Somehow, I never choose to read books like "Hanna's Daughters," but a friend at work who is an avid reader of historical and cultural fiction lent it to me with a glowing recommendation. I also enjoyed it, and will give it a "+".
This is a book about three generations of women in Sweden, spanning the late 19th century through the late 20th century. This is a time of huge transformation in Scandinavia, when they basically dumped their royalty and adopted socialism, as well as underwent industrialization. These three generations of women were representative of the great changes, and the reader sees how each found a place for herself in the society of her time. It certainly wasn't easy for any of them.
Hanna was a poor country girl, growing up in the late 19th century when most Swedes were smalltime farmers or fisherman, living in small villages. By the time her daughter Johanna was growing up, there was already a shift toward burgeoning city life, and ultimately Johanna found her way to Goteborg to make a better life for herself than could be had on the dwindling farms. It was tough for her mother Hanna to move to city as an old woman.
Johanna had a daughter too-- Anna, who strode forth as a mid-twentieth century "modern woman," with far more opportunity and freedom than women had ever had. Like her mother and grandmother before her, Anna had complex relationships with family, lovers, her work and social life, as conditions shifted rapidly.
Fredriksson does an excellent job of "showing, not telling." There is no commentary in the book; it's all recollections in each woman's voice. The reader understands indirectly-- through the vocabulary used and the particular concerns that each woman thinks about-- what life was like in those times. The dialogue changes style with the times. <>I admit that some parts really put me on an anti-man tear. I think they were all the more powerful because Fredriksson presents them indirectly instead of saying, "this is how it was-- isn't that terrible?" As usual, the men are relatively clueless about what women are going through, and they have strong ideas about "order" in the world while simultaneously believing that women are the ones who are uncreative and stick too much to the rules. They go out and "change the world" while not realizing that the women have been enormously more adaptive and flexible about life's ups and downs.
Bottom line: I don't care if you hate capitalism, think technology is going to kill us all, think we're too greedy and consumptive, or think we've "lost our roots and community closeness." Life is WAAAAAAAY better now than it has ever been before, and I ain't goin' back!
"Hanna's Daughters" also has a lot of things to say about aging, dealing with older relatives who are troubled by cultural change, finding your own path in the world, and remembering your heritage in order to understand yourself. It is a very human book.
Copyright © Kim Allen 2000
