A review by nickartrip102
Gunnar's Daughter by Sigrid Undset

3.0

“But evil fortune should harden my heart, as I would have it.”

Gunnar’s Daughter by Sigrid Undset was my pick from my bowl of random TBR titles which I was pretty excited about. I fell in love with Undset when I read the Kristin Lavransdatter trilogy a couple of years ago, but hadn’t revisited the author’s work since. Gunnar’s Daughter is a short, but powerful work set in the eleventh century looking at Vigdis Gunnarsdatter, a beautiful Norwegian maid, who is raped by the violent Icelandic man she wanted to love, Viga-Ljot. Vigdis’ strength is forged in adversity as she faces raising her child alone, asserting her agency in a world ruled by men, and restoring honor to her family.

What an interesting little book. This was slow to capture my attention, but once it did I found myself entirely invested in the story. Unset was superb at writing historical fiction, but it took me a bit longer to develop a relationship with Vigdis than it did with Kristin Lavransdatter. I didn’t necessarily understand her initial attraction to Viga-Ljot in the beginning of the novel. Although she seems to disapprove of his actions, she does entertain the prospect of marrying him. I think slaying a horse and generally having a propensity for violence and foolhardiness hardly seem like endearing qualities, but then again…that black hair and those piercing blue eyes? Yeah, my panties would have been discarded by page one, because I’m a wretched homosexual, but Vigdis seems to have much more self-respect than me. It isn’t until Ljot attacks Vigdis’ reputation with his suggestive songs that she turns on him.

“May you have the worst of deaths - and live long and miserably - you and all you hold dear. And may you see your children die most wretchedly before your eyes.”

After the Ljot’s assault on Vigdis is when this book really starts to get interesting and really explores themes that seem timeless. I really found the way Undset captured the trauma of Vigdis’ experience to be quite compelling and more nuanced than I expected. I’m not sure how I expected this story to go, but I was interested in every turn of the plot, particularly as Vigdis’ son grew older. Vigdis is such a brilliant character and that was what made me fall in love with Gunnar’s Daughter. Sure, she shows moments of despair, and perhaps even exhibits a bit of selfishness, but it’s also what makes her a complex and dynamic character.