Those who have read Kristin Lavransdatter, the epic trilogy by Catholic convert and Norwegian Nobel Prize winner Sigrid Undset, have read it at least twice. This formidable tale of farming and holy pilgrimages and family in the shadow of white-peaked mountains hurtles the reader into all the pain and love and last rites of death—death, … Read more
Flourishing fully in the 19th century, with Darwin and Marx ascendant and Freud in the wings, the novel matured as a very worldly art form. A kind of heightened journalism, the art of Dickens, James, Balzac and others chronicled society while examining class, romance, war, and politics. The great Russians — Tolstoy and Dostoevksy, the … Read more
For years my parents have had a standing order with their local second-hand bookseller to set aside Sigrid Undset’s Kristin Lavransdatter whenever a copy comes in. They give it to friends, students, acquaintances — anyone who might read it. My father was introduced to Kristin just before his conversion by a Catholic friend, who summed … Read more