every morning, ever the same—like seeds spilled across a board that she had to sort, and after having them sorted into various piles by the end of the day, she awoke to find them scattered again, and again she set about sorting. There was no goal. There was no end point. There was just this daily living, this daily sorting of seeds that was the very life of the poikataloja and the men that lived there. She lived like a circle instead of a line. Since what she was doing didn’t matter in terms of power, politics, and history, it didn’t matter what she was doing. It felt peaceful.
I hope the length of this book does not deter anyone from starting it. Unless you are bothered by Aino’s socialism this is an interesting story of the characters and their lives during this period. The pace of the story keeps your interest.
August 18, 2019
Yes, it's really long. Yes, trying to keep all the Finnish names straight in the beginning was a challenge. Read it anyway. A family saga and a history of the Pacific Northwest in the early 20th Century, it's a terrific read.
January 14, 2021
Coming in at 25-hours this is an epic tale.
I have lived in Washington state for most of my life but did not grow up here so I missed out on my Washington state history classes. I feel like this gave me just enough state history accompanied by a family drama that was compelling enough to stick around for the long haul.
I often have moments in my life where I feel guilty about not serving more in my local community, my state, my country, and the world. I read a lot of books, etc. where women are making huge contributions and I end up evaluating my own life choices. This book taught me one huge lesson that I hope I will not forget. One of the main characters is so passionate about her political beliefs and I absolutely loved her zeal. She spends a lot of the book organizing rallies and doing work that takes her away from her family and local community for years. This character's friends and family keep begging her to see how much the people at home need and love her the most. Her causes will always be there and often let her down. I ended up being the lead cheerleader for her to come home and soon realized that it was a great message for me as well. I am so grateful for so many people out there saving the world but also realized the significance of putting my heart and passion into loving and caring for the people in my little bubble right now.
I have lived in Washington state for most of my life but did not grow up here so I missed out on my Washington state history classes. I feel like this gave me just enough state history accompanied by a family drama that was compelling enough to stick around for the long haul.
I often have moments in my life where I feel guilty about not serving more in my local community, my state, my country, and the world. I read a lot of books, etc. where women are making huge contributions and I end up evaluating my own life choices. This book taught me one huge lesson that I hope I will not forget. One of the main characters is so passionate about her political beliefs and I absolutely loved her zeal. She spends a lot of the book organizing rallies and doing work that takes her away from her family and local community for years. This character's friends and family keep begging her to see how much the people at home need and love her the most. Her causes will always be there and often let her down. I ended up being the lead cheerleader for her to come home and soon realized that it was a great message for me as well. I am so grateful for so many people out there saving the world but also realized the significance of putting my heart and passion into loving and caring for the people in my little bubble right now.
Read
July 17, 2019No rating. Just too long winded. Dire lyrical is just not for me. I was interested but the verbosity and redundant intersects just buried it alive.
July 15, 2019
In DEEP RIVER, author Karl Marlantes moves on from his description of a company of Marines in Vietnam who tried to recapture a mountain top base that formed the basis of his award-winning book, MATTERHORN and his unique description of combat in his memoir, WHAT IT IS LIKE TO GO TO WAR. In his latest effort he takes on a different type of warfare centering around the battle between labor and capitalists in the Pacific northwest at the turn of the 20th century through 1932. Focusing on a Finnish immigrant family, the Koskis, Marlantes delves into the problems faced by immigrants as they arrived in Oregon and southern Washington, not far from the Columbia River as they struggled for survival as they are swallowed up by the lumber industry. The result is a family epic that spans an important segment of American history as well as a fascinating read that you will look forward to each time you pick up the book.
Marlantes employs a literary epic approach to convey his story beginning with the difficulties that the Finnish people faced under Czarist rule in the 1890s. As revolution began to permeate Finnish villages the Koski family found themselves caught up in the whirlwind that surrounded the oppressive rule of the Romanovs and attempts by revolutionaries to free their country and establish some sort of Socialist utopia. Events resulted in the breakup of the Koski family as Taipo, the father is arrested and later dies in captivity, and the children Ilmari, Aino, and Matti immigrate to America. Each chooses their own path, Ilmari leaves first and takes advantage of the 1862 Homestead Act in Knappton, Washington; Aino, who turned to socialism and organizing opposition to the Czarist regime is arrested, tortured, and raped as she is implicated in a plot to assassinate a Czarist bureaucrat and winds up in the same area working in a logging camp near her brother; and the youngest of the three, Matti has visions of creating his own logging business after being exposed to the hard labor of the northwest forests. The Koski family is not the only one fractured by the Czarist regime as the Langstrom brothers are torn from each other; Gunnar a socialist revolutionary facing arrest and his brother Askel, who fears the Okhrana, the Czarist secret police escapes to Sweden and later to America.
Marlantes develops many important characters to go along with the Koski siblings, including historical ones like the International Workers of the World (IWW) organizer and rabble rouser, Joe Hill and many others. Each character is introduced in the context of the Koski family and how they fit into the growing conflict between labor and lumber management. Aino is haunted by the love she left behind and her increasing radicalization throughout the book that leads her to organizing loggers for the IWW that results in splitting her family. Ilmari is a deeply religious man who organizes a congregation for the church he builds, marries and focuses on family life. Matti and Aksel will come together to try and take advantage of the increasing demand for lumber due to World War I. The trials and tribulations of each gather force and capture the imagination of the reader throughout the over 700-page story.
Marlantes does a superb job explaining how the lumber industry functioned in the early 20th century and how cruel and dangerous it was for the loggers many of which were Finnish and Swedish immigrants. Wages were low, living conditions appalling as labor exploitation by lumber barons led to strikes and violence created by the IWW as each demand; straw to sleep on or an eight-hour day created greater angst on the part of both sides. Marlantes develops the tension in the narrative very carefully as he introduces the different characters and their families in the context of historical events. The crisis for labor and the IWW is laid out and its impact is presented through strikes in Nordland and other areas and the role of government is explored. Congress first gave the land to the Northern Pacific Railroad to build a transportation network in a rather corrupt bargain. The railroad would sell the excess land for profit to lumber barons, who employed soldiers and police to break up any attempt at strikes or unionization. As law enforcement wished to stifle dissent in the name of national security, it led to the Espionage Act of 1917, which has a certain resonance to arguments made today by certain elements in Washington, DC. Other important historical events are woven into the story including the Spanish flu, the Palmer Raids, and the onset and effect of the Depression.
Marlantes uses his family epic to convey a microcosm of American labor history focusing on lumber capitalists, loggers, the role of the federal government, the Red Scare that followed World War I, and the impact of the Stock Market crash of 1929. His description of the plight of loggers as they try to better themselves and for some, like the Koskis and Aksel who try to make it on their own, the forces that try and keep them under control, and the wish of loggers and later fishermen to be successful capitalists is heart rendering and very complicated.
The authors grasp of Finnish culture and traditions is exemplary and adds a great deal to the story line. He offers his own families past and his childhood memories as a motivation for pursuing his chronicle of the Koski family . Marlantes has offered the reader a gift and having completed it I thank him greatly.
Marlantes employs a literary epic approach to convey his story beginning with the difficulties that the Finnish people faced under Czarist rule in the 1890s. As revolution began to permeate Finnish villages the Koski family found themselves caught up in the whirlwind that surrounded the oppressive rule of the Romanovs and attempts by revolutionaries to free their country and establish some sort of Socialist utopia. Events resulted in the breakup of the Koski family as Taipo, the father is arrested and later dies in captivity, and the children Ilmari, Aino, and Matti immigrate to America. Each chooses their own path, Ilmari leaves first and takes advantage of the 1862 Homestead Act in Knappton, Washington; Aino, who turned to socialism and organizing opposition to the Czarist regime is arrested, tortured, and raped as she is implicated in a plot to assassinate a Czarist bureaucrat and winds up in the same area working in a logging camp near her brother; and the youngest of the three, Matti has visions of creating his own logging business after being exposed to the hard labor of the northwest forests. The Koski family is not the only one fractured by the Czarist regime as the Langstrom brothers are torn from each other; Gunnar a socialist revolutionary facing arrest and his brother Askel, who fears the Okhrana, the Czarist secret police escapes to Sweden and later to America.
Marlantes develops many important characters to go along with the Koski siblings, including historical ones like the International Workers of the World (IWW) organizer and rabble rouser, Joe Hill and many others. Each character is introduced in the context of the Koski family and how they fit into the growing conflict between labor and lumber management. Aino is haunted by the love she left behind and her increasing radicalization throughout the book that leads her to organizing loggers for the IWW that results in splitting her family. Ilmari is a deeply religious man who organizes a congregation for the church he builds, marries and focuses on family life. Matti and Aksel will come together to try and take advantage of the increasing demand for lumber due to World War I. The trials and tribulations of each gather force and capture the imagination of the reader throughout the over 700-page story.
Marlantes does a superb job explaining how the lumber industry functioned in the early 20th century and how cruel and dangerous it was for the loggers many of which were Finnish and Swedish immigrants. Wages were low, living conditions appalling as labor exploitation by lumber barons led to strikes and violence created by the IWW as each demand; straw to sleep on or an eight-hour day created greater angst on the part of both sides. Marlantes develops the tension in the narrative very carefully as he introduces the different characters and their families in the context of historical events. The crisis for labor and the IWW is laid out and its impact is presented through strikes in Nordland and other areas and the role of government is explored. Congress first gave the land to the Northern Pacific Railroad to build a transportation network in a rather corrupt bargain. The railroad would sell the excess land for profit to lumber barons, who employed soldiers and police to break up any attempt at strikes or unionization. As law enforcement wished to stifle dissent in the name of national security, it led to the Espionage Act of 1917, which has a certain resonance to arguments made today by certain elements in Washington, DC. Other important historical events are woven into the story including the Spanish flu, the Palmer Raids, and the onset and effect of the Depression.
Marlantes uses his family epic to convey a microcosm of American labor history focusing on lumber capitalists, loggers, the role of the federal government, the Red Scare that followed World War I, and the impact of the Stock Market crash of 1929. His description of the plight of loggers as they try to better themselves and for some, like the Koskis and Aksel who try to make it on their own, the forces that try and keep them under control, and the wish of loggers and later fishermen to be successful capitalists is heart rendering and very complicated.
The authors grasp of Finnish culture and traditions is exemplary and adds a great deal to the story line. He offers his own families past and his childhood memories as a motivation for pursuing his chronicle of the Koski family . Marlantes has offered the reader a gift and having completed it I thank him greatly.
July 17, 2019
Deep River is a marathon of a historical novel, one you cannot bear to put aside. We follow the children of Maijaliisa and Tapio Koski from Kokkola, Finland as they immigrated to the communities of the Columbia River basin (known then as the Deep River) between Washington and Oregon, USA, and became an important element in the timber industry and the Colombia River basin, as the family spread out and grew. The Koski family were hard working, a credit to their community, a settlement comprised for the most part of Finnish and Swedish immigrants. Ilmari, the first of the children to come over in 1897, welcomed his younger siblings as tension and persecution in Russian-ruled Finland increased and the young men of the community faced being drafted into the Russian army, young women a life of servitude and fear.
Life in the northwest USA was not easy or simple at the turn of the 20th century. It was a new day for the Toski children, however, as they grew to fit in and appreciate their new home. We follow their progress from the death of three of the siblings in Finland from cholera in 1891 through March of 1969. This is a saga you will not want to miss. Based on the stories of his Finnish grandmother, Karl Marlantes tells us a wonderful tale of the spirit and productivity that formed the northwestern US. The influence of the immigrants from Finland and Sweden are still apparent in the communities today that cradle the mouth of Deep River.
I received a free electronic copy of this historical novel from Netgalley, Karl Marlantes, and Atlantic Monthly Press. Thank you all for sharing your hard work with me. I have read this novel of my own volition, and this review reflects my honest opinion of this work.
pub date July 2, 2019
Atlantic Monthly Press
Reviewed on July 14, 2019, at Goodreads, Netgalley, SmileAmazon, Barnes & Noble, and BookBub. Kobo did not offer a way to review this book.
Life in the northwest USA was not easy or simple at the turn of the 20th century. It was a new day for the Toski children, however, as they grew to fit in and appreciate their new home. We follow their progress from the death of three of the siblings in Finland from cholera in 1891 through March of 1969. This is a saga you will not want to miss. Based on the stories of his Finnish grandmother, Karl Marlantes tells us a wonderful tale of the spirit and productivity that formed the northwestern US. The influence of the immigrants from Finland and Sweden are still apparent in the communities today that cradle the mouth of Deep River.
I received a free electronic copy of this historical novel from Netgalley, Karl Marlantes, and Atlantic Monthly Press. Thank you all for sharing your hard work with me. I have read this novel of my own volition, and this review reflects my honest opinion of this work.
pub date July 2, 2019
Atlantic Monthly Press
Reviewed on July 14, 2019, at Goodreads, Netgalley, SmileAmazon, Barnes & Noble, and BookBub. Kobo did not offer a way to review this book.
January 27, 2019
Deep River is the story of the Koski family. One by one, members of the family flee Finland. They do this for political activism, avoiding army conscription, etc. They go to southern Washington state where there is a Finnish community. The Kolski family joins the logging business because it's the prevailing occupation at the time in this region. As the story unfolds, the terrible living conditions are described. Worse, however, are the dangers associated with logging. I learned so much from reading this. The workers could do very little to warrant safer conditions. It's well written and researched. They faced a terrible struggle toward demanding changes in their work environment. The Kolski family are embroiled in all of these situations. The characters are strong brave and resilient. Displaying these attributes and surviving the harsh conditions makes them admirable as well. The story is a great read about a part of history many know little about. I recommend for anyone with an interest in historical fiction. Thanks to NetGalley for an arc in exchange for an honest review.
February 16, 2020
I loved Matterhorn by this author, one of my top all time favorite books so when I saw that Karl Marlantes was coming out with another book I immediately requested an early copy from Netgalley and was thrilled to get it. However, I didn't realize it was so long (!) so it took me forever to get the motivation to tackle it. A booktube challenge (Historathon) finally gave me the reason to jump in and while I didn't love it as much as Matterhorn it is still a really good read. I learned a lot about logging, politics, fishing and way of life in the Pacific Northwest in the early 1900s (and maybe not always all that excited about it) but most of all I became enamored of the characters as they lived their lives in this story. Marlantes has an ability to engage you with his characters whether you love them or dislike them...and yep, I really didn't like Aino, the main character, but she was still so well-developed that I felt my dislike was based on knowing her pretty well, lol. This book is long and maybe not always fully engaging because of all the many details surrounding the setting and the story but I truly felt a connection to the characters. They became very real to me and that is a mark of a really good story. Wonderful writing too.
Thanks to Netgalley and Grove Atlantic for an early ebook copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review.
Thanks to Netgalley and Grove Atlantic for an early ebook copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review.
May 18, 2019
Deep River follows the Koski siblings--Aino, Ilmari, and Matti--from childhood in Russian-occupied Finland to their settlement in the Pacific Northwest as they enter adulthood and begin families of their own. Ilmari, the first to arrive in the United States, homesteads on a large piece of land he received. Matti, the youngest, embraces capitalism as a way to protect himself from fears seated in childhood. Aino, however, the middle child and only girl, interested in communism from a young age, delves into the labor movement.
In the community that survives largely on fishing and logging, the Koski siblings encounter many fellow Finns as well as Swedes, some of whom they knew in their hometown. Their business dealings and activism--not to mention relationships--take them in and out of each other’s orbits, while Aino, a stubborn lightning rod, often attracts danger from powerful business and political interests. They also face obstacles from nature--sometimes dry spells, sometimes too much rain--from world events, and from the economy.
Karl Marlantes’s Matterhorn is a tour de force, combining an engrossing setting with fully realized, unforgettable characters. In that novel, the details of being a soldier in Vietnam are so vividly drawn, it’s visceral, and the frustrations and injustice deeply felt.
In Deep River, Marlantes conveys the same comprehensive awareness of setting born of personal experience and extensive research. No matter the context--a socialist meeting, a fishing boat, a logging site, or a bootleggers’ shootout--Marlantes provides encyclopedic knowledge. On the one hand, this can be very interesting, and I definitely learned a lot. On the other, it can be almost overwhelming and at times distracts from the story, bogging it down in unnecessary details.
Because the book seemed to want to address every historical event in the time period over which it was set--some more tangential to the narrative--such as the Spanish Flu and the introduction of the automobile, the story is very long and bloated without a clear focus. Probably the most accurate answer to what the story is about would be that it charts Aino’s growth. Unfortunately, I found her a less than sympathetic character. This is surprising to me because she is a strong, independent woman before her time. Yet, she is clearly unable to read a crowd, and is so stubborn, she is selfish. Characters I was more interested in such as Vasutäti, a Native American elder, and Aino’s niece, Mielikki, had less of a role in the story. Overall, though, I think that the novel would have benefited from a ruthless editor who provided focus for the narrative while eliminating the unnecessary technical details of the logging and fishing crafts.
Also, I was uncomfortable with how Marlantes used gender and cultural stereotypes without problematizing them. Finally, I was most disappointed in the writing style which I found less than polished. The transitions were often awkward, and the sentence structure led to a choppy, discordant flow.
Dark River definitely includes interesting debates about socialism and unionization. During World War I, not just corporations and the state government, but also the military became involved in union busting. The skirmishes between the Industrial Workers of the Work (IWW), Ainoe’s union, and law enforcement, deputized citizens, and “patriots” were hard to imagine until you consider the types of conflicts in our streets today.
Despite the flaws, this book should appeal to die-hard historical fiction fans as well as those who are interested in the history of the Pacific Northwest, particularly the logging and fishing industries, or about unions in the early 1900s.
Thank you to NetGalley and Grove Atlantic / Atlantic Monthly Press for an advance reading copy in exchange for an honest review.
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May 6, 2019
via my blog: https://bookstalkerblog.wordpress.com/
'Anger at the senseless cruelty of it all kept her awake at night.'
Escaping Russian rule, siblings Ilmari, Matti, and Aino immigrate to America joining other Finns in the hopes that they will find the perfect place to thrive. Ilmari is the first to leave Finland, to avoid being drafted in the Russian army he flees his homeland. In America, Ilmari is a devout man who builds a farm of his own and a blacksmith shop before his brother Matti follows. Helping his brother for a time with the running of things, he must make a life for himself. By Christmas finding work with the sole options being fishing or logging, he choses logging. Felling trees, a job that can crush a man, easy. With no idea how, he swears to himself he will one day have his own company! Last is Aino, seventeen- years old and desperate for work. Already having suffered for her revolutionary beliefs back in Finland, the fire burns just as bright now in America. She isn’t happy to settle as some man’s wife and men want a woman to care for their families not a maid. Marriage is still against everything she believes in, and if she ever marries, she has to feel love, hers is a heart that cannot in good conscience settle. There are more important things to her future, and her socialist desires. Life isn’t easier in America, everything is not golden nor as ‘free’ as she imagined. Instead, they meet with backbreaking, deadly work logging in the forrest of Washington, where workers are nothing better than slaves making money for others (capitalism). A staunch socialist, Aino is well read, and desperate to fight for laborers rights often at the risk of her very life. Conflicted by the expectations of women of the times (have a family, settle down) she’d rather take part in activism, even when love comes calling. Is it better to settle down, safer? She is fed up being a live in servant, did enough of that before, and marriage is much the same too. She works for a time cooking for hundreds of men at a logging camp, Reder Logging. It comes to be the hardest work she has ever known. The reality is often disheartening, even later when she is a wife living in cheap lopsided quarters, it isn’t enough to please her. She must occupy herself with a life full of purpose, helping others. Escaping the unrest of their own country only to land in a place where one must continue to fight for human dignity, America isn’t turning out to be the dream Aino envisioned. Women should know their place, and certainly not be slipping off for meetings threatened by raids! A man who works his fingers to the bone relies on his good wife waiting with a meal, the home clean and comfortable. She’s a feminist, a fighter, a woman who won’t be caged but I admit, she could come off as self-righteous and selfish at times too. Could motherhood settle her?
The men face loggers being killed, the equipment fails, people make mistakes that costs lives and no one is looking out for their safety. It matters to Aino. It is for ‘the common good’ and if she is called a communist, so be it, they must still fight! The powers that be don’t want strikes and of course will threaten those who dare strike with brute force. Naturally she finds herself jailed. The Koski siblings will rage against “slave wages, slave hours, and slave working conditions” and find their future as pioneers logging the vast forest of Washington. They will all search for their identity as they push for early labor rights or material success. From logging camps to fishing for salmon, strikes, Spanish flu, co-ops, the first cars, and captialism. Love and affairs, jail, unrest, starting families, and businesses in the new American dream. There is a lot happening in this novel that because of the historical scope it covers, the stories can sometimes leave the reader meandering. It is a rich, well researched historical fiction about the early days for Finish immigrants in the forrest and mills of Washington. More importantly it is a grim look at the fight for labors rights.
Publication Date: July 2, 2019
Grove Atlantic
'Anger at the senseless cruelty of it all kept her awake at night.'
Escaping Russian rule, siblings Ilmari, Matti, and Aino immigrate to America joining other Finns in the hopes that they will find the perfect place to thrive. Ilmari is the first to leave Finland, to avoid being drafted in the Russian army he flees his homeland. In America, Ilmari is a devout man who builds a farm of his own and a blacksmith shop before his brother Matti follows. Helping his brother for a time with the running of things, he must make a life for himself. By Christmas finding work with the sole options being fishing or logging, he choses logging. Felling trees, a job that can crush a man, easy. With no idea how, he swears to himself he will one day have his own company! Last is Aino, seventeen- years old and desperate for work. Already having suffered for her revolutionary beliefs back in Finland, the fire burns just as bright now in America. She isn’t happy to settle as some man’s wife and men want a woman to care for their families not a maid. Marriage is still against everything she believes in, and if she ever marries, she has to feel love, hers is a heart that cannot in good conscience settle. There are more important things to her future, and her socialist desires. Life isn’t easier in America, everything is not golden nor as ‘free’ as she imagined. Instead, they meet with backbreaking, deadly work logging in the forrest of Washington, where workers are nothing better than slaves making money for others (capitalism). A staunch socialist, Aino is well read, and desperate to fight for laborers rights often at the risk of her very life. Conflicted by the expectations of women of the times (have a family, settle down) she’d rather take part in activism, even when love comes calling. Is it better to settle down, safer? She is fed up being a live in servant, did enough of that before, and marriage is much the same too. She works for a time cooking for hundreds of men at a logging camp, Reder Logging. It comes to be the hardest work she has ever known. The reality is often disheartening, even later when she is a wife living in cheap lopsided quarters, it isn’t enough to please her. She must occupy herself with a life full of purpose, helping others. Escaping the unrest of their own country only to land in a place where one must continue to fight for human dignity, America isn’t turning out to be the dream Aino envisioned. Women should know their place, and certainly not be slipping off for meetings threatened by raids! A man who works his fingers to the bone relies on his good wife waiting with a meal, the home clean and comfortable. She’s a feminist, a fighter, a woman who won’t be caged but I admit, she could come off as self-righteous and selfish at times too. Could motherhood settle her?
The men face loggers being killed, the equipment fails, people make mistakes that costs lives and no one is looking out for their safety. It matters to Aino. It is for ‘the common good’ and if she is called a communist, so be it, they must still fight! The powers that be don’t want strikes and of course will threaten those who dare strike with brute force. Naturally she finds herself jailed. The Koski siblings will rage against “slave wages, slave hours, and slave working conditions” and find their future as pioneers logging the vast forest of Washington. They will all search for their identity as they push for early labor rights or material success. From logging camps to fishing for salmon, strikes, Spanish flu, co-ops, the first cars, and captialism. Love and affairs, jail, unrest, starting families, and businesses in the new American dream. There is a lot happening in this novel that because of the historical scope it covers, the stories can sometimes leave the reader meandering. It is a rich, well researched historical fiction about the early days for Finish immigrants in the forrest and mills of Washington. More importantly it is a grim look at the fight for labors rights.
Publication Date: July 2, 2019
Grove Atlantic
May 19, 2019
Recently I made a list for a patron who enjoyed "whole life" novels. This is one such novel, following about 80 years in the life of Aino, a woman from Finland who flees Russian occupation and persecution and imprisonment as a political dissident to join her brothers in Washington State in the early 1900s. Aino is a devoted Marxist, an accidental midwife who apprenticed with her mother after the Russians took her father away, and a passionate idealist who devotes her life to union organizing and worker's rights. This is rich with setting, characters, and politics while centering the life of a dogged, stubborn woman who risks life and limb for her cause. I read through this 700+ page book at a gulp, so entranced with Aino and the large cast of characters as they struggle to survive in the logging and fishing industries in Washington and Oregon. There is a Native character in the book (who I think is a great character, but I cannot vouch for her portrayal as a white reader), and references to racist attitudes at the time towards Italian, Greek and Chinese workers, but this book focuses on the Scandinavian communities that fled tyranny and war in their own countries to find a better life in America.
January 5, 2023
This was an awesome to read the week between a Christmas 2022 and the New Year of 2023.
Having been raised in the Pacific Northwest logging culture, this was an intriguing and captivating story well told.
Karl Marlantes wrote with great respect and knowledge of the difficulties, loyalties and complications in early logging operations, as well as addressing labor unions immense challenges.
By the time men in my family worked logging (my father and two brothers) there was better pay and safety. But the hazards were still enormous and our family was traumatized by a life changing injury.
This book resonated in my memories and heart, it provided me with insights and counterpoints to my memories.
Having been raised in the Pacific Northwest logging culture, this was an intriguing and captivating story well told.
Karl Marlantes wrote with great respect and knowledge of the difficulties, loyalties and complications in early logging operations, as well as addressing labor unions immense challenges.
By the time men in my family worked logging (my father and two brothers) there was better pay and safety. But the hazards were still enormous and our family was traumatized by a life changing injury.
This book resonated in my memories and heart, it provided me with insights and counterpoints to my memories.
July 20, 2021
Having grown up in the Pacific Northwest there must be something ingrained in my DNA that draws me to big, epic novels about logging and the timber industry, so as soon as I saw Deep River with its gorgeous cover and 820-page count it vaulted to the top of my reading list. It also helps that Karl Marlantes wrote one of my favorite war books of the last few years, the fantastic Vietnam epic Matterhorn which I’ve recommended often and given many times as gifts. With Deep River, Marlantes aims to join the ranks of Annie Proulx, Ken Kesey, and Richard Powers with his own timber-themed-doorstopper...so does it work? I'd argue mostly yes, or as the Finns say, "Yoh!"
On the plus side, this is largely a character-driven story with a huge cast, and during the expanse of the novel, you really get to know the lives, loves, and personal plights of this family. While Deep River looks like a contender for "Dad Book" of the year, it's thankfully more of a woman's story, with the daughter Aino taking center stage for the majority of the story, and she very much saves this from becoming just a big book about a bunch of Finnish dudes logging, fighting, and talking lumber. There are many great side characters as well which makes for a deep reading experience as you come to know all the family drama and connections.
Marlantes is also excellent at capturing time, place, and atmosphere in this novel, including the rich history, miserable working conditions, and perils of the logging industry. He must have drawn on a wealth of research to get this kind of detail and the world he's built is truly impressive. Most importantly, his descriptions of the forests, towns, and landscapes are stunning. Whether it's the crisp air, the scent of fresh rain on spruce, the sound of a steam whistle, or the colors of the changing seasons, it's when Marlantes pans back to widescreen to observe the natural world of Deep River that the novel really sings.
That said, Deep River is a also book that seems to lose itself in exposition and the need to make use of every detail, tidbit of research, or moment in history, and it can occasionally feel like you're going through the motions of moving along the chain of the author's massive story outline. There were moments in this book that felt like watching the evolution of the steam engine in real time, with bits of history that don't really serve the story except to make sure a detail doesn't get left out. Don't get me wrong, I'm sure there are plenty of armchair historians who will be thrilled to marvel over how one might link the drive shaft of a donkey engine to its pistons, or convert it from wood to oil, but for me it was more like: "I can't wait for someone to get maimed by this contraption, or at least lose an arm or a leg...and hopefully soon.")
Aino is a complicated and interesting character as well, but when the story turns to her cause and mission, there are long speeches and musings on labor laws, wage negotiations, organizing workers, strikes, electing members... it's interesting stuff, but when you find yourself grinding through page after page of this, some of the magic gets lost.
Overall, I'd say to take these complaints with a grain of salt (or sawdust!) Marlantes is a gifted storyteller, and even if Deep River lacks some of the elegance of say,
Barkskins, it's still a worthy endeavor and very enjoyable historical fiction, and I suspect it may even end up on my year-end faves list.
On the plus side, this is largely a character-driven story with a huge cast, and during the expanse of the novel, you really get to know the lives, loves, and personal plights of this family. While Deep River looks like a contender for "Dad Book" of the year, it's thankfully more of a woman's story, with the daughter Aino taking center stage for the majority of the story, and she very much saves this from becoming just a big book about a bunch of Finnish dudes logging, fighting, and talking lumber. There are many great side characters as well which makes for a deep reading experience as you come to know all the family drama and connections.
Marlantes is also excellent at capturing time, place, and atmosphere in this novel, including the rich history, miserable working conditions, and perils of the logging industry. He must have drawn on a wealth of research to get this kind of detail and the world he's built is truly impressive. Most importantly, his descriptions of the forests, towns, and landscapes are stunning. Whether it's the crisp air, the scent of fresh rain on spruce, the sound of a steam whistle, or the colors of the changing seasons, it's when Marlantes pans back to widescreen to observe the natural world of Deep River that the novel really sings.
That said, Deep River is a also book that seems to lose itself in exposition and the need to make use of every detail, tidbit of research, or moment in history, and it can occasionally feel like you're going through the motions of moving along the chain of the author's massive story outline. There were moments in this book that felt like watching the evolution of the steam engine in real time, with bits of history that don't really serve the story except to make sure a detail doesn't get left out. Don't get me wrong, I'm sure there are plenty of armchair historians who will be thrilled to marvel over how one might link the drive shaft of a donkey engine to its pistons, or convert it from wood to oil, but for me it was more like: "I can't wait for someone to get maimed by this contraption, or at least lose an arm or a leg...and hopefully soon.")
Aino is a complicated and interesting character as well, but when the story turns to her cause and mission, there are long speeches and musings on labor laws, wage negotiations, organizing workers, strikes, electing members... it's interesting stuff, but when you find yourself grinding through page after page of this, some of the magic gets lost.
Overall, I'd say to take these complaints with a grain of salt (or sawdust!) Marlantes is a gifted storyteller, and even if Deep River lacks some of the elegance of say,
Barkskins, it's still a worthy endeavor and very enjoyable historical fiction, and I suspect it may even end up on my year-end faves list.
August 1, 2019
When I was a young teen, I remember spending hot summer days immersed in the huge historical novels of Michener and Uris. For hours, I would be caught up in their magnificent world-building, only emerging for meals and sleep.
I had the same experience with Deep River. At a weighty 700+ pages, there is much to enjoy. Marlantes takes us inside the logging and fishing industries of the Pacific Northwest, and the political radicalism at the turn of the century. Told as the story of a Finnish family who left the old country at the point of Russian guns, the book winds through their intertwined hard-scrabble lives.
This is easily a 4 star novel for me, and based on the reports of others, I need to go back and read Marlantes’ earlier “Matterhorn”.
I had the same experience with Deep River. At a weighty 700+ pages, there is much to enjoy. Marlantes takes us inside the logging and fishing industries of the Pacific Northwest, and the political radicalism at the turn of the century. Told as the story of a Finnish family who left the old country at the point of Russian guns, the book winds through their intertwined hard-scrabble lives.
This is easily a 4 star novel for me, and based on the reports of others, I need to go back and read Marlantes’ earlier “Matterhorn”.
September 11, 2019
I so wish I had liked this more. I thought Matterhorn was brilliant, and What It Is Like to Go to War was very good too. I don't know that I've ever read two novels by the same author that felt so different and so uneven in quality. This was fine and I kept moving through it but I don't know that there was any character that I was particularly invested in or any point in the whole book that really made me feel much of anything. I'm really disappointed that this fell pretty flat for me.
August 8, 2019
A big novel of family, immigration and America that follows three siblings from their early years working for Finland's independence from Russia to their lives as loggers and union organizers in the Pacific Northwest. As with his Vietnam novel, Matterhorn, Marlantes keeps us engaged with his characters' lives while also telling a bigger story. Aside from a few mispronunciations, Bronson Pinchot doesa fine job narrating the audiobook.
September 27, 2023
Deep River started strong with Aino experiencing the first tragedy of the family and from there we knew that the road wouldn't be smooth for the whole family.
The book is long and spanned many decades but I didn't get much from the characters. I enjoyed the historical aspects of the book but the characters were weak, I didn't feel any real emotions.
Deep River needed strong characters in order to carry it, they should be the selling point.
The book is long and spanned many decades but I didn't get much from the characters. I enjoyed the historical aspects of the book but the characters were weak, I didn't feel any real emotions.
Deep River needed strong characters in order to carry it, they should be the selling point.
March 3, 2020
Marlantes is best known for his novel, Matterhorn, a semi-memoir on the Vietnam war. It is an excellent insight into the experience of tactical and strategic combat experience in Indo China.
This book is very different, and Marlantes' narrative skills may not necessarily extend to deep emotional connection for either men or women, the single generation saga of a family of Finns forced into exile to the American Northwest is still a highly entertaining read.
The criticism made of his failure to create authentic women characters is beside the point - his male characters are no better drawn, and although this novel covers a bare 50 or so years (not counting the epilogue) the historical perspective of the union movement, social mores, the immigrant experience, the politically nascent socialist movement, and the development of manual logging to industrialised mechanical logging is insightfully and accurately presented.
My conclusion? Think Pillars of the Earth, but crammed into 50 years instead of 100, and ignore the bleating about his character development. Marlantes is not Hilary Mantel.
This book is very different, and Marlantes' narrative skills may not necessarily extend to deep emotional connection for either men or women, the single generation saga of a family of Finns forced into exile to the American Northwest is still a highly entertaining read.
The criticism made of his failure to create authentic women characters is beside the point - his male characters are no better drawn, and although this novel covers a bare 50 or so years (not counting the epilogue) the historical perspective of the union movement, social mores, the immigrant experience, the politically nascent socialist movement, and the development of manual logging to industrialised mechanical logging is insightfully and accurately presented.
My conclusion? Think Pillars of the Earth, but crammed into 50 years instead of 100, and ignore the bleating about his character development. Marlantes is not Hilary Mantel.
June 26, 2019
Deep River
Karl Marlantes
#GoodreadsGiveaway
Tentative Publication Date: July 2, 2019
Tentative Price: $30.00
Karl Marlantes states "this novel is not a retelling of The Kalevala but rather a tale highly influenced by it" (page 720, ARC). This is helpful to know when stepping into the churning waters of Deep River. Marlantes has crafted an accomplished melding of the "shamanic past" with the cultural realities of logging, fishing, and bootlegging set primarily in and around the Columbia River basin of Oregon and Washington at the turn of the 20th century.
Marlantes shows the full power of writing available through an extended narrative. The 700+ pages are not weighed down with verbose language or with unnecessary plot divergences. The novel primarily follows the character of Aino Koski from her youth in Finland to her time as an octogenarian. The prose is powerful, engrossing, and moving and is at times profound. The Finnish cultural heritage sets the frame as the Koski family lives their lives in the midst of the dangerous lumber and fishing industries in the American Pacific Northwest that is at times beautiful, but can also be cruel and corrupt. The narrative also opens a window unto the challenges and realities of the labor movement in the early 20th century, as well as the ideological confrontation between Communism, Socialism, Nationalism, and Capitalism.
Marlantes covers a wide swath of intellectual territory that is altogether satisfying - a great read.
5 stars
#MythicFiction
https://groveatlantic.com/author/karl...
August 20, 2022
At 700+ pages, I viewed this with some trepidation when I got it from the library. But since I live in SW Washington and am familiar with Astoria, I plunged in. Glad I did! This is a huge family saga, starting with life in the early 1900's in Finland under Russian occupation and following the family to SW Washington. I found the historical aspects to be fascinating. I knew the area was logging and fishing based but was unfamiliar with details and evolution. I even found the details of logging interesting. I especially connected with the attempts at Unionizing and the brutality of Union busting. The town of Knappton, that is prominent in the story, is now long gone . I have driven by the pilings at there many times but have never stopped or gave them a lot of thought beyond assuming they had something to do with fishing piers. And while I realize that many of the locations in the story are fictional or composites, I look forward to taking a day trip to the area to wander around with this book in mind.
My disappointment with the book was the woodenness the the characters themselves. While they were interesting (and many!), the magic wasn't there of creating connection with them. And I was very disappointed to find out that the main character, Aino Koski, was not based on a real person. But I loved that the author took the character's names from Finnish mythology, names which had been repressed by religion until the early 1900's. (Loved the Author's Comment at the end...maybe read that first)
My disappointment with the book was the woodenness the the characters themselves. While they were interesting (and many!), the magic wasn't there of creating connection with them. And I was very disappointed to find out that the main character, Aino Koski, was not based on a real person. But I loved that the author took the character's names from Finnish mythology, names which had been repressed by religion until the early 1900's. (Loved the Author's Comment at the end...maybe read that first)
September 24, 2019
I read Marlante's first novel, Matterhorn, in 2010, the year it was published. It ended up being the best book I read that year. Many book lovers felt the same way. A riveting look at the Vietnam war. Marlante has finally returned and he does not disappoint, delivering a big, sprawling epic, tracing a family over several decades. He based this on his own family's history.
It begins with the Koski family, living in Finland, as farmers. The country was still occupied by Russia, in the late 19th century and the father of the clan, was a strong nationalist and is soon arrested and imprisoned, forcing the family to flee to America. They take up residence in the Pacific Northwest, lured by the Homestead Act. They quickly establish themselves in the booming, logging community.
The author has done his research, adorning the narrative with rich historical detail, while keeping the dramatic elements of the story, moving along at a brisk clip and using the rugged wilds of Washington as a perfect backdrop. The reader will learn plenty about the early labor union battles, (yes, they were brutal) and everything you need to know about logging and salmon fishing.
Annie Proulx's novel, Barkskins, also covered the early logging industry. I liked that book but I think Marlantes did it a bit better. Terrific read.
It begins with the Koski family, living in Finland, as farmers. The country was still occupied by Russia, in the late 19th century and the father of the clan, was a strong nationalist and is soon arrested and imprisoned, forcing the family to flee to America. They take up residence in the Pacific Northwest, lured by the Homestead Act. They quickly establish themselves in the booming, logging community.
The author has done his research, adorning the narrative with rich historical detail, while keeping the dramatic elements of the story, moving along at a brisk clip and using the rugged wilds of Washington as a perfect backdrop. The reader will learn plenty about the early labor union battles, (yes, they were brutal) and everything you need to know about logging and salmon fishing.
Annie Proulx's novel, Barkskins, also covered the early logging industry. I liked that book but I think Marlantes did it a bit better. Terrific read.
July 15, 2019
Another amazing book by former Marine (and Rhodes Scholar) Karl Marlantes. His first was the extraordinary novel about Vietnam, "Matterhorn." Deep River is a long and engaging saga of a group of young people who emigrate over a period of several years from rural Finland in the early 1900s to settle in the Washington/Oregon border area where the Columbia pours into the sea. They find work as loggers and fishermen, cooks and union organizers. They don't emigrate because they want to, but because for one reason or another they've had to leave Finland because they've gotten into trouble with the local authorities or with the Czar's secret police (Finland at this time is a duchy of Russia) or because there's no way for them to earn a living . The story centers around three siblings: the brothers Ilmari and Matti, and their sister Aino. Coming into the story are their friends and loves, their work colleagues, their children and in-laws, and many more characters. There are so many rich themes in this book: loyalty, religion and spirituality, human rights, workers rights, city vs. country, rich vs. poor, workers vs. owners, the Depression and Prohibition, politics, old ways vs. new ways, what it means to be an American, and more. This sounds like a lot, but most of the themes are interconnected and brilliantly interwoven. You don't have to be interested in any of this to really enjoy the book: at its simplest it's a well-crafted tale that will draw you in and keep you engaged. Highly recommend it!
November 18, 2019
On the positive side, this is obviously meticulously researched, and engaging enough that I still cared about the characters after 700 pages. But the book covers so many decades of history that I often found myself desperately wanting the pace to slow down and immerse me a bit more in a particular moment. This might have been an even more engaging read with a more limited historical scope.
I was also disappointed that the most prominent portrayal of Native people in the book was a mystical woman who materialized whenever the plot needed her. Surely settlers in this time and place would have had other interactions with Native people. For all the historical topics crammed into this book, the novel doesn't really deal with the displacement of Native people (and only marginally with environmental changes, for that matter).
I was also disappointed that the most prominent portrayal of Native people in the book was a mystical woman who materialized whenever the plot needed her. Surely settlers in this time and place would have had other interactions with Native people. For all the historical topics crammed into this book, the novel doesn't really deal with the displacement of Native people (and only marginally with environmental changes, for that matter).
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