Group read (June): Kristin Lavransdatter Book III, The Cross

Group read (June): Kristin Lavransdatter Book III: The Cross



Hello, everyone, and welcome to the final thread for our Kristin Lavransdatter group read! Let's discuss Book III: The Cross, as well as the novel as a whole. Please put any spoilers for Book III under a spoiler cut like so, but discussion of Books I and II is fair game.

Warning: This thread may contain SPOILERS for books I and II!

I have to admit, I've fallen behind with this group read -- I'm only a few chapters into Book II! But I hope you'll all continue the discussion, and I'll jump in as soon as I have anything meaningful to contribute! :)

Thanks for setting this up, Christina. I am well into this third volume and continuing to love this story!

I have finished Kristin Lavransdatter this morning and I am going to miss my daily reads about her. Reading this massie volume over a three month span was a great way to tackle this book, I found myself looking forward to reading a portion every morning. I have posted my thoughts about the book on my thread and on the book's main page.

Wow, congrats, Judy!

Well done with finishing Judy! I only recently finished Book II and won't be starting the final book for another week or so.

Thanks Christina and Leslie, as a lover of historical fiction, this was such an excellent read. I think we mentioned this before but finding a book that takes place in the middle ages and is set in a different country from the U.K. was a real treat. Most historical books that are available in the English language and set in any of the Scandinavian countries tends to be about the Vikings. The author did an excellent job with describing food, decor and fashion as well as the day-to-day and religious activities that Kristin was involved in.

Have finished the saga and agree with DeltaQueen50 that it was an excellent story.
Kristin's life was presented in such an engaging way that we learn a great deal about Norwegian life of that time without feeling that we are having a history lesson.

I am ashamed to say that, though I'd finished this book a couple of months ago, I am just getting around to updating my LT threads now. Better late than never, I suppose. Anyhow, I include below the review I posted on my Category Challenge thread. A very belated thanks, Christina, for organizing this group read!

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I'm really glad that the organized group read motivated me to read this family saga set in Norway during the Middle Ages. There is much I loved about it, first and foremost being Kristin Lavransdatter, a flawed but complex and admirable character. I also enjoyed the many small details that Undset provides about food, shelter and family interaction. I especially liked how Undset explores the role of the church and the difficulties that some of the Christians had with putting all pagan traditions aside.

>8 mathgirl40: Congratulations on finishing it! I'm still only about halfway through...I really need to start reading it on a regular basis again! Glad you enjoyed the book. :)

I put this third book to one side when my mother got ill - I should read it and finish up the trilogy.

>9 christina_reads: >10 leslie.98: I'm glad I wasn't the last one to finish! The reason I'm glad is that maybe there will still be continuing discussion in this thread. There is a lot to talk about. :)

I've renewed my determination to finish it this year! I'm planning to finish The Wife in October and read The Cross in December.