I've had paperback copies of this trilogy in my stash for many years, always saying I would read them, since I liked his "Light in the Forest." I finally read the first one. Pretty good, kind of poetic, about the hardships of being first settlers in the vast forest of the Northwest Territory, and trying to keep family together after early death of the mother and a wandering father, etc. It's from viewpoint of oldest daughter and a quick read for me. ( )

[b:The Trees|13760|The Trees|Conrad Richter|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1386925127l/13760._SY75_.jpg|15888] is the first of a trilogy in Conrad Richter’s American saga, [b:The Awakening Land: The Trees, The Fields, & The Town|345396|The Awakening Land The Trees, The Fields, & The Town|Conrad Richter|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1387711869l/345396._SX50_.jpg|15819132]. Whenever I read about the settling of this country, I am taken with the strength of the people who forged ahead to unknown places and dangers, leaving all they knew behind them forever. Such a family are the Luckett’s, Worth, Jary, and their five children, who leave Pennsylvania for the uncharted forests of Ohio, and such a family stands behind all of us whose families founded the U.S. and Canada.

The main character followed through the book is the oldest daughter, Sayward, who is a monument to strong women everywhere. She is physically able and quick, but it is her mental endurance that left me awed. Even one of the tragedies she faces would be too much for many of us, but we know that only the strong survive and only the strongest build. For if Sayward is anything, she is a builder, a worker, and a woman who will leave more behind her than she finds.

I had no difficulty in relating to each of the characters in the book. The rugged loner, that is Sayward’s father, Worth; the reluctant mother who follows him into places she never wishes to go, the children who adapt to whatever environment they are thrown into, and the good and evil people that come to populate their world–all seem real. There are no stereotypes here, even though several of the characters could easily have become that.

There are, of course, nuggets of truth sprinkled among these pages. When Sayward is wishing to make some Moss Tea, her Mother’s recipe, she can only remember pieces of the procedure and she reflects, “What moss it was and what you did then was forever buried now under the big white oak.” Do you think we all die with things we know that nobody else ever will? I do. I wish there were a million things I had thought to ask my Mama when she was here with me, and my Daddy was a fountain of folklore and family stories that have disappeared except in snatches over the years. Like Sayward, we don’t often think of it until it is too late.

This novel reads easily and feels very authentic, as if Richter might have lived in those times himself. If I had a complaint it would be that it ends abruptly, but then that wouldn’t be a valid complaint because it is part of a trilogy and Sayward and all the others are just waiting for me to pick them up again in [b:The Fields|79275|The Fields|Conrad Richter|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1388227876l/79275._SY75_.jpg|76547], which I am quite anxious to do.
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Someone called this book "Like a grown-up, raw version of Little House books" and it's so true. Mr Richter writes in a way that you think it's real, like those memoirs of early pioneers but with more depth and quality. Not sure if I'll read the rest of the series, but he left me curious to know what happens to the rest of the family. ( )

The Luckett family: Father Worth, Mother Jary, and children Sayward, Genny, Achsa, Wyitt, Sulie, and hound Sarge, find their way to the deep woods of Ohio after being driven out of Pennsylvania by famine in 1795. Hoping for a new life, they discover they are in a foreign land of multiple misunderstandings. The family has trouble cultivating the soil so food is scarce. Hunting even the smallest of animals keeps them fed. Illness hovers over them constantly until finally mother Jary is taken by consumption. The family misunderstands the neighboring native tribe and as a result, distrust and fear them in equal measure. [As an aside, I had to admit it broke my heart when the tribe violently skin a wolf alive for his pelt and then let the poor creature flee into the woods. It was so hard to read of such cruelty.] Other tragedies befall the family but somehow Sayward, the main character, shows true grit and a “woodsy” spirit. ( )

I enjoyed this look at early pioneer life when Ohio was still the wild northwest. I have read that this book was well-researched and linguistically accurate. I mention it along with Rolvaag's Giants in the Earth, and Cather's O Pioneers or My Antonia. I might include Jackson's Ramona. These are American stories, and I can't help but wish more people would read them. Laura Wilder will give you one look as those dynamics, but these books need to be considered. I hope I don't offend the "Little House on the Prairie" fans, but these other titles are adult. ( )