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eososray's review against another edition
2.0
I guess I'll be right up front and say that after my opinion of the first book there is no way I should have read this one but when you need the right topic for a group challenge.....
ingdivid's review against another edition
Må bare beklage til alle som har møtt meg de siste ukene for at dette er alt jeg klarer å snakke om
bookishwendy's review against another edition
2.0
The Wife is book two of the Kristin Lavrensdatter cycle, or trilogy, or life-story, or series...I'm really not sure what to call it. The first book, [b:The Wreath|6220|The Wreath (Kristin Lavransdatter, #1)|Sigrid Undset|http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1309211062s/6220.jpg|25477], follows young Kristin's first 19 years as an unmarried maiden in 14th century Norway, ending with her wedding. Book #2 picks up with Kristin's arrival at her husband's estate and follows the next 15 odd years of her married life, most of which is spent ill in bed, pregnant, or recovering from pregnancy. In other words, much happens and yet...not so much.
My favorite thing about these books so far is the vivid detail author Undset brings to life. One of my favorite parts in this regard (strangely) is when Kristin goes about cleaning house at her new husband's much-neglected manor. The moths and maggots in the wool, the bugs steamed from the sleeping furs, the worm-infested dry winter rations will put even the most reluctant time-traveler in an unromanticized Middle Ages.
However, I found this volume to be lower on story and detail than The Wreath, and instead we get much of Kristin's perpetual Catholic guilt over the Fruit of her Sin (her first child is born six months after the wedding, Zounds!) She and her husband spend most of the book at passive-aggressive odds with one another, but it takes a good 300+ pages for anything to come of this. Meanwhile, there is a parallel political plot (literally) full of so many Norwegian nobles' names, I really could only follow the basic gist. This, too, doesn't really become linked to Kristin's story until 300+ pages in.
I had a hard time enjoying this one, not just because there isn't much plot, but because I had difficulty caring about Kristin and her husband (though her father Lavrens is the most likeable character, and the source of the most emotional scene in this book). Most of the story is told in narration, little in scene, and follows a pattern of: "And then two years later they were in X. List what happened in those two years. Name off the people that died in those two years, oh, and Kristin had another son. Two years after that they went to X. This is what happened in THOSE two years..." ext.
I'm not sure if I will end up reading the third book. I feel like I have a decent taste for Norway in the Middle Ages, I've learned much about regular life back then and...why not quit while sated instead of pushing myself through 450 pages of more of the same? Ah yes, because the third book deals with the Black Death. Curse you, Kristin, you're going to make me hang on to the very end, aren't you?
My favorite thing about these books so far is the vivid detail author Undset brings to life. One of my favorite parts in this regard (strangely) is when Kristin goes about cleaning house at her new husband's much-neglected manor. The moths and maggots in the wool, the bugs steamed from the sleeping furs, the worm-infested dry winter rations will put even the most reluctant time-traveler in an unromanticized Middle Ages.
However, I found this volume to be lower on story and detail than The Wreath, and instead we get much of Kristin's perpetual Catholic guilt over the Fruit of her Sin (her first child is born six months after the wedding, Zounds!) She and her husband spend most of the book at passive-aggressive odds with one another, but it takes a good 300+ pages for anything to come of this. Meanwhile, there is a parallel political plot (literally) full of so many Norwegian nobles' names, I really could only follow the basic gist. This, too, doesn't really become linked to Kristin's story until 300+ pages in.
I had a hard time enjoying this one, not just because there isn't much plot, but because I had difficulty caring about Kristin and her husband (though her father Lavrens is the most likeable character, and the source of the most emotional scene in this book). Most of the story is told in narration, little in scene, and follows a pattern of: "And then two years later they were in X. List what happened in those two years. Name off the people that died in those two years, oh, and Kristin had another son. Two years after that they went to X. This is what happened in THOSE two years..." ext.
I'm not sure if I will end up reading the third book. I feel like I have a decent taste for Norway in the Middle Ages, I've learned much about regular life back then and...why not quit while sated instead of pushing myself through 450 pages of more of the same? Ah yes, because the third book deals with the Black Death. Curse you, Kristin, you're going to make me hang on to the very end, aren't you?
gracerowland's review against another edition
dark
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
jfuel's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Kristin proves her worth but is more attached to Erlend than ever.
kristinana's review against another edition
2.0
This was a big letdown after the first book of the series. I actually enjoy reading about excessive guilt and self-punishment (why?), but it was too much for me, especially because Kristen was suddenly seen as this total angel, not the much more interesting reckless, naive, spoiled girl she was in the first book. Bummer.
tatyr's review against another edition
4.0
Erland... I don't get the appeal. Whatever Kristin saw in this man, after two volumes and 753 pages I still cannot see it. I spent the ending of book one hoping she would leave him at the altar and the ending of this book hoping . I know it's a horrible thing to wish for but that is just how much I dislike Kristin's husband. There is a reason why Russians have a saying, "Любовь зла – полюбишь и козла".
The ending broke my heart for Simon and he is definitely my favorite character. I'm jumping straight into book three for him and for Sigrid Undset's writing. These books are truly worthy of the Nobel Prize. Beautifully written, packed with wisdom, and full of genuine human emotion.
Spoiler
he would get his head chopped off for treasonThe ending broke my heart for Simon and he is definitely my favorite character. I'm jumping straight into book three for him and for Sigrid Undset's writing. These books are truly worthy of the Nobel Prize. Beautifully written, packed with wisdom, and full of genuine human emotion.
vetlehove's review against another edition
hopeful
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0