In her great historical epic Kristin Lavransdatter, set in fourteenth-century Norway, Nobel laureate Sigrid Undset tells the life story of one passionate and headstrong woman. .
YES. I’ll read that.
I’ve been missing have a “chunkster” with me this year in my daily reading. Last year with Les Mis was just phenomenal. I have always wanted to read this story, purely from what a pretty book standpoint and another bibliophile did as well, so we decided to start this June. I’m hoping I can do the reading in six months/ but if not, that’s fine.
The author, Undset was born in Kalundborg, Denmark, but her family moved to Norway when she was two years old. In 1924, she converted to Catholicism. She fled Norway for the United States in 1940 because of her opposition to Nazi Germany and the German invasion and occupation of Norway, but returned after World War II ended in 1945.
Her best-known work is this book: Kristin Lavransdatter, a trilogy about life in Norway in the Middle Ages, portrayed through the experiences of a woman from birth until death. Its three volumes were published between 1920 and 1922.
I intend to read the entire thing. So far I very much am enjoying Kristin. It is fascinating how women have been mistreated since the beginning of time, in other words, since day one.
“Good days are granted to sensible people, but the grandest of days are enjoyed by those who dare to act unwisely.”
Making my way slowly through this wonderful chunkster of a book. I very much enjoy Kristin. I worry for her often, yet also enjoy her thoroughly. The writing of this story just draws you in. Lyrically beautiful and stunning, I can pick it up and be right in it again after setting it aside when finishing the weeks assigned chapters.
There is way more religion in the book than I knew about, which makes it fascinating -as some of it is still used today in manors that keep control of women. Women not being safe to walk alone, that hasn’t changed either since 14th century…
JULY 20-UPDATE:
I have finished Book One, The Wreath. The last chapter 😳🤯.
Just WOW. Starting in on Book Two, The Wife, next, after my talk on what I just read with my fellow readers. OY VEY. I seriously love this book.
Book one: Originally published in Norwegian in 1920 and set in fourteenth-century Norway, The Wreath chronicles the courtship of a headstrong and passionate young woman and a dangerously charming and impetuous man. Undset re-creates the historical backdrop in vivid detail, immersing readers in the day-to-day life, social conventions, and political undercurrents of the period. Her prose combines the sounds and style of Nordic ballads, European courtly poetry, and religious literature. But the story Undset tells is a modern one; it mirrors post-World War I political and religious anxieties, and introduces a heroine who has long captivated contemporary readers. Defying her parents and stubbornly pursuing her own happiness, Kristin emerges as a woman who not only loves with power and passion but intrepidly confronts her sexuality.
WHEW.
PART II
This new translation by Tina Nunnally—the first English version since Charles Archer’s translation in the 1920s—captures Undset’s strengths as a stylist. Nunnally, an award-winning translator, retains the natural dialog and lyrical flow of the original Norwegian, with its echoes of Old Norse legends, while deftly avoiding the stilted language and false archaisms of Archer’s translation. In addition, she restores key passages left out of that edition.
Undset’s ability to present a meticulously accurate historical portrait without sacrificing the poetry and narrative drive of masterful storytelling was particularly significant in her homeland. Granted independence in 1905 after five hundred years of foreign domination, Norway was eager to reclaim its national history and culture. Kristin Lavransdatter became a touchstone for Undset’s contemporaries, and continues to be widely read by Norwegians today. In the more than 75 years since it was first published, it has also become a favorite throughout the world.
