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A review by horacelamb
Kristin Lavransdatter, I: The Wreath by Sigrid Undset
5.0
I have to admit that a trilogy about a woman's life in 14th century Norway wasn't on my bingo card for 2023 reading. But a couple of authors I respect had it on their recommended reading list and I thought I'd give it a try. I liked it so much that I'm now on the second novel in the trilogy.
Kristin is uneducated (in a formal, academic sense) but she comes from a well-regarded family and she's beautiful. Her marriage is arranged but she doesn't really care for her fiancé. She wants to like him but just can't bring herself to marry him. Along the way she has various temptations and doesn't always make the best decisions. The novel is about her family and their friends and others in this small 14th century town in Norway. Although that may not sound very exciting, there's much more drama here than I expected. The characters are well-drawn and there's an appreciation for the complexity of each.
As one reviewer said: "For me the key measure of a work of historical fiction is how well does it inhabit its age. Its characters should be more than contemporary people in period dress-up, and very few historical works I've ever read puts you into the mindset and immerses you into the surroundings of another age better than the The Wreath."
Although Kristin is the star, the other characters may win you over. It will be interesting to see how Kristin matures in the next two books of the trilogy.
Kristin is uneducated (in a formal, academic sense) but she comes from a well-regarded family and she's beautiful. Her marriage is arranged but she doesn't really care for her fiancé. She wants to like him but just can't bring herself to marry him. Along the way she has various temptations and doesn't always make the best decisions. The novel is about her family and their friends and others in this small 14th century town in Norway. Although that may not sound very exciting, there's much more drama here than I expected. The characters are well-drawn and there's an appreciation for the complexity of each.
As one reviewer said: "For me the key measure of a work of historical fiction is how well does it inhabit its age. Its characters should be more than contemporary people in period dress-up, and very few historical works I've ever read puts you into the mindset and immerses you into the surroundings of another age better than the The Wreath."
Although Kristin is the star, the other characters may win you over. It will be interesting to see how Kristin matures in the next two books of the trilogy.