We are freaking out here because the great Norwegian writer Sigrid Undset looks so much like me that it’s scary:
I’ll now have to read her magnum opus Kristin Lavransdattir that I’ve had on my Kindle for a million years.
Sigrid Undset
Opinions, art, debate
Clarissa's Blog 
Wow! That’s freaky! Chrome loaded her picture before it loaded the post and I swear I thought it was a nice black and white photo of you!
https://polldaddy.com/js/rating/rating.js
LikeLike
Right? Identical. She’s a famous writer, so I’m not complaining.
LikeLike
Was she a redhead?
LikeLike
I don’t know but it makes sense. She’d hardly be a brunette, right?
LikeLike
Impossible to tell by the hair in the photograph — but if she were a brunette, her
eyebrows would probably appear somewhat darker.
LikeLike
I read the book and loved it. The first part seemed nice, but the second and the third ones are simply great since they deal with marriage and old age well, while books dealing with separated lovers are more plentiful.
I also loved her myth-saga-like very short book – Gunnur’s daughter. It is online in Russian, translated as Сага о … Льоте.
LikeLike
I’m going to start it as soon as I’m done with the anti-Semitic doorstopper by Almudena Grandes. I’ll have to heal my emotional wounds after this horrible experience.
https://polldaddy.com/js/rating/rating.js
LikeLike
Woah! Clearly this means that you were meant to be a writer.
LikeLike
I can do the dark glare, too. 🙂
LikeLike
That is incredible! I thoroughly enjoyed her trilogy, and I’m curious to hear your thoughts on it.
LikeLike
It is you! And it makes sense, thinking about your love for literature and Norway.
LikeLike
I need to have genetic testing done. N has Scandinavian ancestry but I was sure I didn’t.
LikeLike
A dead ringer!
LikeLike
The resemblance is uncanny. What does Klara think?
LikeLike
She hasn’t seen it yet but I need to show it to her. I hope it doesn’t scare her.
LikeLike
The biggest difference is the hair, from what you’ve written it would take industrial intervention to get your hair that… domesticated.
LikeLike
Uncanny resemblance!
LikeLike
So, did you end up reading Kristin Lavransdattir? Asking because I’m reading it right now, and quite pleasantly surprised by it. Very psychologically plausible family dynamics, and a main theme of choice vs consequence that sounds like something you’d also enjoy.
LikeLike
I couldn’t get past the first 20 pages or so. Maybe I should try again. Something about the style of writing put me off.
LikeLike
Re Kristin Lavransdattir, the first part is the worst of the three, quite stereotypical but still nice imo.
I loved the second part the best since it presented a realistic description of a post-marriage life of two passionate lovers. They do love each other, but it doesn’t turn life into a fairy-tale paradise.
The third part puts emphasis on religious life of Kristin and of her sons, so I felt less connected to it, but still think it’s well written.
Btw, did you try reading “Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell”? Did fantasy elements prevent you from enjoying the book, or did you dislike it for another reason?
LikeLike
I’ll read it, I’ll read it, I just need to be in the mood. 🙂
LikeLike
Is it the Nunnally translation or the Archer & Scott one? Heard the A&S one was ersatz Arthuriana, bowdlerized and full of thees and thous. The Nunnally one reads fine (if not spectacular) to me, but your mileage might vary ofc.
LikeLike
// Is it the Nunnally translation or the Archer & Scott one?
I read in Russian and liked the translation.
If it’s a matter of translation, Clarissa, you also may look at the Russian version.
LikeLike