What can you say about immigration these days that won’t get you into trouble with someone? However, I just read two books and watched a DVD that have the immigration theme and they were excellent. It is really just a coincidence that I was reading My Antonia by Willa Cather and a new book by Lori Lansens titled The Girls plus watching a DVD the library just bought called The Red Violin. On the surface these three stories have very little in common. The Girls, Rose and Ruby are twenty-nine-year-old conjoined twins living in Canada in contemporary times. It is early homestead days in Black Hawk Nebraska where Antonia Shimerdas and Jim Burden are growing up. The Red Violin began its travels in Italy in the 1600’s. Different time periods, different countries, different stories, but all have in their background the culture of Bohemia and the experience of being immigrants.

It is the similar foods, music, fables and superstitions that blend these stories together. The less than warm welcome that the Bohemian immigrants received in each story was achingly similar as well. The human spirit’s ability to overcome hardships and succeed in spite of and also because of the differences in cultural backgrounds makes these books and DVD very uplifting stories. Enjoy them and then join the Library staff at our next cultural night on Thursday August 20 at 6pm. We will be learning about Bohemia and celebrating Bohemian culture in a building built by Croatian stonemasons.

My Antonia – Willa Cather
The Girls – Lori Lansens
The Red Violin – DVD