Täällä Pohjantähden alla 1

One of the most iconic classics in Finnish literature, actually the first part of a trilogy. It's well written and historically accurate description of life in a small Tavastian countryside town from 1880s to early 1910s. Hardworking Finnish men in their crofts are trying to feed their families while developing an interest towards socialism. A language question both divides and unifies people living in the Grand Duchy of Finland, still part of the Russian Empire. Wealthy and the well educated landlords are seen as oppressors, paving the way to the civil war in 1918. This book doesn't get that far, but the story continues in the second part of the trilogy. In my opinion this could have been way shorter, maybe one book instead of three.