Giants in the Earth - Rolvaag

Currently, I am reading the book Giants in the Earth, by Rolvaag. His name contains some umlauts and such, but my symbol skill with the Mac leaves much to be desired. I got this book from my grandmother, with yellow pages and cracked binding. I haven't read very far, but here's a quick plot summary: A group of Norwegian settlers travel out west into the Dakota territories in 1873. Four families make the journey, but one is left behind. This is the family of Hans Olsa, the family that is shown at the very beginning of the story. Eventually, after finding fresh horse dung, they reach the small "kingdom" that belongs to the other families. After dividing the land amongst themselves, each family begins to start building a house and a farm. They call it a "Kingdom", with kings and princes, because they compare it to the Pharaoh's land in Ancient Egypt. However, things are starting to go slightly wrong, at least in my opinion, for the family of Hans Olsa. The sod house that he is trying to construct is a palace, with three rooms (comparatively, the other family's sod houses are a single room). Hans is working day and night, be it on the house, or on the crops that he planted. To me it seems that Hans will lose his mind in this strange new world. I originally thought this book would be very Robinson Crusoe-esque, but as I read further, it isn't. Also, according to the plot summary on the back, Hans Olsa's wife is supposed to be the main character, but in what I've read so far, she hasn't really done much except for talk with her husband, make food, take care of the kids, and internally whine about how bad the endeavor is/could end up. While it looks like a lot, it doesn't further the plot and is described with but a few words each time her deeds are mentioned. So far, I think it is OK. I believe that the book just has a very long introduction, setting the stage for some real action (not like fight-action). If you like Norway, books about settlers, the Dakotas, or American adventures, this book is probably for you. If not - well, then probably not.

-Farvel! (That's Norwegian)