Snow is late this year, but winter's chill is in the air in my Colorado mountain valley. Time for a fire and a return to Narnia, Middle Earth, or maybe Sigrid Undset's Norway. Winter months are long here, but they are less so with the help of wintry tales. By the time the Fellowship of … Continue reading This Icelandic Children’s Tale Melts the Heart and Speaks Truth to Our Times
Kristin Lavransdatter is enjoying a renewed readership. Last year's Audible release of the epic Scandanavian trilogy as a low cost audio odyssey has certainly helped. It's worth the time to make this magical masterpiece a slow read, letting medieval Norway sink into your bones while you grow your own soul by following Kristin's characters. If you're … Continue reading Sigrid Undset’s Real Passion Revealed
One year ago for the very first time, I planned my year's reading instead of simply keeping a reading list as I went along. Inspired by How to Make a Yearly Reading List as a Grown-Up, my first step was to root through my shelves and scan my Audible and Kindle libraries for books I already … Continue reading Five Standouts from a Reading Year
It's been described as "heady, extraordinary." It's where I first heard about Sigrid Undset's Kristin Lavransdatter and P.D. James' The Children of Men. I discovered Alan Jacobs had written a biography of C.S. Lewis by listening, added it to my wishlist and gratefully received The Narnian: The Life and Imagination of C.S. Lewis for Christmas that year. It's also … Continue reading The Mars Hill Audio Journal: Where All Things Considered Meets God
On the evening of April 7, 1940, two days before the Nazis invaded Sigrid Undset's homeland, the Nobel prizewinner was in Oslo speaking at a meeting of the Norwegian Students' Association. The guest of honor was Catholic Worker co-founder Dorothy Day. Neither woman could have imagined that they'd meet again, but two nights after the … Continue reading American Exile and Return to Norway: Fascinating Facts about Sigrid Undset Part 3
Norwegian writer Sigrid Undset deserves her place among women held up as models of greatness simply for her accomplishment as the author of Kristin Lavransdatter, the medieval trilogy for which she won a Nobel Prize in 1928. But there is so much more. Part I in this series details her life up to her reception of … Continue reading Flight from Norway: Fascinating Facts about Sigrid Undset, Part 2
I'm indebted to Thomas More College literature professor Anthony Esolen for questioning why Sigrid Undset so seldom appears on lists of women offered as role models for girls aiming for greatness. Reading The Art of Compassion: A Biography of Sigrid Undset by Yola Miller Sigerson, I now consider the oversight egregious. Undset's response to the … Continue reading Fascinating Facts about Sigrid Undset, Author of Kristin Lavransdatter
Kristin Lavransdatter was recently released in an Audible edition, and it's included in a Washington Post review of the best new audiobook releases. I recently finished this Nobel-winning trilogy and used a credit on the 44 hour listen anyway. That's how compelling this story is. The length of this trilogy deterred me for years, but … Continue reading Make Time for Undset’s Kristin Lavransdatter: 3 Reasons
