Comment

Apr 02, 2013
Good for Burnaby Public Library for acquiring this sparkling new English translation of the Scandinavian classic! Set in medieval Norway in the fourteenth century, this is one of the finest historical novels I’ve ever read. The rich, multi-layered historical detail is reflected on every page. Most historical fiction uses the past merely as a background to provide local colour for characters whose dialogue, actions, and thoughts are a projection of modern values and preoccupations. Not so, this book. Reading it you shake off the dust of the present and visit a fascinating past world which is both familiar and alien. The familiar part includes universal themes of love and human tragedy. One of Undset’s greatest strengths was her ability to unfold the motives and emotions of her characters in the most convincing psychological detail. The part that is strange (to a post-modern reader) includes the uneasy syncretism of the older heathen and Christian beliefs that then existed in Norway. You can enjoy this novel as a deeply moving tragedy with sophisticated and complex characters and also as a brilliant work of social, religious, and political history.