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In 1905, Rebecca Kaplansky leaves her parents and Jewish shtetl in The Ukraine to join her fiance´ Samuel Abramowitz in Milwaukee. Ingrid Christiansen journeys from her orphanage in Norway to become the Picture Bride of Lars Jorgensen, a widowed Norwegian farmer with two young sons in North Dakota. But as Rebecca and Ingrid are processed together at Ellis Island, officials put them on the wrong trains. Each is sent to the other’s final destination.
Realizing the mistake, Lars takes Rebecca to his farm and promises to help her find her way back to Samuel. And Samuel convinces his family to take in Ingrid until they can locate Rebecca and return the Norwegian girl to Lars. It is hatred at first sight for the feisty Ingrid and Samuel and his traditional Jewish family. Lars does not understand Rebecca’s Jewish practices. Lost in a strange land, living in alien cultures, and unable to speak English, the women struggle to return to their rightful new homes. But when the chance finally comes to fulfill their destinies, will the love that has blossomed between Rebecca and Lars threaten to destroy everything? Flower Toward the Sun celebrates the unlimited possibilities for a new life in the promised land of America. |
READING GROUP GUIDE
- What do you think is the meaning of the title? In what ways do Rebecca and Ingrid “flower” by the end of the story?
- This is a story about how one twist of fate can change a person’s life. How does each character deal with this sudden change in his/her destiny? Have you had your entire life changed due to one incident?
- Will Ingrid find the happiness she seeks?
- Will Rebecca maintain her Jewish traditions in the future? Do you think she made the right choice at the end of the story? To what extent would you be willing to give up your religion and traditions for someone you love? Did you disagree with her decision because of your disapproval of interfaith marriage?
- How do Rebecca and Ingrid change in the course of the story? (What does each woman WANT at the beginning of the story? What does each WANT at the end?)
- Although the story is about the two women’s physical and emotional journey, it’s also about the life journeys of Lars and Samuel. How does each man change in the course of the story? (What does each man WANT at the beginning of the story? What does each WANT at the end?)
- In light of Ingrid’s difficult childhood in the Norwegian orphanage, do you understand her and excuse her selfish thoughts and actions? Do you find yourself cheering for her in spite of her faults?
- What does this story tell you about the multi-cultural nature of America? Were you surprised how ethnically diverse the settlers in North Dakota were at the beginning of the twentieth century?
- What does the hostility towards Rebecca on the part of the Norwegian settlers in North Dakota tell you about anti-Semitism in American history?
- Samuel and his traditional Jewish family gradually come to understand Ingrid and her Christianity and Norwegian culture; Lars and the others in North Dakota come to accept Rachel’s Judaism and ethnic background. What does this story tell you about what today we call interreligious dialogue?
- What does this story tell you about the difficulties immigrants face? The difficulties the pioneers who settled the West faced?
- How do you think the “Picture Bride” marriages common in the time-period of this novel worked out? Can you imagine entering into such an arrangement?
REVIEWS
Flower Toward The Sun is another novel by local author Marcia Rudin. It’s a fascinating tale about two young girls who, in 1905, leave their homes headed to America to find a husband. Rebecca leaves her parents and Jewish shtetl in the Ukraine to join her fiancé Samuel Abramowitz in Milwaukee. Ingrid Christiansen leaves her Lutheran orphanage in Norway to become a Picture Bride of Lars Jorgensen, a widowed Norwegian farmer homesteading in North Dakota. However, while the two girls are being processed together at Ellis Island, immigrations officials put them on the wrong trains and each is sent to the other’s destination.
Marcia says it’s possible that on her first visit to the Ellis Island Immigration Museum years ago, she saw a photograph of two women with a caption explaining that they were messed up and mistakenly sent to the wrong intended husbands. She thought, “Wow, that must have been a disaster.” At any rate that’s what she tells people when they ask how she came up with the idea for this novel. Two women with opposite personalities, different religions and from different cultures, who do not speak English are thrown into a new environment. Just think about how difficult it would have been to straighten everything out in the early 1900s with no computers, cell phones, or email.
The characters in the book are fictional but the challenges faced at that time by immigrants in both South Dakota and Milwaukee are accurate. Ingrid is feisty and when she first meets Samuel and his Orthodox Jewish family, it’s hatred at first sight. She did not have a happy life in the orphanage and it affects her outlook on life. Lars, with his two young sons, doesn’t understand Rebecca’s Jewish traditions. Unable to speak English, the two women face a huge struggle as they fight to return to their rightful new homes.
Rebecca and Ingrid have no choice but to try to settle into their new lives. As time passes, there is a better understanding between all the characters and finally the mix-up is solved. Samuel and Ingrid travel to North Dakota to bring Ingrid to Lars and take Rebecca back to Milwaukee. But it isn’t that simple because feelings have grown between Rebecca and Lars.
Flower Toward The Sun celebrates the unlimited possibilities for a new life in the promised land of America. It’s a poignant and tender example of positive Jewish-Christian inter-religious relations at that time. I thoroughly enjoyed reading the book, and I’m sure you will too.
Marcia says it’s possible that on her first visit to the Ellis Island Immigration Museum years ago, she saw a photograph of two women with a caption explaining that they were messed up and mistakenly sent to the wrong intended husbands. She thought, “Wow, that must have been a disaster.” At any rate that’s what she tells people when they ask how she came up with the idea for this novel. Two women with opposite personalities, different religions and from different cultures, who do not speak English are thrown into a new environment. Just think about how difficult it would have been to straighten everything out in the early 1900s with no computers, cell phones, or email.
The characters in the book are fictional but the challenges faced at that time by immigrants in both South Dakota and Milwaukee are accurate. Ingrid is feisty and when she first meets Samuel and his Orthodox Jewish family, it’s hatred at first sight. She did not have a happy life in the orphanage and it affects her outlook on life. Lars, with his two young sons, doesn’t understand Rebecca’s Jewish traditions. Unable to speak English, the two women face a huge struggle as they fight to return to their rightful new homes.
Rebecca and Ingrid have no choice but to try to settle into their new lives. As time passes, there is a better understanding between all the characters and finally the mix-up is solved. Samuel and Ingrid travel to North Dakota to bring Ingrid to Lars and take Rebecca back to Milwaukee. But it isn’t that simple because feelings have grown between Rebecca and Lars.
Flower Toward The Sun celebrates the unlimited possibilities for a new life in the promised land of America. It’s a poignant and tender example of positive Jewish-Christian inter-religious relations at that time. I thoroughly enjoyed reading the book, and I’m sure you will too.
- Di Saggau, The Island Sun and River Weekly News
The plot of Flower to the Sun seems almost impossible to imagine and yet I’m told that it could and did occur during those early years of mass immigration thru Ellis Island. Such improbable occurrences you’re thinking as you read the early chapters. But then you’re drawn into the novel by the writer’s adept descriptions of the everyday life that takes place on a farm in North Dakota and in the crowded apartments of Milwaukee. N’er the Twain shall meet you think as the book moves forward (no email or even phones to connect these lost and downtrodden women). But surprises await the reader and as the months turn into a year, our heroines adapt and learn to like and even love their new surroundings and “hosts”. But the difficult jouneys they endured both to the US from their native lands to wed a fellow kinsman, and the journey once they are “settled” in a very strange and often unwelcoming environment makes the book so fascinating. A lot of research went into the writing and I found it fascinating to learn more about the customs and habits of the clashing cultures. Of course the end is not what you’d expect. All the more reason to read this little gem of a book.
- Joan Charlson
Marcia Rudin has woven a wonderful story about two women who travel from Europe to the United States in 1905 to wed. A mistake at Ellis Island sends the Norwegian Protestant woman to the Jewish tailor in Milwaukee and the Ukranian Jewish woman to the Norwegian Protestant farmer in North Dakota. What follows is a fascinating tale of the ensuing months, as the parties try to find each other and gradually learn to accept each other.It is heart-warming and compelling, even more so as it progresses. It was difficult to put the book down. This story would make a fabulous screen play! The historical aspects of the book are informative and shed light on how difficult daily life was in the early twentieth century. Ms. Rudin's research provided the novel with authenticity and substance.
- Tampa Girl
…Ms. Rudin draws us into her tale in such a way that makes the reader reluctant to put the book down and even more reluctant to leave them when the book is finished.
- Rabbi Stephen Fuchs
