tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1911087927983597831.post3056011006786630246..comments2024-01-02T15:37:04.858-05:00Comments on Caravana de recuerdos: Kristin Lavransdatter II: The WifeRichardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01746599416342846897noreply@blogger.comBlogger14125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1911087927983597831.post-69894686077742763532009-12-10T18:39:24.340-05:002009-12-10T18:39:24.340-05:00*Gavin: Sorry for the delay in getting back to you...*Gavin: Sorry for the delay in getting back to you, but I'm afraid that laughter is not only the best--but the only--medicine against this scourge known as <em>Kristin Lavransdatter</em>. I keep waiting for the trilogy to "get better," but it just doesn't, you know? Cheers!<br /><br />*Rebecca: There are Nobel winners I like, but Sigrid Undset isn't one of them. Too bad I didn't know that 900 pages ago, I guess!Richardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01746599416342846897noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1911087927983597831.post-85039851210851641912009-12-08T14:51:13.722-05:002009-12-08T14:51:13.722-05:00I didn't join in the readalong but your reacti...I didn't join in the readalong but your reaction makes me laugh! I guess it's good to know that Nobel Prize writers aren't everyone's favorites.Rebecca Reidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06062252252301802298noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1911087927983597831.post-44609048797435890492009-12-04T22:18:29.093-05:002009-12-04T22:18:29.093-05:00Richard, thank you for making me laugh through thi...Richard, thank you for making me laugh through this. I have to say I will be glad when it is over!Gavinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12865699135545209220noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1911087927983597831.post-19865706230847684162009-12-02T23:52:47.501-05:002009-12-02T23:52:47.501-05:00*Softdrink: Interesting comment. No, really! And...*Softdrink: Interesting comment. No, really! And you know the characters are too whiny when you almost start rooting for the bubonic plague to come to town...<br /><br />*Frances: "I hate this book." Ah, the voice of reason at last! And while the appearing to shun forgiveness gripe of yours is totally understandable, I'm also bothered by the over the top interior monologues which leave little to the imagination. "Grr," indeed (alas)!<br /><br />*E.L. Fay: You're quite the funny one tonight! I, too, am looking forward to Frances' post with great excitement, though! Cheers!Richardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01746599416342846897noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1911087927983597831.post-53511142812976865722009-12-02T21:17:02.119-05:002009-12-02T21:17:02.119-05:00Uh-oh. Frances's post should be very interesti...Uh-oh. Frances's post should be very interesting. I mean in a good way!Eileenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11058705381647529328noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1911087927983597831.post-69179491510881426912009-12-02T20:10:50.960-05:002009-12-02T20:10:50.960-05:00I was overcome by violent sobs too. Don't get ...I was overcome by violent sobs too. Don't get me wrong. I can enjoy moments of well-deserved self-loathing in a book. Can relish them. Just still trying to figure out someone who appears to shun forgiveness in order to weep over past misdeeds - minor ones. No one was having premarital sex in medieval times? Grrr. I hate this book. Still trying to write something. Not your fault. Not Emily's. Quite the experience.Franceshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12597485569740436880noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1911087927983597831.post-24676553908888932332009-11-30T18:17:34.636-05:002009-11-30T18:17:34.636-05:00You know how people use the word interesting when ...You know how people use the word interesting when they don't want to to say anything bad? Well, it's been interesting. ;-)<br /><br />I actually am glad that I read it...it gave me a glimpse into a world I previously knew nothing about. It's just unfortunate that the characters were so whiny. And that it was so long. Most of book 2 was pretty much unnecessary.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1911087927983597831.post-87326788798215286172009-11-28T22:04:24.424-05:002009-11-28T22:04:24.424-05:00*Simon: If my entertainment pain has brought you e...*Simon: If my entertainment pain has brought you entertainment pleasure, it has all been worth it. LOL. Suffice it to say that I'll be taking a brief break before jousting with part three, though, that's for sure!<br /><br />*Jill: I liked how that eye thing grossed out Erlend, too--a rare funny moment for me! And you make a good point about it being worthwhile to consider why Undset won the Nobel (the "my bad" thing had more to do with what I see as the lackluster nature of the trilogy so far rather than its value as a readalong item per se).<br /><br />*Emily: That guilt, shame and embarrassment comment of mine was mostly tongue-in-cheek, but I deleted a reference to the character KL that would have connected the ANNOYING dots in a way much more similar to yours. Too funny! In terms of the physical description thing that Undset does so often, sure, there are prob. occasional reasons for it. But even conceding your point here about Erlend's ability to simultaneously lust after and be mad at Kristin, I'd ask: so what? Undset tells us as much throughout the first two parts multiple times, but I find it neither entertaining nor illuminating but just distracting. Whether the other zillions of hollow descriptions have to do with mimicking medieval literature's penchant for the same is another matter (I've actually wondered about this possibility quite a bit myself), but it doesn't work for me at least given Undset's uneasy blend of "realism" and "romance." Thanks so much for playing devil's advocate with me on these two points, though, because these are precisely the sorts of things we should be discussing in any readalong that's worth its salt!<br /><br />*Claire: Thanks (again) for reassuring me, but I was mostly joking about the guilt thing this time. No worries on that front! And as much as I've disliked Undset's storytelling style so far, I'm glad I've had the chance to read her so I could judge her abilities without mediation on anybody else's part.<br /><br />*E.L. Fay: As I've said before, I'm glad you "kinda like" <em>Kristin Lavransdatter</em>. Especially since I seem to dislike it enough for the whole group! Way looking forward to what you, Claire and Sarah will have to say about part two whenever you get around to it.<br /><br />*Sarah: Glad you, like Simon, got a chuckle outta my misery! And I too would like to get my mitts on some of those Scandinavian sagas that Emily has alluded to--especially since every time Undset mentions one in <em>KL</em>, I feel like she's a hack TV writer namedropping Shakespeare in an afterschool special!Richardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01746599416342846897noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1911087927983597831.post-33175780255641540792009-11-28T17:22:29.734-05:002009-11-28T17:22:29.734-05:00I'm closer in response to Claire - didn't ...I'm closer in response to Claire - didn't love or hate it - more on my reaction later. Your post made me laugh - some more! And I agree with everyone else - don't feel guilty! I for one am GLAD that I'm reading this book. Its an...erm...interesting experience that I would have been sorry to miss. I pretty much agree that this section blows, but I'm willing to flounder through the rest!<br /><br />Oh and Emily, if you keep bringing up these (better) Icelandic tomes, I'm going to have to talk you into hosting another read-along. :)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1911087927983597831.post-8214262702031002932009-11-28T16:00:31.683-05:002009-11-28T16:00:31.683-05:00You don't have to apologize. It's okay, re...You don't have to apologize. It's okay, really! I kinda like it!<br /><br />I'm almost done with part 2, but my reading and writing has been kind of a mess lately.Eileenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11058705381647529328noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1911087927983597831.post-8169589000703360082009-11-28T14:25:49.114-05:002009-11-28T14:25:49.114-05:00Again, I say don't feel guilty. We are all in ...Again, I say don't feel guilty. We are all in this together! You didn't push us to read it, we WANTED to! :D<br /><br />Anyway, yes, I agree with everything you said, although I didn't dislike it as much as you. I didn't love it, but I didn't hate it either. I guess the subject matter and the time and place really appeals to me. It's just the writing I have issues with. Yes: generic and conformist, truly. I'll have my post up in a bit.clairehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14397226316253896335noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1911087927983597831.post-55393089629889668082009-11-28T13:05:39.254-05:002009-11-28T13:05:39.254-05:00Well, if anyone should be embarrassed it should be...Well, if anyone should be embarrassed it should be me! But neither of us claimed to have read it before, you know? I don't think we should be embarrassed or guilty. I mean, if we should learn anything from Undset it's how ANNOYING guilty people are. :-D<br /><br />I agree about the tedium of the crying, whining, and jealousy. Although, to play the devil's advocate, I do actually think the passage you quoted and other physical descriptions have a purpose; this one illustrates Erlend's inability to stop lusting after his wife even when she is being a total asshole. Which then pisses him off, understandably. A few other physical descriptions reminded me of actual medieval Norwegian lit more than anything else in Undset - there are always details about how staunch and manly the knights and kings are in those epics (or at least in Icelandic epics), and of what they're wearing and how strong their battle horses are, etc.<br /><br />ANYway, I guess we should have gone with one of those, instead.Emilyhttp://www.eveningallafternoon.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1911087927983597831.post-66682834302676993862009-11-28T09:03:44.181-05:002009-11-28T09:03:44.181-05:00As I'm sure you know from my review of The Wif...As I'm sure you know from my review of The Wife, I agree with you entirely. I had forgotten about the licking of eye wounds - I must say that part sort of grossed me out! <br /><br />Where I don't agree with you however is that you did a bad thing by choosing it for a readalong. It says a lot about the times that it won a Pulitzer and I think that's worth some reflection.rhapsodyinbookshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07041412748239010264noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1911087927983597831.post-18842150894631096452009-11-28T07:54:31.811-05:002009-11-28T07:54:31.811-05:00Oh dear, I have to say this series has never reall...Oh dear, I have to say this series has never really floated my book boat and I dont think its one I will contend reading. I have laughed at your thoughts though, so your pain has made for entertaining reading for us all. Can't wait for the report on part three!!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com