Themes: religion, adversity, immigration, persecution, family, love
Setting: Scotland, Norway, US West, especially Wyoming, 1856

I've been hearing a lot about the handcart pioneers lately, emigrants who came from Europe to join the Latter-day Saints in Zion, but who were too poor to afford the fees used in outfitting a wagon. So the LDS church organized handcart companies who would travel with a wagon and cross the plains on foot. Most pioneers had to travel on foot anyway, as it was too hot and too uncomfortable to ride in the wagon. But these Saints had to carry all their stuff in handcarts which they themselves would push or pull - or both - halfway across the United States, from Iowa City to Salt Lake.

Most of the companies did fine. But two companies, which were later known by the men in charge of each group, the Martin and Willie companies, arrived so late in the year that they faced a difficult choice. Find the funds to stay there in Iowa until spring or set off and gamble that they would beat the winter weather and arrive without problem. They took the gamble, and winter arrived too soon.

This is told as non-fictional fiction, a style Lund uses often. He relies heavily on pioneer journals, oral history, and so on, and weaves in real historical figures along with his fictional families, one from Scotland, and two brothers from Norway. It is a long book, and I read that many readers had a hard time getting into the story. But I didn't have any trouble getting interested and found it to read quickly.

Conditions on the trail went from mildly uncomfortable to totally miserable and were frequently fatal. Many did not survive this journey. The old, the ill, and young children were most likely to die, but even perfectly healthy people would just drop dead from hunger and exhaustion. Those who did survive often experienced injuries that would affect them the rest of their lives. But very few of the handcart pioneers complained later.

Just yesterday I was driving through Sanpete county, where many of the Scandinavian pioneers were sent colonize after their arrival in Salt Lake. I had to wonder what they thought when they arrived in their rocky, mountainous, and rather inhospitable new home. Were they mainly disappointed? Or were they relieved to finally be in one place, where they could gather and worship, build homes, and know that they could stay put for a while? Or did they figure that any place was better than Rocky Ridge, where supplies were down to four ounces of flour a day for adults, no meat, no winter clothing, no shoes, and no shelter? Surely even the most meager home was a step up. And evidence is all around my home that they didn't sit around and complain, but rather got to work and made their new homes a success.

This story combines a bit of romance along with all the hardships, which made it more fun to read. I honestly think that Lund pulled a few punches though, as the story could have been even grimmer than he tells it. But it was an inspiring and well written story. 4 stars. ( )