Litsy

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This was a slow read for me, really more of a start and stop kind of read because of life and wanting to focus on it when I did read it, but it was an amazing story. It follows Kristin throughout her entire life in 14th-century Norway. It was an often frustrating read, but so worth it in the way it completely pulled me into Kristin‘s story.

#KLBR #DoorstopKristin #1001books #translated

Daisey @BarbaraJean Thanks so much for getting me to pick up this book this year. It took me a while, but it was such a worthwhile read. 2d

Ruthiella I was amazed at how “relatable” this story was. 2d

Daisey @Ruthiella I agree. It was fantastic historical fiction while also an example of how some things seem to never change. Those things are always relatable. 2d

51 likes3 comments

BarbaraJean

Kristin Lavransdatter | Sigrid Undset

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Squeezing in another belated review before joining the family for Christmas celebrations…

This was one of the best books I read this year, but it didn't make it onto any of my favorites lists. I can't bring myself to call a book a favorite when it inflicted this much angst and emotional frustration! In some ways it felt (borrowing an analogy from a former professor) like pounding on my thumb with a hammer: “it feels so good when I stop.” 😆 ⬇

BarbaraJean This is a masterpiece of historical fiction. Its scope & depth is staggering. From the history & setting to the characters and their relationships, Undset pulled me into a whole world—completely foreign to me, rarely pleasant, but thoroughly human. It‘s all here—love & lust, faith & doubt, orthodoxy & heresy, faithfulness & betrayal, intrigue, family, death and LIFE. Thank you to the #KLBR crew who tackled #DoorstopKristin with me this summer! ⤵️ (edited) 4d

BarbaraJean The Cross, the final book of the trilogy, was my August #BookSpin. Book 1, The Wreath, was my #192025 pick for 1920, and book 2, The Wife, was my pick for 1921.
@TheAromaofBooks @Librarybelle (edited) 4d

TheBookHippie I loved this read. 4d

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BarbaraJean @TheBookHippie I still can't bring myself to say I love it. It's brilliant. It's a masterpiece. I will probably re-read it more than once. And it‘s also kind of emotional torture 😆 4d

Amiable Agreed. This book frustrated me when I read it. And so funny— my grandmother used to say “hitting your head against the wall only hurts until you stop.” I use that analogy at work All. The. Time. 😄 4d

Sapphire It‘s a book I felt genuinely thankful for having read and experienced. 4d

TheAromaofBooks Great progress!!! 4d

BarbaraJean @Amiable Hahaha… I love how similar that analogy is! It was amazing to me both how frustrating and how engaging this book was. For me, it was a testament to Undset‘s skill that the characters were so thoroughly infuriating but also relatable. 10h

BarbaraJean @Sapphire Me too! It‘s an incredible book. 10h

52 likes9 comments

Daisey

Kristin Lavransdatter | Sigrid Undset

I didn‘t put much effort into reading this one during the fall after the readalong was over, but I‘m back to it again now. It‘s good, but frequently I‘ve wanted something lighter when I was reading in print. However, it feels a fitting read now as the weather turns colder here, and I absolutely want to finish it before the end of the year.

#KLBR #DoorstopKristin

44 likes

lauraisntwilder

The Tin Woodman of Oz | L. Frank Baum

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

23 likes

AnneCecilie

Kristin Lavransdatter | Sigrid Undset

pick

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 3mo

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 3mo

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

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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 3mo

Suet624 It‘s quite the book/series. I love it. 3mo

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. 3mo

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. 3mo

AnneCecilie @Suet624 I‘m not sure I saw that. Did the reading change? 3mo

Suet624 Yes. 😊 3mo

49 likes9 comments

lauraisntwilder

Kristin Lavransdatter | Sigrid Undset

pick

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! 4mo

lauraisntwilder @Ruthiella I'd like to see that, just to see what it's like, but I'm 100% sure it's too short. 4mo

29 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

49 likes

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. 😁 4mo

Leftcoastzen Salad looks Yummy! 4mo

Daisey @Bookish_Thoughts That was completely unintentional, but it does! 4mo

Daisey @Leftcoastzen Thanks! It was a good one. 4mo

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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 4mo

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 4mo

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. 4mo

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. 4mo

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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. 4mo

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. 4mo

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! 😂 4mo

25 likes6 comments

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