Johan Falkberget's principal contributions to Norwegian literature are the novels and short stories in which he narrates three hundred years of mining history and rural life in the mountains of Norway. Imbued with his Christian faith and socialist ideals, Falkberget's works were written, he said, "å hjelpe og stimulere menneskene til å holde ut i den svære og vanskelige livskampen" (to help and stimulate human beings to bear up in the hard and difficult struggle of life). Fusing a Romantic yearning for nature with a naturalistic exposé of what he viewed as the alienation of the individual under capitalism, he depicted the nobility of social outcasts such as itinerant workers, illegitimate children, the disabled, and even criminals. A recurring theme in his works is the human being's dream of a better life in the midst of poverty and despair; he explores this theme as it...