Litsy

In September I caught up on ALL THE THINGS!!! Summer is my least favorite season. Everything happens then and it's not like I get the summer off from work. 😜 #bobwhitebuddies #beyondtheyellowbrickroad #kindredspiritsbuddyread #ohcanada #KLBR

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AnneCecilie

Kristin Lavransdatter | Sigrid Undset

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This was a weird reading experience in several ways

We follow Kristin from she‘s born until she dies.
After the first book I didn‘t understand what all the fuss was about. And then by the 2nd part in book 3, you had me crying. So apparently something happened in between.

As a Norwegian we‘re basically taught that Kristin makes the wrong choice. And maybe in the 1920s Norway she did, but I‘m not so sure she did. Her dad didn‘t want to marry her

AnneCecilie Off to Erland because off his last stories, but even her dad had to admit that Erland was surprisingly faithful. I always thought that Erland was below her in the social ranking, and that was so not the case. He‘s above her and closer to the power. And I‘m not so sure that Kristin would have been happy with Simon. It becomes known well into to story that Simon loves Erland‘s wife, so he loved the person she became and not the one she was when they 3w

AnneCecilie weee engaged. And even Simon didn‘t manage to stay faithful to his wife. I‘m so glad I read this with #DoorstopperKristin #KLBR thank you for organizing this @BarbaraJean and helping me read a book that I book in 2007 3w

BarbaraBB Great review. I loved this book when I read it. So captivating 3w

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AnneCecilie @BarbaraBB Thank you 😊 I know, but it snuck up on me, suddenly I was just so engaged in the story 3w

Suet624 It‘s quite the book/series. I love it. 2w

AnneCecilie @Suet624 I loved it by the end too. And it‘s a book I definitely will change on rereads. There‘s a saying, a least in Norway, that you should read this at least thee times in your life; as a teen, as an adult and as an elder person. Your perspective will change every time. 2w

Suet624 It‘s funny you mentioned that. Have you seen my prior post where I say that I read it when I was 20 and when I was 40 and now I‘m 70 and I just reread it. 2w

AnneCecilie @Suet624 I‘m not sure I saw that. Did the reading change? 2w

Suet624 Yes. 😊 2w

48 likes9 comments

lauraisntwilder

Kristin Lavransdatter | Sigrid Undset

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I'm surprised at how strong the urge is to start this over again from the beginning. Where is the sweeping epic adaptation of this masterpiece? Seriously, this story has everything -- romance, betrayal, politics, fantastic medieval clothes, the list goes on. It's amazing. #KLBR

Ruthiella Apparently Liv Ullman adapted the first book in 1995 for Norwegian television. But I agree, it deserves a full adaptation. In Norwegian please with subtitles! 1mo

lauraisntwilder @Ruthiella I'd like to see that, just to see what it's like, but I'm 100% sure it's too short. 1mo

28 likes2 comments

Texreader

More about Paddington | Michael Bond

August wrapped. Not the best books this month when Paddington is the only 5-star read!

August Books Wrapped:
I read 4 books for #Bolivia #foodandlit
1 book for #authoramonth
1 book for #campLitsy
1 book for #klbr
And 1 book for #serieslove

I‘m still reading a Llosa book, Bad Girl, that I started in July for #Peru #foodandlit and Dickens‘s Little Dorrit that I started in June for #whattheDickens

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Daisey

Kristin Lavransdatter | Sigrid Undset

I‘m still only in the middle of Book 2, but I‘m getting some pages in today with lunch and hope to get back in the habit of reading a few pages each evening.

#KLBR #DoorstopKristin #ReadAndEat #SummersEndReadathon

Bookish_Thoughts Book cover colors and your lunch go well together. 😁 2mo

Leftcoastzen Salad looks Yummy! 2mo

Daisey @Bookish_Thoughts That was completely unintentional, but it does! 2mo

Daisey @Leftcoastzen Thanks! It was a good one. 2mo

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AnneCecilie

The South | Tash Aw

#BookReport

I finished both No Straight Road Takes You There and The Cross #KLBR #DoorstopperKristin

I read Eden

#WeeklyForecast

Continue with my yearlong reads on the right

Continue with The South on audio

I‘ve started Seascrapper and want to finish that

Tomorrow is the beginning of a new month and therefore the beginning of some buddy reads; Emma #PemberLittens #JaneAustenThenAndNow and I‘ll pick up Tombland #ShardlakeBR again

AnneCecilie I also want to start on A Thousand Feasts 2mo

55 likes1 comment

BarbaraJean

Kristin Lavransdatter | Sigrid Undset

The drama does not let up in this final volume: there‘s jealousy and recrimination, familial estrangement, marital discord and abandonment, violent confrontations over vicious gossip, and as if that wasn‘t enough, Undset throws The Black Plague into the mix at the end.

Which dramatic developments would you like to discuss further?

Is there anything else you‘d like to discuss from The Cross, or from the trilogy as a whole?

#DoorstopKristin #KLBR

BarbaraJean @Ruthiella @Andrea313 @Daisey @quietjenn @Librarybelle @lauraisntwilder @MaureenMc @Gleefulreader @Deblovestoread @MeganAnn @AmyG @JenLovesJT47 @rubyslippersreads @bklover @Texreader @AnneCecilie @suet624 @Leniverse @CrowCAH @Caterina 2mo

Ruthiella Even though he was difficult to like, I did appreciate how many recognized that the rebellion in which Erland had been involved was ultimately justified as the right way to go politically. I also found it interesting that Kristen didn‘t seem to be bothered too much about his adultery. 2mo

AmyG I loved Book 3….so much happening, alot of clarity with relationships. Iam thinking that Kristen just didn‘t care about Erland‘s adultery at one point. She knew who he was…from the very beginning. 2mo

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Andrea313 I was feeling way too much with these final chapters! Kristin is supplanted in the lives of her sons, as parents always are, and yet she needed to focus that ferocious energy and life force somewhere. When the end came I was so overwhelmed by the way Undset zooms us out to see the world carrying on, Kristin's life and story one small part of such an epic world. We are infinity, we are dust, we are everything and nothing. This writing was so humbling. 2mo

BarbaraJean @Ruthiella @AmyG Finally some relational clarity, and I feel like Erlend had to die for that clarity to settle!! @Andrea313 Oof, yes. Humbling. This trilogy—and its characters—are so specific and personal, but also so relatable and universal. That “zooming out“ really brings that out. 2mo

lauraisntwilder The part where the townspeople thought Kristin's last child wasn't Erland's was so infuriating. I was so mad on her behalf! 😂 2mo

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BarbaraJean

Kristin Lavransdatter | Sigrid Undset

Kristin has several spiritual guides/mentors in her life: Brother Edvin; Erlend‘s brother, Gunnulf; the local priests (Sira Eirik in her youth, Sira Eiliv at Husaby), and even her father.

Who or what do you see as influencing Kristin‘s faith most strongly in this final volume of the trilogy?

How has her faith changed over the course of the three books?

Do you see the conclusion to Kristin‘s story as hopeful or tragic?

#DoorstopKristin #KLBR

Ruthiella That is a really good question! I think by the final book, she is relying more on her personal connection with her God. Though she does seek out Sira Eirik‘s advice on her separation from Erland and of course Sira Eiliv is the priest who serves the nunnery at the end. 2mo

AmyG Yes townat Ruthie said. I, too, believe she could finally listen to and trust herself. I also feel the experiences with Simon at the end of his life had a great impact on her. 2mo

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Andrea313 I saw the final, gruesome scenes as a perfect encapsulation of faith in action. Kristin spends her whole life grappling with spiritual truths and the consequences of her own sin, yet at the end, she takes decisive action rooted in what she knows to be right according to her own morals and beliefs. The faith aspect of this book could be heavy-handed at times, but I also appreciated its centrality. What better else to spend our days wrestling with if not questions of right and wrong? 2mo

BarbaraJean @Ruthiella @AmyG I agree—I saw her faith becoming much more personal here. Her decision to go to the convent and then the way she lives her life there made it feel to me like her faith was finally her own (rather than based on guilt or a response to others‘ expectations). @Andrea313 YES! Her final actions during the Plague felt like she was finally able to live out her convictions unconstrained by external influences. 2mo

lauraisntwilder Like others have said, I think she's finally relying on her own counsel. But, still, her father's lasting influence in the community is an ever present reminder, while she lives at his estate, of how a life should be lived. 2mo

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BarbaraJean

Kristin Lavransdatter | Sigrid Undset

We see Kristin‘s sons growing up, now presented in this third book as characters in their own right.

How do her sons‘ choices impact Kristin—as a woman and as a mother?

How do her sons affect the choices Kristin makes for herself and her own future?

How does Kristin exemplify or challenge the accepted roles for women in her time?

#DoorstopKristin #KLBR

Ruthiella She was such a strong woman and she was ambivalent about letting her sons become independent and separate their lives from hers. I was also struck by how much her sons suffered from the rift between their parents. This shaped them, I think, in wanting to escape but also feeling responsible for their mother‘s happiness. 2mo

AmyG I felt that a large part of Kristen‘s identity was wife and mother. She got to a point in her life where she “wasn‘t needed” by both and had to find meaning in her life. 2mo

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Ruthiella @AmyG Which is part of what makes this book so relevant to readers, right? This is still something many parents face. 2mo

AmyG @Ruthiella It is an adjustment, for sure. 2mo

Andrea313 @AmyG I felt this so strongly! And it was a twist of the knife when she was further relegated to a supporting character on her own estate after Gaute and Jofrid married. I'm sure many mothers-in-law struggle in relationships with their son's wives, but man, I felt for Kristin here. 2mo

AmyG @Andrea313 Yes. I also felt for her…trated like a second class citizen. ☹️ 2mo

BarbaraJean @Ruthiella @AmyG @Andrea313 Yes, I felt for Kristin so deeply in those changed dynamics, especially with Gaute & Jofrid. At the same time, I‘ve had those same kinds of difficult moments with my MIL when she stays at my home—I realize she may feel especially displaced in her son‘s life when she‘s in my space! He‘s an only child, so that exacerbates it, I think. As much as Jofrid frustrated me, I kind of felt for both Jofrid AND Kristin in that. ⬇ 2mo

BarbaraJean (Cont‘d) As much as her sons‘ choices (and their growing up in general!) left Kristin adrift, I also felt like their growing up freed her. Throughout the trilogy, I think Kristin has challenged the accepted roles of her time, but has felt guilty for doing so. This final book seemed to resolve a lot of that for her—she was finally able to take unashamed ownership of her life, and live it on her own terms. It made SO much sense that most of that ⬇ 2mo

BarbaraJean (Cont‘d) … happened after Erlend‘s death—which also made me so sad & angry. It‘s like Kristin couldn‘t be free of expectations or guilt until Erlend was out of the picture. @Ruthiella I saw so many parallels to children of divorce in the way the rift between Erlend and Kristin affected their sons! 2mo

lauraisntwilder I think what struck me especially hard about Kristin being "put out to pasture" on her own estate was how young she actually was. I guess it's always that way, that the older generation doesn't *feel* old, but Kristin was literally in her 40's, being kicked out of the main house. 2mo

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BarbaraJean

Kristin Lavransdatter | Sigrid Undset

#KLBR-ers, here we are at the end of Book 3! Congratulate yourself on tackling #DoorstopKristin and THANK YOU for joining me on this epic read!

Kristin Lavransdatter—set in the medieval era, written in the 1920s—is filled with themes that are still relevant today: female desire, marital discord, motherhood, aging.
Which themes resonated for you?
In which ways did the characters‘ struggles feel distant? In which ways did they feel contemporary?

Ruthiella The propensity for violence to break out was completely out of my understanding. Simon kills a man and is absolved but the man who killed Erland is punished. I didn‘t see any distinction. Both were manslaughter in my view. Also, the pervasiveness of religious beliefs- both Christian and Pagan- are far from my day to day. But pretty much everything else in the characters‘ behaviors and attitudes felt familiar to me as a modern reader. (edited) 2mo

AmyG I agree with @Ruthiella. I was surprised how contemporary this did feel. Same sh** different day. I felt very connected to Kristen, especially in Book 3 as she was closest to my age. 2mo

BarbaraJean @Ruthiella @AmyG Yes, the quick escalation of violence in this third book was startling to me. And then the differentiation in consequences. I was thinking that difference may have had something to do with status--wasn't Simon of a higher status than the farmer who killed Erlend? Which is pretty terrible, but felt like it fit the time (and honestly, the difference in consequences for the rich/powerful doesn't feel that different from today...) 2mo

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