Not stamped O Kvindesland, many with the same covers. Some are stamped or hand written

This is an incredible novel, unlike anything I've ever read before. The character development is so powerful; you feel as though you are inhabiting the characters yourself. ( )

"Ho!"

Part I was excellent. Part II really loses steam as others have mentioned. ( )

Can see influence on Patrick deWitt ( )

I really enjoyed part one of Growth of the Soil because with Isak, the main character of the novel, starting a farm in the middle of the Norwegian wilderness around the turn of the 20th century; this book is just as much about the growth of a man as it about the Growth of the Soil. Watching Isak and his farm grow to reach their full potential was an inspirational and enjoyable experience. Unfortunately part two of the book is a about the people who followed Isak into the valley and also set up farms. These people simply didn't have the character and determination of Isak. I'm guessing the author wanted to represent Norwegian society as whole because part two of the novel consisted mostly of reading about the petty squabbles between neighbors and the martial infidelities between husbands & wives. It's too bad men like Isak are the exception to the rule ( )