In 1891, newlyweds Rannei and Arne Bergstrom arrive in New York City full of hope and awe. They’ve left behind family, friends, and civilization in Norway in search of fertile farmland and a place to start a family.
A fellow passenger on the train west convinces Arne to try his hand at sheep-ranching on The Big Gumbo, an inhospitable piece of earth in South Dakota. Arne is enchanted with the notion of taming the unforgiving landscape, but Rannei dreads the isolation and lack of female companionship.
Life on The Big Gumbo is difficult and threatens to rip their love apart and tear their dreams to shreds. Relying on her uniquely feminist version of ancient Norse Gods, Rannei must find her way through the darkest time of her life to keep her marriage and love for Arne whole.
“The Big Gumbo is a moving narrative about a European family settling on the lonesome shortgrass plains west of the Missouri River. It reminded me of My Antoniaby Willa Cather and Old Julesby Mari Sanduz—two classic stories about survival and final success. Terrific read!”–William Kittredge, Author of Hole in the Sky and The Last Best Place
“The Gumbo is a long way from anywhere, and it is lonely.These words spoken by Cal Willard, the only landowner on the Big Gumbo in South Dakota in 1891, sound a warning to Rannei Bergstrom newly married and newly immigrated to the United States from Norway. But to her husband, Arne, Cal’s words promise a dream world. There begins the conflicts that build throughout Jean Herbert Winthers’ debut novel. A story of place, The Big Gumbo, also explores the different ways passionate people respond to living in a harsh and isolated land. The novel is a love story, inevitably a love triangle, as well as an investigation of class: Rannei and her only neighbor Cal were born to privilege and each in their own way are ill-prepared for the isolation and rigors of the Big Gumbo. Arne was born to poverty and hard work; for him, the Gumbo offers a chance to become a wealthy rancher and landowner, thus raising his status. Jean Winthers’ novel is furthermore an exploration of topics including immigration, prejudice, and gender inequities that continue to complicate life in today’s west. Winthers knows the importance of these topics and she weaves them skillfully through her characters actions and reactions. She also knows intimately this harsh land suitable only for raising sheep, and, as a former shepherd, she knows about sheep. Sheep and horses will paw for their food through snow. Cattle won’t.(p.22). Snow, it will on the Gumbo. Readers of this fine novel will not only be entertained by a story that needs telling, they will come away knowing more about Norwegian culture, the power of love, loneliness, and the revealing, unforgiving, impact a place can have upon people’s lives." –Robert Lee, novelist & poet, Author of Guiding Elliott.
“I was riveted by this poignant story of young homesteaders struggling for survival and identity in the relentless prairie landscape of 1890’s South Dakota. Jean Winthers immerses us not only in the realities of pioneer life and the unexpectedly fascinating details of sheep ranching, but also in the human drama of three young people loving, suffering, and growing together. Please, Jean Winthers, give us another book and continue the story!”–Jane M. Healy, Ph.D., Author of Your Child’s Growing Mind
