Sunday, March 14, 2021

Fortnightly Book, March 14

Beginning in August 1919, having recently moved to Lillehammer, Norway, and having given birth to her third child, the author Sigrid Undset set down to write a series of books about fourteenth-century Norway. The first, The Wreath, was published in 1920, and was soon continued with The Wife in 1921 and The Cross in 1922. Together these make up the three parts of Kristin Lavransdatter, which earned her the Nobel Prize in Literature. And as you might guess, Kristin Lavransdatter is the next Fortnightly Book. Although, given that it is three whole works together, making up a massive 1100 pages, it's possible that this might end up being a three-week 'fortnight', depending on how my schedule turns out the next two weeks. (I'm still dealing with the after-effects of the winter storm; everything moves slowly because everyone in the region also needs contractors, etc., so I don't know from week to week exactly how my schedule will turn out.)

I'll be reading Tina Nunally's translation. I'm looking forward to re-reading it; the last time I read it, I was dragging the tome around on vacation in Italy. And it's a big enough book to merit a second reading, for sure.