Peeking Between the Pages

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Oleanna by Julie K. Rose & Giveaway (Int’l)

by

Oleanna

Oleanna by Julie K. Rose is quite simply a beautifully written book.  The story was inspired by the author’s great-great aunts and takes place in Norway in 1905.  This novel paints such a vivid picture of life at this time in history and you feel drawn in from the very first page.  You feel the hardships, love, loss, loyalty and family that flow from the pages of this book all the while feeling haunted by the shadows of ghosts past.  I don’t often turn the last page of a book and want to go right back to the beginning but that’s how this novel has made me feel with all the beautiful passages and the quiet but deep and touching tale.

Oleanna and her sister Elisabeth are all that is left of their family and they have suffered an abundance of loss with the death of both of their parents and two sisters as well as two brothers who immigrated to America.  Elisabeth has her young son but all Oleanna seems left with are ghosts from the past.  Since the death of her mother and younger sister Anna she can’t move on as she feels responsible for them dying.  Oleanna believes that everyone you love always ends up leaving you and this leaves her unable to put her trust in anyone or even to love again.  Into the scenario comes Anders who lives on the border of their farm and despite trying hard to avoid it there is a definite spark between Oleanna and Anders.  As things become more serious between them Oleanna begins to question Anders about his past but he is very secretive about it although he professes to love her.  Just as she begins to trust him and hope for a future together he tells her that he has to leave but he promises to be back.  Can he be trusted?  Or is he just the same as everyone else who leaves her?  When the opportunity arises for Oleanna to travel to America she pushes herself hard and takes it.  If she doesn’t do it now then she will never leave the farm and see the world and more importantly actually have a life.  Is a life outside the farm really what she wants though or will the pull of the familiar and the love of family take her back to what is truly important to her?

I really liked Oleanna.  Both she and her sister Elisabeth were no strangers to hard work.  Living in on a farm that is pretty much out in the wilds ensured that they knew what an honest day’s work entailed and often they worked from dawn till dusk to get all the chores completed.  Oleanna also wasn’t willing to settle even though she was thirty years old which in the early 1900’s was considered an old maid.  She was strong and yet battled her ghosts and the guilt that held her in one place.  I admired her for her loyalty to both her sister and the land that had been in her family for generations.  Oleanna was a woman I won’t soon forget.

I loved this novel.   I’m always drawn to novels of early farming communities and the struggles of the people who lived on them.  Oleanna went a step further in this novel’s beautiful, lyrical writing and evoking a time and place that takes you out of your world and puts you into another one.  The vivid descriptions of this land of solitude were so achingly beautiful and I wanted nothing more than to find myself sitting beside the lake and staring out at the land and experiencing the peace of it for myself.  I highly recommend this book and look forward to reading more from this author!

Oleanna by Julie K. Rose is touring with Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours so be sure to pop by the other tour stops to see what others are saying about the book.  Julie can be found on her website as well as Facebook, Twitter, and Goodreads.  You can pick up your own copy of Oleanna at Amazon, Amazon Canada, B&N, and IndieBound.

Oleanna Tour Banner FINAL

GIVEAWAY DETAILS (Open Internationally)

I have one copy of Oleanna by Julie K. Rose to share with my readers.  To enter…

  • For 1 entry leave me a comment entering the giveaway.
  • For 2 entries, follow my blog.  If you already do let me know and I’ll pass the extra entry on to you as well.
  • Tweet, like on Facebook, or Blog for 3 entries.

This giveaway is open internationally!  I will draw for the winner on Saturday, April 20/13.  Good luck!

 

Source: Review copy provided by Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours and the Publisher.  No compensation was received and all opinions are my own.

 

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Comments

  1. I would love to enter for this book. It sounds really interesting. Please enter me.
    I am a follower of your blog and a subscriber.
    I will share this on my Facebook page.
    Maxie mac262(at)me(dot)com

  4. I also enjoy books about early farming communities so please enter me in this giveaway.

    I follow on Google reader.

  9. Sounds like an interesting and unique book! Thanks for the giveaway!

    I follow the blog via email:
    lafra86 at gmail dot com

    I liked this post on facebook (Lara Newell)

  10. Thanks for the review. Sounds like a moving story. I follow your blog via email.

  17. I remember reading reviews of this book last year and everyone just loved it! Thanks for the chance to win a copy!

  20. Because you went back and re-read some of the passages, I know that this is a treasure of a book. So glad that you are having this giveaway.

    CarolNWong(at)aol(dot)com

  21. Because you went back and re-read some of the passages, I know that this is a treasure of a book. So glad that you are having this giveaway. (I am having trouble posting, my fingers are crossed!)

    CarolNWong(at)aol(dot)com

  22. I am a GFC follower (Carol N Wong) and an e-mail subscriber.

    CarolNWong(at)aol(dot)com

  27. Would like to read this. I enjoy historical fiction and have never read anything about Norway.

  29. This does sound like a great book, and if you liked this one, you would probably like Romancing Olive, which deals with a farming life in the mid 1900’s. I loved your review and am going to enter your giveaway, even though I think I am going to head on over to Amazon and grab this one. Beautiful job on this one today, my friend!

    zibilee(at)figearo(dot)net

  31. I added this book to my wish list in June of 2012; I’m so anxious to read it. Thanks for the giveaway.

    I follow through Google Reader.

    lcbrower40(at)gmail(dot)com

  32. Thanks for the giveaway!
    I follow via email: mestith at gmail dot com
    I liked this post on FB: Meghan Stith

    This looks like a really good read as I love historical fiction!

    mestith at gmail dot com

  38. My grandfather emigrated here from Norway in approx 1880. I would love to read this book. It feels like a family story.

    I am a GFC follower

    lkish77123 at gmail dot com

  39. Thank you for your review. Most helpful. OLEANNA does look wonderful.

    GFC: Mary Preston

    Email Subscriber:

    marypres(AT)gmail(DOT)com

  40. This certainly sounds like a great novel to read. I’ve had the great opportunity to visit Norway and immediately fell in love with the beauty of the country and friendliness of its people. I enjoy novels with strong heroines and Oleanna certainly sounds like she fits that bill. I will be adding this one to my Wish List. Thanks for telling me about it.

    conniecape(at)aol(dot)com

    Will tweet and share on Facebook

  41. Sounds wonderful! I often dream of living by the lake or a river and being able to really commune with nature.

  44. Reading about Oleanna and her sister and their life on the farm sounds right up my alley. How they face the solitude and the heartache will be interesting and probably encouraging to read.
    Please enter me Darlene, and I follow you email.
    Thanks!
    cjay (at) iavalley (dot) edu

  46. This book really makes for an interesting story. I would love to read it to find out what happens to Oleanna. Thanks for having the giveaway.

    ayancey(at)dishmail(dot)net

  49. Oleanna sounds like an interesting book. I love historical fiction (was a history major in college). I love that the setting of this novel is Norway. 🙂 Thanks for the chance to win a copy. I follow your blog (GFC/Beverly S.). I tweeted about the giveaway and I “like” you on Facebook. Hoping to win so I can take it out on the front porch this spring and “escape” with a good new book. 🙂