Kristin Lavransdatter

This one was a bit of a struggle. I didn't love it. I liked the early part about Kristin's childhood, but got bogged down when she married and had a family. Frankly, I grew weary of the soapy melodrama and the repetitive loops of guilt, complaints, blame, misunderstandings and lack of emotional maturity. But I can appreciate the scope of Undset's world building and all the research. A pick, but barely.

IT'S DONE.

#ChunksterChallenge2022

janeycanuck, MaureenMc, Megabooks, rockpools, Riveted_Reader_Melissa, melissajayne, Lindy, erzascarletbookgasm, Lcsmcat, AmyG, CarolynM, Smarkies, Lizpixie, BookNAround, Caroline2, catiewithac, CoverToCoverGirl, slategreyskies, JenReadsAlot, Bookwormjillk, zezeki, squirrelbrain, Mollyanna, Nessavamusic, GinaKButler, mandarchy, Patchshank, Kelly326, TheAromaofBooks, Jess861, Tineke, ChaoticMissAdventures, Blackink_WhitePaper, Dostoyes, Andrea31, ncsufoxes, JuniperWilde, tokorowilliamwallace

squirrelbrain Yay! Well done for finishing! 🎉🎉🎉 3y

slategreyskies Yay!! Congrats on finishing!!!! 🙌✨ 3y

TrishB Wow 😯 well done! 3y

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Bookwormjillk Congratulations 🎈🎉🍾🎊 3y

Lcsmcat Congratulations! I had similar feelings about this one. The first part of the trilogy is the best. There were too many times I wanted to slap some sense into them in the second two books. 😂 3y

AmyG Comgrats! 🎉 This will be my next chunkster, but not for a while. 3y

Megabooks It‘s done is a fantastic way to put it! Congratulations!! 🥳🥳 3y

rockpools Yay! Congratulations 🥳 3y

Gissy Super!! 🎉👏👏👏👏 3y

Suet624 👏🏻👏🏻💕 3y

Mollyanna Congratulations! Nicely done. 🥳🥳🥳 3y

CoverToCoverGirl Congratulations! Well done! Perseverance counts. 🎉🎉👏🙂 3y

Lindy Huge congratulations! I had a similar struggle from the middle of this one onward. My takeaway: life is hard and then you die. 😐 3y

MaureenMc Woot! 👏👏👏 (edited) 3y

Amiable @squirrelbrain @slategreyskies @TrishB @Bookwormjillk @AmyG @rockpools @Gissy @Suet624 @Mollyanna @CoverToCoverGirl @MaureenMc @megabooks Thanks! Slow and steady definitely won this chunkster race to the finish. 😀 (edited) 3y

Amiable @Lcsmcat @Lindy It just baffled me that with all the soul searching she continually did throughout 1,000+ pages, Kristin kept making the same choices over and over again. I found myself rooting for every other character besides Kristin and Erlend. 😬 But I‘m glad I finally read it and checked it off my chunkster list. 👍🏼 3y

erzascarletbookgasm Well done! 💪 3y

TheAromaofBooks Woohoo!!! Excellent work!! 3y

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Amiable

Kristin Lavransdatter | Singrid Undset

Made it to the halfway point in my chunkster! Only 570 pages to go. 🙂

#ChunksterChallenge2022

slategreyskies, JuniperWilde

DivineDiana 👏🏻👍🏻👏🏻 3y

MaureenMc 👏 3y

EvieBee Yay! 3y

BookwormM Great book 3y

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Amiable

Kristin Lavransdatter | Singrid Undset

Okay, @JuniperWilde and @slategreyskies —I‘m going in!

#ChunksterChallenge2022

AmyG Enjoy! This will be my second of these challenges. 3y

slategreyskies Yay!! I‘m starting later today! :) 3y

Suet624 Maybe you've seen my comments in other posts, but I've read this series twice. Once when I was 19 and once when I was in my 30's. I think I'm ready to read it again. I thought it was fabulous. 3y

See All 8 Comments

Amiable @Suet624 I might have seen your posts—I know that there‘s been a fair amount of love for this one! I‘m so glad to hear that you loved it so much you‘d be willing to read it for the third time—it‘s a chunkster so the fact that you think it‘s worth the time investment makes me happy to have picked it up. 3y

Suet624 When I read it the book was a trilogy so it didn't feel so daunting. :) 3y

Amiable @Suet624 😀 Did you feel differently about the book(s) re-reading them in your 30s vs at 19? I‘m in my 50s and wondering if it will resonate in different ways than if I had read it earlier. 3y

Suet624 Maybe a little different but it wasn't significant. I'm in my 60's now and I was wondering how I might feel about it now. The book covers her entire life, so I think you end up connecting with her in the time period you're already in. If that makes sense. 3y

TheBookHippie Oh enjoy!! such a beautiful book! 3y

65 likes8 comments

Amiable

Kristin Lavransdatter | Singrid Undset

Time to kick off #ChunksterChallenge2022! We have 365 days to complete our chunksters. Some of you may catch(or already have!) chunkster fever and read multiple books. For the purpose of this challenge, you only need to start and finish ONE chunkster of your choice. The feeling of satisfaction you will have when you reach that last page is the best! Let's tag the book we plan to finish this year in the comments, so we can cheer each other on ...

janeycanuck, MaureenMc, Megabooks, rockpools, Riveted_Reader_Melissa, melissajayne, Lindy, erzascarletbookgasm, Lcsmcat, AmyG, CarolynM, Smarkies, BookNAround, catiewithac, Andrea313, CoverToCoverGirl, slategreyskies, JenReadsAlot, Bookwormjillk, squirrelbrain, Mollyanna, Nessavamusic, GinaKButler, IndoorDame, Patchshank, Kelly326, TheAromaofBooks, Jess861, Tineke, ChaoticMissAdventures, Dostoyes, ncsufoxes, JuniperWilde, tokorowilliamwallace

Amiable I'll start. I'm reading

Kristin Lavransdatter

IndoorDame I‘m reading

Les mis?rables

Mollyanna I‘m ready. I‘m going for a biography this year

John Adams

See All 60 Comments

Jess861 I'm planning on reading

The Evening and the Morning

Singout My interest in housing justice and urban design issues means I'm going to try

The Death and Life of Great American Cities

MaureenMc

The Eighth Life: (for Brilka) The International Bestseller

Nessavamusic I have a few in mind but the one I definitely want to read

Words of Radiance

Lcsmcat I started

Don Quixote

JenReadsAlot I'm reading

Les mis?rables

Dostoyes Does The Three Musketeers count as a Chunkster? 3y

Dostoyes I‘m also planning on reading

War and Peace: World Classics

rockpools @Singout That‘s cool. I‘ll keep an eye out for your review. 3y

rockpools I tried a couple of years back and didn‘t get too far, but I think I‘m going to give Genji another go.

Tale of Genji

Amiable @Dostoyes It‘s a bit short for my own personal definition, but if it‘s something you‘ve been wanting to read and you‘d like encouragement along the way, we‘d be happy to provide it! 🙂 Because Lord knows it isn‘t a brief read. 😀 3y

Smarkies I'm looking to read A Dance with Dragons. Have given up waiting for the author to finish the series so i might as well just start on the last one that I have.

A Dance with Dragons

BarbaraBB Your choice is such a good one. Loved Kristin! 3y

GinaKButler I‘m planning on reading a different chunkster each quarter, but I‘m starting with

Washington: A Life

GinaKButler I‘m also planning on reading Don Quixote, The Stand, and Atlas Shrugged, but I‘m not sure in which order yet! Buddy reading with @Kelly326 3y

Amiable @GinaKButler When you read “Don Quixote,” tag @Lcsmcat — she‘s reading it too! I‘m sure she‘d love a few buddies to cheer her on as well. 😀 (edited) 3y

Tineke I'll be reading

A Suitable Boy

Tineke And if possible, the one after that is

Gone with the Wind

melissajayne What counts as a chunkster for the purposes of this particular challenge? 3y

Amiable @melissajayne Most of us are reading books that are 800+ pages, it appears. But if you consider a 600- or 700-page book a chunkster and you‘ve been wanting to read it, that‘s your choice. I just want to encourage people to pick up any big books they may have been avoiding because they are intimidated by the page count. 3y

ncsufoxes I‘d like to be added. I‘m planning on reading. I also am reading The Developing Mind (which is long & science based).

The Love Songs of W.E.B. Du Bois

Bookwormjillk I‘m reading this one (trying for 10 pages a day.) 782 pages but the print is super tiny.

Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell

Amiable @Bookwormjillk I usually default to an approximate average of the Goodreads page counts for various editions when the print is tiny, which puts your book at closer to 880 pages. So you can go with that total if you want. ;) 3y

tenar It took me 5 days, but I‘ve committed to a book, and it‘s also going to be Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell! @Bookwormjillk @Amiable the edition Goodreads defaulted me to at first had 1000 pages 😱 Somehow 782 or 880 both sound much more manageable, hahah! 3y

Bookwormjillk @tenar I can‘t wait to hear what you think. 3y

Amiable @tenar More manageable to actually read, but 1,000 sounds so much better to brag about after the book is done! 😀 GR is all over the place with page counts on so many books—it‘s frustrating at times. 3y

marleed This book had a huge impact on me after reading for a college literature course. In fact, my roommate named her now grown daughter, Kristin, for this book! 3y

Amiable @marleed I love stories like that! A friend named her daughters after favorite characters from children's books: Anna (“Anne of Green Gable“) and Laura (“Little House on the Prairie“). Me, I named my youngest son after the author of the book I was reading when he was born: “The Alienist.“ (Caleb Carr: My son is named Caleb.) He wasn't super thrilled when I told him a few years ago that the book was about a serial killer. 😃 I just liked the name! 3y

marleed Oh that‘s funny - my SIL is named Caleb. Like my roommate, my son was also named because of an English lit class. I had a storyteller of a mythology prof and in it, the griffin (way before HP) was the symbol of all that is good and wise. Well, my future son was named! My daughter is named Gwenna. We planned on Guinevere from Camelot but knew it would be reduced to a single syllable so we went with a 2-syllable moniker. 3y

Amiable @marleed My son‘s high school English teacher has a boy named Griffin, too! 😀 Gwenna is so pretty— and she probably doesn‘t run into many others, does she? I love unique names. My oldest son is Kyler — which nobody ever knew when he was growing up. Now there‘s an NFL football player with that name so it‘s not quite as unusual. 3y

CoverToCoverGirl It‘s an amazing read @GinaKButler

Washington: A Life

CoverToCoverGirl I‘m going with

Forever Amber

CoverToCoverGirl And

Pierre Berton's War of 1812

CoverToCoverGirl @Amiable @GinaKButler I‘m still looking for a copy of

Lonesome Dove: A Novel

ChaoticMissAdventures I just found this challenging and would love to play! I had a goal this year to read a dozen 500+ page books, the chunkiest is Don Quixote, but the 1 I am most excited about is

The Love Songs of W.E.B. Du Bois

Amiable @ChaoticMissAdventures Welcome! There are a few others who are tackling “Don Quixote” for this challenge as well. The bigger chunksters (closer to 800 pages or more) are what the majority of chunkster challengers aim for. 3y

Amiable @CoverToCoverGirl Nice chunky picks! Where do you live? I might be able to send you my copy of “Lonesome Dove.” 3y

Amiable @CoverToCoverGirl @GinaKButler @Kelly326 I just found this one and downloaded it for next year‘s challenge already. 😀

Beethoven: Anguish and Triumph

Andrea313 Hoping I can hang with 1300+ pages on the mechanics of city government (while also exploring power, influence, and democracy) while I tackle

Power Broker: Robert Moses and the Fall of New York

squirrelbrain I read that one a few years ago @Andrea313 - it‘s a little bit dry in places but overall I really enjoyed it. 3y

Andrea313 @squirrelbrain I'm glad to hear it! I've read so many glowing reviews and I'm hoping I can power through the dry spots because I find the topic and the man completely fascinating (and horrifying). 3y

Amiable @Andrea313 A chunky AND ambitious read! I love it! 3y

tokorowilliamwallace @puzzledbooks 3y

tokorowilliamwallace @Amiable I'd definitely read a new biography on Beethoven! I used to be such a classical music enthusiast. 3y

Amiable @tokorowilliamwallace That‘s probably going to be my chunkster read for 2023. I pick just one 1,000-page book per year. 😀 3y

Smarkies @Andrea313 I read that a few years ago and enjoyed it. I actually recently bought Lyndon Johnson's biography from the same author. 3y

Amiable @Smarkies Did you get all 4 volumes? I have the first one but haven‘t read it yet. I think I‘m waiting for Caro to finish the fifth and final volume of the biography so I can read the entire thing in one go. 3y

Smarkies @Amiable decided to only get the first one since I know that I won't be reading it so soon. 😅😅 3y

CoverToCoverGirl @Amiable awww, thank you for your kind offer! ❤️ But I suspect it would be fairly costly to ship it here to me in eastern Canada, especially a chunkster that size. I‘ll be investigating

Beethoven: Anguish and Triumph

janeycanuck Am I too late to join in? I‘ve been trying to read The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire for several years now with no success! 3y

Amiable @janeycanuck You are absolutely not too late! The year has just begun. And selfishly also I‘d love to have you on board because that book has been on my TBR for years now —I‘d love to hear your thoughts on it ! 😀 Welcome! 3y

Lcsmcat @janeycanuck All 8 volumes??? That‘s the chunkster of all chunksters! 3y

janeycanuck @Lcsmcat The abridged version so only 1300 pages or so. I‘m crazy but not that crazy!!! 3y

janeycanuck @Amiable awesome! I made a good start on it last year but fell off the wagon in March or so. My goal is about 2 chapters a week! 3y

Lcsmcat @janeycanuck That‘s still massive. I‘ve got the full set and keep thinking I‘ll read them one volume at a time, but it never seems the right time. 3y

Amiable @janeycanuck You can do it! @JamieArc and @Crinoline_Laphroaig both plugged away at their respective chunksters (“A Suitable Boy” and “War and Peace”) throughout the entire year for 2021 and finished just in time for New Year‘s. You‘ve got this! 👍🏼💪🏼 3y

janeycanuck @Amiable that‘s some good inspiration! 3y

82 likes60 comments

Sapphire

Kristin Lavransdatter | Singrid Undset

Starting a Scandinavian novel in translation on the day it snows in North Texas (a little) feels right.

15 likes

sprainedbrain

Kristin Lavransdatter | Singrid Undset

pick

This is what I have done all week. This book is long, y‘all. I have a lot to say, so this is going in to the comments.

Set in Norway in the 14th century, this is the story of Kristin, daughter of a wealthy noble, from childhood to her death. Rich in detail, obviously rigorously researched, and beautifully written. There were parts that literally brought me to tears, and parts where I wished I had a physical book to throw across the room.

⬇️

sprainedbrain The imagery is intense, and some of the descriptions were just poetic. The way Undset describes the moon sailing over the world...😍 As a mom of 5 in my early 40s, I totally connected to Kristin‘s feelings towards her children, and then with her internal struggles with her changing role as she got older. Some things are timeless. (edited) 6y

sprainedbrain I had moments when I wondered why I was still listening: I struggle with books about devoutly religious characters, and I had more than enough of hearing how Kristin sinned against god and her father by having the audacity to want something passionate for herself. Often, it‘s hard for me to identify with characters whose beliefs are so ridiculously restrictive. (edited) 6y

sprainedbrain Still, Kristin is a great character because she could be anyone at anytime... struggling through life and making decisions about what she wants and what is right and proper.

Ultimately, I couldn‘t stop because I was invested and I‘m glad I read on. I have many feelings, but this is an awesome read. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ #1001books 6y

See All 22 Comments

MeganAnn Great review!! This has been sitting my shelf waiting to be read since last year, but the size is quite daunting so I haven‘t picked it up. 6y

Butterfinger Is this the book you were reading when you threw your Kindle? 6y

sprainedbrain @Butterfinger haha... no! That was this one, I did bail on it. 😂

Merrick

sprainedbrain @MeganAnn Thank you! It is a beast! 6y

Daisey Well, there‘s another of your reviews that makes me think I need to move a book up on the TBR. Sounds fascinating! 6y

BarbaraTheBibliophage Great review. I read Kristin and felt very much the same. That long passage from the monk‘s POV just about did me in. But I loved her, especially in the third book where she has some space in her life for self-actualization. 6y

vivastory I love reviews that spill over into the comments. This is a great review! It's sitting on my shelf along with my other penguins. One day.... 6y

sprainedbrain @BarbaraTheBibliophage Thanks! I agree completely...that monk passage was painful. 😂 6y

sprainedbrain @Daisey It is very fascinating! One of those books that sent me into historical research on my own. I hope you enjoy it! 6y

sprainedbrain @vivastory thank you, my friend! You will definitely need to set some time aside for this one. 😅 6y

batsy Lovely review! This has been on the TBR for awhile and I'm just trying to prepare myself for the time commitment 😆 6y

erzascarletbookgasm I have this on my shelf. I bought it because of cover love but your review makes it move further up along the tbr line. 👍 6y

kspenmoll Such a wonderful review! 6y

sprainedbrain @batsy @erzascarletbookgasm @kspenmoll Thank you, friends! 😊 6y

Suet624 I've actually read this series twice and would love to read it again. It's simply amazing. @batsy Did you know that Undset was good friends with Willa Cather? 6y

batsy @Suet624 No, I didn't! That's fascinating! 6y

readordierachel Great review! I've been so curious about this one. 6y

ValerieAndBooks I read this about 10 years ago, but as 3 volumes 💖. Then just after I finished, found an antique 3-volume set for $3 😍! So now I have two editions and wonder if I‘ll ever find time to read Kristin again 😂 6y

Eyelit This has been on my kindle forever... I think I‘ll move it up in priority 🙂 6y

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sprainedbrain

Kristin Lavransdatter | Singrid Undset

Happy National Book Lovers Day!

Let‘s see YOUR answers to @baes questions. Mine:

1.) What was your favorite book as a child?

When I was really little, The Monster at the End of this Book. My favorite grown-up book was The Hobbit.

2.) What is your current favorite book?

It‘s much easier to give a top 5, but today, The Song of Achilles.

3.) What are you reading today?

Kristin Lavransdatter by Sigrid Undset... I WILL finish this beast! 😂

marleed I read this series when I was in college. It‘s the only course I ever took with my college roommate. The book had such an impact on her that years latter she named her daughter Kristin. I still had my books so I gave them to Baby Kristin who is now a world traveling adult. 6y

sprainedbrain @marleed that is a great story! I‘m 2/3 through it, and I can totally see naming a daughter Kristin. She‘s a wonderful character! (edited) 6y

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phantomx

Kristin Lavransdatter | Singrid Undset

A historical epic I have been recommended to read is Kristin Lavransdatter

6 likes

ValerieAndBooks

Kristin Lavransdatter | Singrid Undset

Some #chunksteryouread books that I‘ve read. #1001Books counts the Kristin Lavransdatter trilogy as one book 🤷🏻‍♀️. I don‘t know if *...And Ladies of the Club* would be considered a classic (it‘s good though!) but I included it for visual balance 👩‍🎨😊.
#Maylovesclassics

Bambolina_81, Sarah83

LeahBergen I‘ve read them all! 👏🏻 7y

batsy I have that same edition of Anna K! 💜 7y

AlaMich I really enjoyed Kristin Lavransdatter. It amused me to see people‘s eyes glaze over when I said that I was reading a trilogy set in 14th (I think?) century Norway. 😂 7y

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BarbaraBB Great choices. I read them all as well, except for the ladies of the club! 7y

ValerieAndBooks @LeahBergen I‘m not surprised you have 😊! 7y

ValerieAndBooks @batsy I bought it when Oprah chose it for her book club (circa 2005?) and I read it through that summer 😊 7y

ValerieAndBooks @AlaMich and yet Kristin still has a contemporary feel 😊!! 7y

ValerieAndBooks @BarbaraBB I read And Ladies of the Club eons ago...keep thinking I‘ll read it again someday 🤗! 7y

Suet624 I don‘t think I can say how much I love Kristin. Have read it twice and am itching to read it again. 7y

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kristinshafel

Kristin Lavransdatter | Singrid Undset

#Riotgrams, day 9: Character/author with my name. Never heard of this before, but I like the description on Goodreads: "In her great historical epic Kristin Lavransdatter, set in fourteenth-century Norway, Nobel laureate Sigrid Undset tells the life story of one passionate and headstrong woman."

cc @bookriot #bookriot #characterwhosharesyourname

kimdegener I have the series. It's an interesting read. 8y

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