Reviews with content warning for Sexual assault - Kristin Lavransdatter, I: The Wreath

“Perhaps I’ll have the courage to ask the one who created me, such as I am, whether He will have mercy on me when the time comes. For I have never asked for His mercy when I went against His commandments. And I have never asked God or man to return one penning of the fines I’ve had to pay here in my earthly home.”

TITLE—Kristin Lavransdatter I: The Wreath

AUTHOR—Sigrid Undset

TRANSLATOR—Tiina Nunnally (her translation of this text is widely considered to be superior to the older translation by Charles Archer & JS Scott which is said to be heavily censored and stylistically muddled so be aware of that if you’re trying to read this in English)

PUBLISHED—1920; won Nobel Prize in 1928

GENRE—historical fiction

SETTING—Medieval Norway

MAIN THEMES/SUBJECTS—medieval Norwegian culture & society; Christianity, theology, & religion; love; personal agency

WRITING STYLE—⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

CHARACTERS—⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

STORY/PLOT—⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

BONUS ELEMENT/S—there were so many great snippets of pre-Christian cultural elements and beliefs; plus all the descriptions of the Norwegian landscape were inspirational

PHILOSOPHY—⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

“She sat and gazed out over the dark mountain slopes across the valley, and she remembered that day, many years ago, when she went up onto the ridge and saw how many mountains there were between her own village and the rest of the world.”

So I actually really enjoyed this book, which I was kind of not expecting to at all. I thought it was going to feel really stuffy and stilted and it really wasn’t. It was actually quite dark and philosophical—though in a very subtle way—and the theology was quite interesting as well and not a perspective I was particularly expecting. And the writing style was really beautiful and the descriptions of the landscape were all stunning.

I also really loved and appreciated the ending which at first I was like “erm ok?” but after I thought about it for a minute I think I realized what Undset was trying to accomplish with that how even though the story ended in the desired marriage, it wasn’t exactly the same as the story having a happy ending—as emphasized by her mother’s own story. I think Undset was being a lot deeper than I initially thought she was. I’m really looking forward to continuing the series this winter!

“We must not begrudge those who have exhausted their peace in the village whatever peace they may find on the mountain, that’s what I think.”

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.25

TW // animal death, severe injury of a child in an accident, attempted rape, fatphobia, suicide (Please feel free to DM me for more specifics!)

Further Reading—

Kristin Lavransdatter II & III, by Sigrid Undset
Bernard Cornwell
Sharon Kay Penman
The Pillars of the Earth, by Ken Follett (but not the sequels 😅)

Content Warnings

adrifaerie's review

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emotional reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

Content Warnings

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