Kristin Lavransdatter by Sigred Undset

I rarely review a book unless I love it, but Kristin Lavransdatter is an exception. Undset’s three-volume story of a 14^th Century woman’s life in Norway was hard to get through, yet worth the effort.  Although I am not a Catholic, I have a deep appreciation for Catholic authors who write about sin, suffering and redemption without fluffy conclusions.

Kristin Lavransdatter (“daughter of Lavran”) grew up in a devout family but chose to go against her parents’ principles in her choice of husband. It is hard to review the book without spoilers so I will just say the bad choices made in the first book ("The Bridal Wreath") have a ripple effect throughout the rest of the trilogy. It is a devastating critique of the high cost of sin. Yet it miraculously avoids being preachy.

References to immoral behavior are discreet, but frequent and troubling. Undset did such a remarkable job of creating living, breathing characters that I agonized over each one of them. So much so that I finally did something I rarely do. To reduce the anxiety, I read a synopsis of the books so that I could be better prepared emotionally for what was coming up next. For that reason, I did not “ugly cry” at the end of the book, which is what most people say they do. Admittedly, I was in a daze, but that is as far as it went.

I would never have finished the book if it had not been for the members of the Literary Life podcast group who cheered me on. (I was even part of a Lavransdatter Support Group on Facebook!) Although I had the audiobook, I soon learned that it was more painful to hear the story, than to read it, so I used the audio format sparingly.

Why recommend this difficult title? Because it powerfully portrays men and women in all their glory and in all their brokenness trying to make sense of the world through their mixed lenses of superstition and Catholicism. It describes the joys and suffering of motherhood in a way I've rarely seen in fiction. And there are tiny threads of grace woven throughout the narrative that keep it from being completely hopeless.  

Now I can check this title off of my "14th Century book" category. I think I'll take a breather, however, before I pick up "book I've most avoided" (Anna Karenina.) The Literary Life reading challenge for 2021 is posted here. 

Blessings,