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    The Cross: Kristin Lavransdatter - Volume III
    Unavailable
    The Cross: Kristin Lavransdatter - Volume III
    Unavailable
    The Cross: Kristin Lavransdatter - Volume III
    Ebook606 pages10 hours

    The Cross: Kristin Lavransdatter - Volume III

    By Sigrid Undset and Alrik Gustafrom

    4.5/5

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    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this ebook

    In this heart-wrenching novel by Sigrid Undset, The Cross brings Kristin’s story to a close as the final years of her life are consumed by the Black Death, in the final installment in the well-known Norwegian trilogy, Kristin Lavransdatter.

    Kristin Lavransdatter has lost almost everything she loves. As the Black Death rapidly approaches Norway, she once again has to decide what is most important to her. Kristin grapples with her failing marriage and wavering faith while attempting to support eight sons. The once charmingly reckless characters are now facing their greatest challenge yet: the inevitability of their diminishing lives.

    Completing the trilogy, Sigrid Undset’s third Kristin Lavransdatter book was originally published in 1922. The author’s colourful depiction of 14th century Norway is continued in this final volume as she provides a fascinatingly accurate insight into medieval Scandinavia.

    Proudly republished by Read & Co. Books, this new edition of The Cross features an excerpt from Six Scandinavian Novelists by Alrik Gustafrom. An essential addition to the bookshelves of Kristen Lavransdatter fans, this volume is the perfect end to the classic Norwegian series.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherRead Books Ltd.
    Release dateJan 31, 2013
    ISBN9781447482208
    Unavailable
    The Cross: Kristin Lavransdatter - Volume III
    Author

    Sigrid Undset

    Sigrid Undset (1882-1949) was a Norwegian novelist. Born in Denmark, Undset moved with her family to Norway at the age of two. Raised in Oslo, Undset was on track to attend university before her father’s death derailed the family’s economic stability. At 16, Undset started working as a secretary for an engineering firm while writing and studying on the side. After a voluminous novel set in the Nordic Middle Ages failed to find a publisher, Undset made her literary debut at 25 with Fru Marta Oulie, a short realist novel about a middle-class Norwegian woman. Over the next decade, she published at a prodigious rate, earning a reputation as a rising star in Norwegian literature with such novels as Jenny (1911) and Vaaren (1914). This success allowed her to quit her job as a secretary in order to dedicate herself to her writing. Shaken by the First World War, however, Undset converted to Catholicism and began to shift away from realism toward spiritual and moral themes. Between 1920 and 1922, she published her magnum opus Kristin Lavransdatter, a trilogy set in Norway in the Middle Ages that secured her the 1928 Nobel Prize in Literature. A longtime critic of Adolph Hitler, Undset was forced to flee Norway following the Nazi invasion in 1940. She made her way via Sweden to the United States, where she lived for the remainder of the war. Undset returned to Norway in 1945, spending her final years in Lillehammer.

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    Reviews for The Cross

    4.5/5

    155 ratings7 reviews

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    • 2/5
      This book was at least as disappointing to me as the first, chiefly because I couldn't bring myself to like either Kristin or Erlend, and I almost never enjoy books when I don't care for one of the main characters. I was hoping for some sort of character growth or something that would help these two, or at least one of them, and it never happened, at least not in a way to make either of them likable.

      That said, there were parts I really enjoyed, and that included getting to know Simon so well. Had he been the protagonist (but he couldn't have been!) I might have liked it better. Also, while I know that the religious beliefs were very accurate for the time, including the people melding Roman Catholicism with older, local beliefs, it didn't do much for me, either, with the sorts of punishments and so on and so forth. I did like the great historical research that was done, though, and was impressed by the detail of the plague descriptions, etc, although it was so tragic.
    • 5/5
      My father once spoke of three great female characters in fiction - Kristin Lavransdatter was one. Becky Sharp of Thackeray's Vanity Fair another. I wish I could remember who the third was (not Elizabeth Bennett - not in his opinion, anyway), but I can't. I've two translations of one of the books - read this translator, not the other. Bought the first one at a Little Professor bookstore in Burlington, VT in the late 70s and the manager was very excited to see the book in paperback. That's how much of an impression these books made on me, though I didn't finish the series until well into the 90s. My own life and family got in the way, I suppose!
    • 5/5
      Kristin Lavaransdatter is a trilogy set in 14th century Norway, and follows the life of a strong, independent woman. The first volume covered Kristin’s childhood and marriage; the second, her life as a mother, bearing seven sons and managing a large agricultural estate. The Cross is the third and final volume in this epic work. Kristin is in her late 30s, and considered beyond reproductive age. In the previous book, her husband Erlend lost his land holdings, and they now live on Kristin’s family estate. Her oldest sons are in their late teens, and ready to assume the responsibilities of grown men, but will not enjoy the inheritance they might have once expected.This novel sees Kristin coping with tensions in her relationship with Erlend, and with the prospect of “losing” her sons to marriage and families of their own. Simon Darre, once betrothed to Kristin but now married to her younger sister, is always waiting in the wings to provide Kristin support when needed. It’s clear his feelings for Kristin have never gone away, and while Kristin can’t help thinking of the life that might have been, she also knows her rather unstable life with Erlend has suited her better than a life with steady but rather boring Simon.The church figures prominently during this time period, and people are often judged harshly for what is seen as “immoral” conduct. Kristin herself was a victim of this, having defied her father’s choice for a husband, sleeping with Erlend before marriage, and deceiving everyone with a lavish wedding even though she knew she was pregnant. Now, while she is respected in the community, her morals are always suspect. As the book progresses, the lives of all principal characters play out in interesting and unexpected ways. Kristin’s inner strength kept her going through hardship and personal tragedy, despite pressure to conform to church and community norms. Her story ends in a way that surprised me, but which on reflection seems fitting. Kristin Lavransdatter will stay with me for some time.
    • 5/5
      "It seemed to her a mystery that she could not comprehend, but she was certain that God had held her firmly in a pact which had been made for her, without her knowing it, from a love that had been poured over her — and in spite of her willfulness, in spite of her melancholy, earthbound heart, some of that love had  stayed  inside her, had worked on her like sun on the earth, had driven forth a crop that neither the fiercest fire of passion nor its stormiest anger could completely destroy"

      There is plenty of tragedy in this final book of the trilogy. Kristin loses several family members to death, even before the black plague comes to Norway. She and Erland still have a tumultuous relationship. He continues to be lackadaisical about protecting his sons' inheritances, and she continues to hold a hatred and resentfulness towards him. She finally makes peace with Erland, and let's go of her resentment towards him on his deathbed. From there she works only to secure the welfare of her sons. After this is done she becomes a nun, and she nurses those with the black plague. This was actually the most interesting part of the book to me. Kristin eventually gets the black plague, herself, and dies. Even though this novel ends with her death, she finally let's go of her guilt, learns to trust in God, and dies in peace. This book moved a lot faster for me than The Wife. Like the previous books in the trilogy, The Cross is beautifully written, despite being a bit wordy and repetitive in some areas, with a strong theme of love and redemption. This trilogy is not an easy read, but it's definitely worth it.

      CAWPILE Rating:
      C- 10
      A- 10
      W- 8
      P- 8
      I- 9
      L- 9
      E- 9
      Avg= 9= ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

      #backtotheclassics (Classic Tragic Novel)
      #mmdchallenge (three books by the same author)
    • 4/5
      In The Cross, Sigrid Undset draws the sweeping narrative of Kristin Lavransdatter and life in mediaeval Norway to a close. Following on from The Wife, Kristin and Erlend return to Jørundgård as the couple become estranged and Kristin worries about the prospects of her sons. This volume definitely contains some of the more emotional moments in the series, particularly the deaths of Erlend Nikulaussøn and Simon Darre; the final chapter devoted to the effects of the plague on the convent to which Kristin moved is also powerful.

      This final volume, perhaps more than any other, is replete with a strong Christian ethos and as it chronicles the hardships Kristin bears and how she endures them, Sigrid Undset concurs with the mediaeval belief of the primacy of the spiritual realm over this material one. Undset infuses the whole novel with Christianity, reflecting the permeation of mediaeval life with the same, and although hard-going sometimes, these passages dealing with penance, forgiveness, and religion in general provide a rich insight not only into the mediaeval mind but into Undset's also, particularly as she converted to Roman Catholicism shortly after these books were published.

      As in the previous two novels, Undset has richly recreated daily life in mediaeval Norway and brought this far-off time to life with detailed and sympathetic characters. Undset's prose is aided herein by Tiina Nunnally's translation that vividly brings this world to life.

      This trilogy is demonstrable proof of the worthiness of Undset's Nobel Prize award and as whole merits five stars. I look forward greatly to reading more of Undset's works, particularly the Master of Hestviken series.
    • 4/5
      The final volume of the Kristin Lavransdatter, detailing the trials of Kristin's latter years in medieval Norway. Kristin's struggles with her husband Erlend, her sons, and her past sins continue, interspersed with the details of daily life and culture in medieval Norway. As in the best historical fiction, Kristin is a creature of her own time and the details of her life, both as the mistress of a manner and the victim of the Black Death, paint a vivid portrait of an era.
    • 5/5
      Kristin is finally showing some growth in this last book of the Kristin Lavransdatter trilogy. She epitomizes all colors of the spectrum of emotion, from the red of her fury and bitterness toward Erlend to the violet of finally finding God's redemption. Her love/hate relationship with Erlend set alongside her quest for God's peace and forgiveness are the ruling forces in Kristin's life. Undset remarkably melds the strict hold of the Church on this medieval society with the pagan ways of their ancestors which still factored into their daily lives. These are complex times in the history of Norway with strong political and religous influences, but Norway's struggles are no match for the pains and triumphs of Kristin and Erlend's relationship over the years that Undset relates so ardently.If you enjoy historical sagas and want to get to know some unforgettable characters, then this trilogy is for you.