"Deeply researched and full of memorable moments, Swede Hollow is the powerful story of a family who makes the long journey to St. Paul from Sweden in the 1890s and struggles to create new lives for themselves in a hidden quarter of the city. Ola Larsmo writes with sympathy and grace, and his tale is a quiet epic, full of wonder and dreams and loss. Not to be missed."—Larry Millett, author of Metropolitan Dreams"Ola Larsmo presents a sober and realistic portrayal of the suffering and hardships that awaited Swedish immigrants after they arrived in America. Swede Hollow is a moving, at times harrowing, always convincing novel on a truly epic scale."—Steve Sem-Sandberg, author of The Emperor of Lies"Ola Larsmo has animated a singular place and moment in the story of Minnesota’s settlement by Europeans. Larsmo is a faithful storyteller, rooted in historical incident, hearing the voices and breathing life into people who risked everything to forge new beginnings and raise up families by sweat, fist, and the ragged, life-giving fabric of clan."—Peter C. Brown, author of The Fugitive Wife"Swede Hollow captures the travails of a group of Swedish immigrants who find refuge in this poor neighborhood in St. Paul. Ola Larsmo gives the reader a remarkable sense of the struggle and dislocation that is ever present in these people. A rich and worthwhile read addressing the basic question of immigration—how does one make a life in a new country?"—Mary Logue, author of the Claire Watkins mysteries"Ola Larsmo’s Swede Hollow follows in the rich and remarkable tradition of Scandinavian luminaries like Rolvaag and Moberg. Here’s a novel that makes the epic intimate and the intimate profound and enduring. You’ll no sooner forget these characters than you will your own kinfolk, and if you’re like me, you will love them much the same."—Peter Geye, author of Wintering