There is so much good content in this book and issues which surprised me in how openly they were discussed back then. There is mention of divorce and suicide and major plot points revolve around unhappy marriage, a (probably) mentally handicapped or ill man and an unmarried business woman. As a reader, you get a good impression of the hard life of building a farm in this new country, the uncertainty and need to adapt connected to it. While all of this is great, I feel like I should like this book much more than I actually do. I just wasn't engaged in the plot, which there isn't much of to begin with, but I don't always mind that. It might be due to the enormous time jumps that I couldn't grow attached enough to the characters, but, especially in the second half, whenever there was conflict, it felt too sentimental and not really compelling, especially since there isn't much page time to be devoted to most of it. It's absolutely worth reading to get a glimps at American history and what trying to settle there meant for the people. I think it is effective in discussing issues relevant to this time, however as a narrative it wasn't gripping enough for me.