It took a month but I finished Kristin Lavransdatter III: The Cross, Sigrid Undset, for which she received the Noble in 1928. This trilogy is fascinating because it follows Kristin's life. In book one she is a young women, in book two middle aged and an old women in the final book. It's interesting to see Undset's take on the effects of the decisions young Kristin makes on Kristin's life as it unfolds.
Undset's descriptions of nature are exquisite. She also gives detailed descriptions of character's appearance. Set in 14th century Norway among the upper classes. The translation by Charles Archer has much archaic vocabulary and sentence structure. Karl says there is a more modern translation much easier to read. Already well into volume III, I decided to persevere. This translation does help set the books in that ancient time period.
Commonweal on the book jacket comments "Sigrid Undset's trilogy embodies more of life, seen and understandingly seriously...than any novel since Dostoievsky's Brothers Karamazov." Kristin's relationship to her numerous sons from their birth to adulthood would certainly resonate with all mothers as she discovers the limits of her influence.
All three volumes sustained my interest throughout. Perhaps I'll wait awhile and read the books again, this time in the later translation. It's understandable that these books have never been out of print. Choose your translation and settle in for a profound experience.
Takk for alt,
Al
1 comment:
Glad you liked them. I talked to you about Lucky Per, earlier. Having finished it now, I think it starts well, gets very slow in the middle and has an ending worth reading. Not nearly as good as Undset's books, but you can see why it too won the Nobel.
Post a Comment