A review by nate_meyers
Kristin Lavransdatter, I: The Wreath by Sigrid Undset
5.0
What a phenomenal book. I'll hold my final verdict until completing the trilogy, but it's already apparent why Sigrid Undset was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature for Kristin Lavransdatter. Much ink by more knowledgeable folks than myself has been spilled on the complex exploration of Catholicism and incredibly rich nature imagery in these books. In addition to these strong suits, three other aspects of "The Wreath" that I found incredibly well-done are:
1. Besides a few good men (Lavrans, Arne, Brother Edwin) no character is what they seem. Simon is a much better man than the first impression his arrogance gives. Erlend is a much (much, much) worse man than the first impression his chivalrous rescue of Kristin gives. Fru Aashild and Ragnfrid are women with so, so many layers.
2. Kristin is a complex protagonist that learns the entirely wrong lessons from early life experiences that leads her to make foolish decisions on which she doubles, triples, and even quadruples down on. It's easy to sympathize with her early, but becomes increasingly harder to do so
3. The ending is magnificent. As noted elsewhere, each book in the trilogy ends by cutting away from Kristin to the POV of a male character that is close to her. The Wreath ends with her father Lavrans POV - showing that he is more situationally aware than the reader's been lead to believe and including a twist that provides intrigue as to how the next book will unfold
1. Besides a few good men (Lavrans, Arne, Brother Edwin) no character is what they seem. Simon is a much better man than the first impression his arrogance gives. Erlend is a much (much, much) worse man than the first impression his chivalrous rescue of Kristin gives. Fru Aashild and Ragnfrid are women with so, so many layers.
2. Kristin is a complex protagonist that learns the entirely wrong lessons from early life experiences that leads her to make foolish decisions on which she doubles, triples, and even quadruples down on. It's easy to sympathize with her early, but becomes increasingly harder to do so
3. The ending is magnificent. As noted elsewhere, each book in the trilogy ends by cutting away from Kristin to the POV of a male character that is close to her. The Wreath ends with her father Lavrans POV - showing that he is more situationally aware than the reader's been lead to believe and including a twist that provides intrigue as to how the next book will unfold