SISTER LUMBERJACK

In Simar’s historical novel, three people from different walks of life struggle in the harsh Minnesota winter.

In the late 19th century, recently widowed Solveig Rognaldson is left alone on her farm after her adopted son leaves with his wife. To pay the mortgage, Solveig needs work, and she gets hired as a well-paid cook at a logging camp. Over in North Dakota, lumberjack Nels Jensen has trouble finding employment; it certainly doesn’t help that someone had previously framed him for thievery, effectively rendering him blackballed from many camps. He decides to try his luck in Minnesota. Meanwhile, Sister Magdalena, a nun in a Duluth convent, dreams up a plan for the nuns to procure money, selling tickets to lumberjacks to exchange for health care when they’re sick or injured for a dollar apiece. She starts at Starkweather Timber in Minnesota, the same place Solveig and Nels find jobs. As Solveig fights to maintain an orderly kitchen and Nels battles alcoholism, Sister Magdalena proves herself in countless ways as a smart, compassionate, and capable person. The author outfits this exceptional story with a superb cast. Solveig, a former indentured servant from Norway, quickly bonds with Nels, a Danish immigrant who’s her son’s age. Sister Magdalena shines brightest—her stature (she’s taller than the other nuns and most men) seemingly earns her the titular nickname, but she also develops a reputation as a reliable, fearless person. While the three lead characters sometimes clash, it’s truly rewarding when they work together, as when they deal with a seriously injured lumberjack or a saloon girl in a precarious spot. Simar’s concise dialogue perfectly suits the era and energizes the scene (“‘Nels, you red-haired son of a biscuit,’ Hiram said. ‘You’re too good for your old pals these days?’”). There’s humor, too, like a cook asking Solveig if she’s “Catlik” as he smokes cigars while standing over food he’s preparing.

A superlative cast fuels this enthralling and sensationally written historical tale.