53 of 55 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Kristin Lavransdatter, for me, is the story of Everywoman., June 3, 1997
By A Customer
This review is from: Kristin Lavransdatter: The Bridal Wreath; The Mistress of Husaby; The Cross (Hardcover)
The trilogy, Kristin Lavransdatter, tells the story of a Scandanavian woman who lived in the 1400s. The books--The Bridal Wreath, The Mistress of Husaby, and The Cross--were written by Sigrid Undset and won the 1928 Nobel Prize for Literature.
Before I commit to read a book, I have to want to read it. For many years, my younger brother told me I should read Kristin Lavransdatter. My reaction: What is so great about some lady living in the middle of nowhere in the 1400s? Maybe later...on to the bestseller list.
Oops! I had to eat my words and credit little brother with a great pick! Not to mention a total surprise!
This is probably the best set of books I have ever read in a lifelong love affair with the written word. The story chronicles the life of a woman from youth to death. In essence, however, the author touches on the lives of all women who have loved a man or men, borne and reared children, and faced the lighthearted concerns of youth, the cares of everyday adult existence, and, finally, the contemplations of elderly wives, widows, and grandmothers. Kristin's joys and trials are familiar...universal. First, she defies her parents. (Sound familiar?) She makes choices, then lives with the consequences of her choices.
Sometimes the names and terms are confusing; but, ultimately, the story is well worth the effort. Try it! And remember, men, my brother, whose reading tastes revolve around Asimov, engineering, and the Civil War, pushed these volumes rather forcefully into my purview.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
43 of 44 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Kristin Lavransdatter A Good Long Winter's Read, October 25, 2005
This review is from: Kristin Lavransdatter: The Bridal Wreath; The Mistress of Husaby; The Cross (Hardcover)
Many novels set in the Middle Ages happen to have a few people and a few human values in them. Authors dwell upon the trappings of the times, ensnaring their characters in endless descriptions of clothing and castles, until the stories read like a 6th Grade history text, in which a child hero takes the reader through the facts and figures of the era by recreating A Day in the Life of A Knight. Or a Monk. Or a Serf.
Then, there's Sigrid Undsett's `Kristin Lavransdatter,' written in the 1920s and winner of a Nobel Prize for Literature. This novel contains strong people with real attitudes, who happen to live in 14th Century Norway. Universal themes create a link between the Medieval era and modern times, the same way the motifs of `Romeo and Juliet,' or `Othello' link the Renaissance to the 21st Century.
The epic story (over 1100 pages) focuses on Kristin, the strong-willed and somewhat spoiled daughter of the knight, Lavran. Intelligent but impetuous, Kristin struggles through her teenage years, breaks an engagement to the embarrassment of her parents, and marries Erland, a man of whom they disapprove.
Kristin and Erland have a rocky, but at the same time joyous marriage. In some ways, he is a disappointing husband. He is a passionate lover, but cannot manage money or land, and has no common sense about people. Forced to become the brains of the family, Kristin constantly struggles between keeping her place as a woman, and managing finances and fields.
As her children grow up, Erland gets on the wrong side of national politics and plunges the family into poverty. She copes. Eventually he dies in a fight. She becomes a nun. .
Sigrid Undsett takes Kristin through every phase of development, from a little girl terrified when she thinks she sees a forest nymph, to a teen refusing to see the wisdom in guidance her parents are trying to give her, to becoming a mother and understanding exactly what they meant, to making peace with herself at the end of her life.
More exciting, the author places other characters, Erland, Kristin's parents, her children, siblings, family priests, in-laws, and friends, in situations very similar to hers. But they have their own ways of reacting, depending on their temperaments and backgrounds. This creates layers and layers of human thought and action for a reader to compare and contrast in `Kristin Lavransdatter.'. Undsett also varies the pace of the book, balancing character action with contemplation. She holds the description of Kristin's surrounds to what she needs to drive plot and character, giving a picture of 14th Century material culture without excessive detail. She manages this in part because she grew up with an archaeologist father, who specialized in the Medieval Period. From early childhood she heard about artifacts of the Middle Ages and their uses. When she did her own research for `Kristin Lavransdatter,' she had long passed infatuation with castles, and could concentrate on the humanity of the knights living in them.
`Kristinlavransdatter' was written in Norwegian. The original English translation, also from the 1920s, imitated Medieval grammar and usage. The result was a dense and complex tangle of phrase, paragraph and sentence, which made the book difficult to read.
A translation finished this year by Albuquerque writer Tina Nunnally stripped away the faux Old English. Ms. Nunnally used simple, modern language with an occasional nod to earlier forms.
The combination of skillful author and sensitive translator makes `Kristin Lavransdatter' an attention-holding read despite its length. Students of human nature will love the story. So will people who like historical fiction. Young adults will identify with `Kristin Lavransdatter' as will their grandparents.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
52 of 59 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Complex, wide ranging and worth perservering with, March 4, 2003
This review is from: Kristin Lavransdatter: The Bridal Wreath; The Mistress of Husaby; The Cross (Hardcover)
I picked this trilogy up because (a) I had never heard of it and (b) I was astonished to note that it had been awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature. It had to be worth a try. And what a gem it is - a detailed and historically accurate picture of life in 14th Century Norway, complete with a fesity herione, hulking men and the entire range of human emotions in all their glory.
The novel begins with our hero Kristin bathing in the love of her parents in living in the comfort of a wealthy home. As she grows, she finds herself completely in love, and against the wishes of her parents and her betrothed (another far more suitable man) pursues and secures the man of her dreams. But of course we must be careful what we wish for, and the novels take us through the trials and tribulations of life with someone you love, but are not necessarily suited to.
This is a rich and detailed novel, that is not always to read, but at time it was so powerful that it reduced me to tears. You become completely involved in the character's lives, and in the end this gives you a real sense of satisfaction in your reading.
It certtainly is a different book, and one which is well worth your time.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
