Suomalaiset ★★★★☆

Suomalaiset: People of the Marsh (Click Here To Buy)

★★★★☆

Suomalaiset: People of the Marsh by Mark Munger is a historical fiction novel about Finnish immigrants in Northern Minnesota.

My grandmother got this book from the author and had it signed, as our family’s name is Maki (the main character’s name). We started a sweet tradition where people in my family read the book, write their name in the back, and then pass it along to another family member. This photo was taken at the Jacobson Community Center.

Anders Alhomaki, later Andrew Maki, came to America from Finland due to the Russians trying to take away the freedom of the Finns. He came to Northern Minnesota because the landscape was similar to that of Finland and because there was lots of work opportunities for men in the logging and mining industries. Maki falls in love with Elin Gustafsson, the daughter of a wealthy Duluth lawyer. They are kept apart by politics and war and both continue to build their lives in this new world.

This book was interesting to me because my family is from Finland and came to America around the same time. The storyline itself, mainly the beginning and end, is kind of all over the place (it starts with a four part prologue that doesn’t really have much to do with the rest of the story) but it’s independently published and overall very well researched. #nohypenovember

If you liked Suomalaiset, I also recommend Killers of the Flower Moon by David Grann, The Undocumented Americans by Karla Cornejo Villavicencio, The Underground Railroad by Colston Whitehead, and These Ghosts Are Family by Maisy Card.

Happy reading!

Ms.Bjork