Translated as The Boat of Longing (1933). This novel is the only one of Rølvaag’s novels in which a substantial portion of the action takes place in Norway. The Boat of Longing tells the story of a young immigrant’s life in Norway and in Minneapolis. The sections that take place in Norway are mystical and romantic, the sections that take place in urban America are harshly realistic. The novel emphasizes the relationship between art and cultural inheritance and points out that art does not easily thrive among the rootless and insecure. It is an indictment of an America that rejects and ignores the value and the very soul of the immigrant. It’s not strange that the story in this novel seems unfinished, for Rølvaag himself labeled it “Book One.” Unfortunately, he was never able to continue the story with a Book Two.
Digitized version of Længselens Baat is available on HathiTrust.
Funding to digitize the O.E. Rølvaag Papers was provided to the Norwegian American Historical Association through the Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund, a component of the Minnesota Clean Water, Land and Legacy constitutional amendment, ratified by Minnesota voters in 2008.
Funding to digitize the O.E. Rølvaag Papers was provided to the Norwegian American Historical Association through the Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund, a component of the Minnesota Clean Water, Land and Legacy constitutional amendment, ratified by Minnesota voters in 2008.
Funding to digitize the O.E. Rølvaag Papers was provided to the Norwegian American Historical Association through the Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund, a component of the Minnesota Clean Water, Land and Legacy constitutional amendment, ratified by Minnesota voters in 2008.
Funding to digitize the O.E. Rølvaag Papers was provided to the Norwegian American Historical Association through the Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund, a component of the Minnesota Clean Water, Land and Legacy constitutional amendment, ratified by Minnesota voters in 2008.
Funding to digitize the O.E. Rølvaag Papers was provided to the Norwegian American Historical Association through the Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund, a component of the Minnesota Clean Water, Land and Legacy constitutional amendment, ratified by Minnesota voters in 2008.
Funding to digitize the O.E. Rølvaag Papers was provided to the Norwegian American Historical Association through the Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund, a component of the Minnesota Clean Water, Land and Legacy constitutional amendment, ratified by Minnesota voters in 2008.
Funding to digitize the O.E. Rølvaag Papers was provided to the Norwegian American Historical Association through the Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund, a component of the Minnesota Clean Water, Land and Legacy constitutional amendment, ratified by Minnesota voters in 2008.
Funding to digitize the O.E. Rølvaag Papers was provided to the Norwegian American Historical Association through the Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund, a component of the Minnesota Clean Water, Land and Legacy constitutional amendment, ratified by Minnesota voters in 2008.
